Corruption in the Department for Restoration of Destroyed Buildings Exposed in Odesa

In Odesa, a court seized property in a case of alleged embezzlement of the budget during housing overhauls; officials of the city council and municipal enterprises may have been involved in the scheme. The losses are estimated at over UAH 80 million for 2024-2025.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.

According to the investigation, employees of the City Council's Department of Municipal Economy, the specialized deputy commission on housing and communal services, as well as the municipal enterprises "Porto-Frankivsk Housing and Communal Services" and "Chornomorskyi Housing and Communal Services" are involved in possible abuses. Together with other individuals, they could organize a mechanism for misappropriating funds allocated for the repair of apartment buildings, in particular those affected by the war.

According to investigators, the scheme was based on falsification of certificates of completion: the documentation overstated the volume and cost of materials and even indicated more expensive resources than were actually used. Estimates were also manipulated, which allowed for additional cost increases.

Seven entrepreneurs were involved in the fraud, some of whom, according to law enforcement, are related to the officials by family or personal ties. In 2024-2025, they were used to conclude agreements without open tenders worth more than UAH 80 million.

At the same time, some of the work was actually performed by employees of the utility companies themselves, not contractors. This made it possible to further reduce real costs and increase illegal profits.

According to the investigation, the chief accountant of Stroy-Invest-Group-7 LLC played a separate role. She kept accounting and tax reports for some of the individual entrepreneurs involved, used their electronic signatures to conduct financial transactions with budget funds, and was probably engaged in unofficial accounting. She also prepared contracts and submitted reports on behalf of the entrepreneurs. Another employee of the company was responsible for preparing project documentation.

In February, law enforcement officers searched the company's office and seized an HP Pavilion laptop. On the same day, the equipment was recognized as material evidence in the case.

The court concluded that the device may contain important data, such as electronic documents, financial information and contacts that are relevant to the investigation. It is also possible that the laptop was used directly in the implementation of the scheme.

As a result, the court granted the investigators' motion and seized the seized property. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.

Also in March, a case was opened in Odesa over possible embezzlement during the overhaul of Lyceum No. 12, which cost more than UAH 68 million. The contract for the work was awarded without a tender to a company that had previously been involved in criminal cases related to alleged money laundering.

Анна Бальчінос