Court does not impose a preventive measure on corrupt mayor of Bashtanka

On Monday, August 25, the Bashtanka District Court failed to impose a preventive measure on Mayor Oleksandr Berehovoi. The meeting was postponed due to a recusal announced by the judges.

This was reported on Facebook by public activist Igor Bloshko.

The defense lawyer asked to interrogate a witness, but the judge refused, as at this stage the case is not being considered on the merits. In response, the lawyer filed a motion to disqualify the judge. As there is currently only one judge in the Bashtanka court, the decision on recusal will be made by the Mykolaiv Court of Appeal. Therefore, the date and place of the next hearing will become known after the motion is considered.

Earlier, it became known that the mayor of Bashtanka, Oleksandr Berehovoi, was served with a notice of suspicion. According to the investigation, the official misappropriated about a third of the funds allocated for winter clothing for the military. This happened through a scheme with overpriced procurement. In particular, the prosecutor's office announced 19 more suspicions against officials in Mykolaiv region.

Investigators found that Berehovoi signed contracts with two private entrepreneurs for more than UAH 1.1 million to purchase 150 sets of winter clothing and boots. However, the examination showed that the prices in the documents were significantly overstated. According to witnesses, the mayor acted through a deputy and intermediaries who bought the uniforms at a regular price and then sold them at a tender at an inflated price, pocketing the difference.

The exact amount of damage caused to Mykolaiv region has not been disclosed. However, along with Mykolaiv region, the prosecutor's office also checked Zaporizhzhia region, where officials received 9 suspicions. In total, the damage is almost UAH 375 million.

In January, the chief of staff in Mykolaiv region was notified of embezzlement . It was established that in June 2024, the chief of staff instructed a subordinate without proper experience to process payments. The latter, in turn, prepared documents for remuneration for servicemen, which is awarded exclusively for participation in hostilities. The official did not check these documents and approved the payments.

Катерина Глушко