Court Grants Access to Docs in ₴100M Mykolaiv Budget Fraud Case

The court granted investigators access to documents regarding the possible misuse of over UAH 100 million by officials of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration during the reconstruction of water pipes. The seizure of the original documents will help clarify the circumstances of the possible misappropriation of budget funds.

This is evidenced by the ruling of the Novodesskyi District Court of Mykolaiv Region.

The court considered the investigator's motion in the framework of criminal proceedings concerning possible misuse of funds by officials of one of the departments of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration.

According to the case file, in June 2024, an investigation was launched into the misappropriation of budget funds allocated for the reconstruction of the water supply system in Mykolaiv. The misappropriation consists in overstating the scope and cost of work.

As it has become known, the Department of Urban Planning, Architecture, Capital Construction and Development Project Support of the Mykolaiv Regional Administration was conducting procurement for the reconstruction of water pipes in several districts of the city. Odessasptsenergo LLC was the contractor under the tender procedures.

However, after the contracts were concluded, additional agreements were signed that set a reduced cost of the projects. This raised doubts among law enforcement officers about the correctness of the work and possible overcharging.

The criminal proceedings included facts of changes in the cost of contracts for the reconstruction of water pipelines. In particular, two contracts totaling more than UAH 200 million were significantly amended through additional agreements that significantly reduced funding without the corresponding performance of work. These changes could have been used to misappropriate public funds by falsifying documents and overstating the scope of work.

The judge granted the investigator's motion and authorized temporary access to the original documents containing information about these procurements. The documents are in the possession of the Department of Urban Development of Mykolaiv Regional State Administration.

In case of failure to comply with the ruling, the court authorized the investigators to conduct a search to seize these documents. The ruling is valid until June 18, 2025, and the court's decision is not subject to appeal.

Given the seriousness of the situation, law enforcement agencies intend to conduct a detailed investigation that could lead to the punishment of those involved in corruption schemes at the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration that caused significant losses to the budget.

Last December, the Mykolaiv Oblast Commercial Court invalidated three contracts between the Mykolaiv Oblast Department of Urban Development and OdesaSpetsenergo LLC for the reconstruction of the main water supply system, worth over UAH 128 million.

Earlier, in November, the court canceled a similar agreement with Mykolaivmiskbud LLC for UAH 38.8 million, which was terminated in June without payment from the budget, giving the prosecutor 's office grounds to challenge other similar contracts.

The water pipeline was built by several companies, including Avtostrada, Rostdorstroy, and Ukrtransmist, which already have multimillion-dollar contracts from the budget. At the same time, some companies are involved in criminal proceedings, which raises questions about the transparency and efficiency of spending.

Анна Бальчінос