Court seizes cell phones of Odesa utility workers in case of traffic lights

The Kyiv District Court of Odesa has arrested a number of technical means that are considered evidence in the criminal proceedings against officials of the Specialized Installation and Maintenance Unit municipal institution.

As stated in the case file, these are cell phones, video recorders and other devices that were seized as part of the proceedings.

During the analysis of public procurement, in which SMEP is the customer, detectives of the territorial department of the Bureau of Economic Security in Odesa region found that between August and December 2024, the institution conducted 11 procedures for the purchase of uninterruptible power supplies for traffic light facilities for a total of UAH 40 million 819 thousand. The winners in these procurements were Light Energy Plus and Great Seller Limited Liability Companies. According to the investigators, the companies purchased these uninterruptible power supplies from other companies at a price approximately two times lower than the price they subsequently supplied to CMEP.

Investigators believe that the mobile and Internet communication devices seized by the court may be involved in the offense.

In June, Petro Stoyanov , head of the Specialized Installation and Maintenance Unit (SMEP), said during a meeting of the Standing Committee on Planning, Budget and Finance that the information published by the media at the time about the overpricing of the purchase and installation of uninterruptible power supplies for the city's traffic lights was not true.

Prior to that, detectives of the Economic Security Bureau and prosecutors searched the premises of the municipal enterprise "Specialized Installation and Maintenance Unit" of the Odesa City Council. The detectives found that officials of three private companies acted in collusion with employees of the municipal institution responsible for road safety. They developed and implemented a fraudulent scheme to embezzle budget funds.

Кирило Бойко