Director of a company from Odesa embezzled millions in Kherson

The police have served a notice of suspicion to the head of a construction company from Odesa, who is suspected of embezzling almost UAH 28.5 million of budget funds during the overhaul of the Shovkunenko Kherson Art Museum. The building is a cultural heritage site of local significance.

This was reported by the press service of the National Police of Ukraine.

As investigators found out, in 2021, the company won a tender for repair work, after which it entered into an agreement with the Department of Territorial Development of the Kherson Regional State Administration. By the end of the year, the director submitted reports on the allegedly completed work, on the basis of which the company received more than UAH 32.5 million from the regional and state budgets.

However, the results of construction, technical and economic examinations showed that a significant part of the work declared in the reports was not actually performed or was not performed in full. Thus, the director of the company illegally seized UAH 28.5 million.

The man was served a notice of suspicion in absentia under Part 5 of Art. 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

Earlier, Kherson signed an agreement with the security police to ensure the security of the art museum looted by Russians during the occupation. The signed agreement provides for the protection of the museum's premises from January 1 to December 31, 2025. the contract amounted to UAH 963,600.

According to the Kherson Art Museum, more than 10,000 museum items were stolen by Russian invaders. The stolen items include not only paintings but also graphic works and 12 sculptures, including a majolica by Mikhail Vrubel.

In addition, the museum estimated that the occupiers had taken more than 10 paintings with children as the main characters from their collection. Subsequently, journalists identified Russian officer Dmytro Lipov and three officials from the occupied Crimea involved in the large-scale theft of cultural property from two Kherson museums in the fall of 2022.

Ірина Глухова