Embezzlement at heating network repair exposed in Pivdenoukrainsk

In Pivdenoukrainsk, a large-scale scheme was uncovered during the repair of heating networks, which resulted in the city budget losing more than UAH 6 million. According to the investigation, the fraud involved the director of the contractor and the chief engineer of the project, who agreed on dubious changes and overestimated the cost of the work.

This was reported by the press service of the Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor's Office.

Law enforcement officers served a notice of suspicion to the head of a private enterprise and the project's chief engineer. They are suspected of causing multimillion-dollar losses to the budget of Pivdenoukrainsk during the repair of heating systems.

The investigation established that in 2022, the Construction and Repair Department of the Pivdenoukrainskyi City Council entered into two contracts: one with a private enterprise to repair the external heating networks of a residential building, and another with a separate organization to carry out supervision of the work.

During the project implementation, the contractor arbitrarily adjusted technical solutions: instead of the envisaged materials, he used cheaper and lower-quality pipes, while including their much higher cost in the documentation. Subsequently, the company's director submitted certificates of completion with overstated amounts, which became the basis for transferring budget funds to the company's account.

The project's chief engineer, responsible for designer's supervision, failed to ensure proper control over the work. He approved the modified technical solutions without conducting a mandatory expert review, effectively facilitating the implementation of the scheme.

As a result of such actions, the city budget suffered losses of more than UAH 6.8 million. In addition to financial losses, this also led to technical problems: due to deviations from the original design, 96 hot water supply breakdowns occurred at the facility between May 2023 and January 2025.

The head of the company was charged with misappropriation of property by abuse of office on a particularly large scale under martial law. The chief engineer was suspected of negligence. The issue of choosing a measure of restraint against the suspects is currently being decided.

Also in January 2026, law enforcement officers served a notice of suspicion of abuse of office to IrynaPrystavska, chief specialist of the Urban Planning and Architecture Department. According to the case file, the head of the department approved the decision to replace the type of pipes to be used in the repair.

Анна Бальчінос