Fontansky Village Council Votes Out Natalia Krupytsia Amid Legal Troubles

Deputies of the Fontansky village council voted to pass a motion of no confidence in the head of the council, Natalia Krupytsia, and to terminate her powers early.

The authors of the initiative accused Natalia Krupytsia of violating the laws of Ukraine, which is grounds for a vote of no confidence.

The deputies accused the head of the village council of inaction in eliminating an unauthorized landfill in the community. And several court decisions found the head of the village council guilty of inaction.

The deputies also recalled that Natalia Krupytsia had blocked the election of the council secretary, which led to the council's work being paralyzed after the chairman was detained until the deputies gathered for an extraordinary session and elected the secretary themselves.

Eventually, the issue was put on the agenda and a secret ballot was held. The vote was attended by 18 deputies. Nine were absent. The 18 deputies voted in favor of Natalia Krupytsia's resignation.

In early March, a court denied a motion by members of the Odesa Regional Council to release Natalia Krupytsia, head of the Fontansky village council, who is suspected of embezzling budget funds, on bail.

Instead, the amount of bail for Natalia Krupytsia was reduced from UAH 9 million to UAH 3.7 million, which she must pay to be released from the pre-trial detention center.

The court also rejected the appeal of Natalia Krupytsia 's defense lawyers against the decision to remove her from the position of the chairman.

The Kyiv District Court of Odesa temporarily removed Natalia Krupytsia from her post on February 11. A week earlier, she was detained. After that, the court ruled to arrest the chairman, giving her the opportunity to be released on bail in the amount of UAH 9 million 84 thousand.

On February 3, she was re-suspected in a case related to the coastal fortification in the village of Kryzhanivka. The investigation began in 2013, when she was the head of the Kryzhanivka village council.

Then, after the construction of a protective buna under her leadership, sea currents changed, and massive amounts of algae began to accumulate on the beaches of Kryzhanivka and the northern part of Odesa. This led to suspicions of misappropriation of more than UAH 2.7 million, which Krupytsia and the head of the contractor organization were accused of. However, in October 2023, the Prymorskyi Court of Odesa declared the evidence invalid and the defendants innocent.

According to law enforcement officers, Krupytsia was notified of being suspected of two articles: misappropriation of property by abuse of office (Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code) and forgery (Part 1 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code). She faces up to 12 years in prison with disqualification to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years and confiscation of property.

As explained by the police, Krupytsia, having entered into a contract with a construction firm for the reconstruction of the embankment along the Black Sea coast, deliberately gave the contractor the opportunity to misappropriate budget funds.

Кирило Бойко