Former Odesa City Council official under investigation for embezzlement in defense procurement

The former deputy director of the Odesa department is under investigation for purchasing sea containers for defense at inflated prices. He was charged with embezzlement of budget funds.

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

The Khadzhybeyskyi District Prosecutor's Office of Odesa submitted an indictment against the former first deputy director of the Department of Municipal Security of Odesa City Council to the court. The official is accused of embezzling budget funds when purchasing equipment for the needs of the defense forces.

According to the investigation, in early 2024, the official, fulfilling a request from one of the territorial defense units, together with another employee of the department, entered into an agreement with a private entrepreneur. The contract provided for the supply of 12 sea containers with a volume of 20 feet each for defense needs.

Law enforcement officers found that the purchase was made at deliberately inflated prices. As a result of such actions, the local budget and the interests of the territorial community suffered losses in the amount of over UAH 450 thousand.

The former official was charged with embezzlement on a large scale under Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. As part of the criminal proceedings, the prosecutor's office also filed a civil lawsuit to recover the funds from the accused to the community budget.

Also in January, the head of the housing and maintenance department of the city of Odesa was taken into custody. He is suspected of negligence of military service and causing damage to the state budget during the purchase of military beds for the army.

The investigation found that on January 19, 2023, the colonel signed a contract for the supply of 1071 army bunk beds worth UAH 5.9 million. The state, according to law enforcement, probably overpaid more than UAH 2 million. The colonel was left in custody at the brig of the Southern Territorial Department of the Military Intelligence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine until March 22, 2026. Bail was set at over UAH 17 million.

Анна Бальчінос