He took the money and didn't do the work: a contractor was tried in Mykolaiv for misappropriation of budget funds

A preventive measure has been imposed on the director of a commercial enterprise from Kyiv region, who is suspected of misappropriating budget funds. The suspect currently faces up to 12 years in prison.

This was reported by the press service of the Central District Court of Mykolaiv.

According to the case file, the suspect, as an official representing the company, participated in a tender announced by the Department of Urban Development, Architecture, Capital Construction and Development Project Support of Mykolaiv Regional State Administration. The tender concerned the construction of a bridge crossing in the Voznesensky district, and his company won. He is charged with a crime under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

After that, an agreement was signed to perform works worth more than UAH 44 million. However, the suspect did not perform the planned work, but submitted documents to the Department with false data on the scope and cost of the work performed in order to receive payment in the amount of over UAH 39 million.

As a result, these funds were transferred to the account of his company, although the work was not performed.

During the court hearing, the suspect and his defense counsel denied the motion, pointing to the lack of evidence of risks, and asked to set bail in the amount of UAH 242,240. However, after reviewing the materials, the judge decided to impose a preventive measure in the form of detention with the possibility of bail in the amount of UAH 40 million.

Investigators also served a businessman from Odesa region with a notice of suspicion of misappropriation of UAH 160,000 during the repair of the roof of an educational institution in Podil district. However, the contractor did not complete the work in full, and in the documentation for two months of the entire reporting period, he deliberately overstated the volume and cost of construction work performed, which did not correspond to reality.

In addition, the investigation into the misappropriation of UAH 7.7 million during the technical inspection of Kherson region facilities damaged as a result of Russian aggression was completed. The pre-trial investigation established that the head of one of the departments of the Kherson Regional State Administration, acting jointly with the owner of a private company, organized the misappropriation of budget funds during the execution of a contract for the inspection of the technical condition of 107 social infrastructure facilities.

Earlier in Mykolaiv region, the budget suffered UAH 131.7 million in damage. The offenses relate to the public sector and embezzlement of state property. In 4 months of 2024, the Strategic Investigations Department in Mykolaiv region served 5 people with suspicion notices of misappropriation and embezzlement of property, and 10 people with suspicion notices of criminal offenses in the budget sector.

Анна Бальчінос