Illegal enrichment, bribery, and embezzlement: high-profile cases in the Mykolaiv region

In the Mykolaiv region, law enforcement agencies investigated a number of high-profile corruption cases during the first half of 2026. These included schemes to evade mobilization, embezzlement of budget funds, illicit enrichment by members of parliament, and convictions of public officials.

This is detailed in a report by the Center for Public Investigations. The authors note that most of the cases are in the pretrial investigation or trial phase; therefore, unless otherwise specified, these are allegations rather than court-proven guilt.

In June, the chief specialist of the Social Protection Department of the Voznesensk City Council found herself in the dock. According to investigators, she, along with a family doctor and a lawyer, helped forge a false medical report to illegally discharge a servicemember from service. The court imposed a fine on the official.

Among the cases involving the embezzlement of budget funds is the conviction of Oleksandr Ursolov, the former director of the Mykolaiv municipal enterprise “GDMB,” and two other participants in the scheme. According to the investigation, during the procurement of LED lights, the cost of the equipment was inflated by 6.2 million hryvnias. All three received suspended sentences and fines.

Law enforcement officials also announced that the head of the construction department of the South Ukrainian City Council is under suspicion. According to investigators, 6.8 million hryvnias in budget funds were embezzled during the repair of a heating main.

A separate section of the review is devoted to illicit enrichment. Iryna Kormyshkina, a Member of Parliament from the Mykolaiv region, reached a plea agreement with investigators in a case involving illicit enrichment totaling over 20 million hryvnias. The court sentenced her to five years of probation and ordered her to pay 20 million hryvnias to the state and an additional 2 million hryvnias to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In addition, the High Anti-Corruption Court continues to hear the case of Ihor Negulevskyi, a Member of Parliament from the Mykolaiv region, who is accused of bribery.

Among the verdicts that have already taken legal effect is the case of Oleksandr Tsymakh, the former head of the Administrative Services Center of the Sofiivka Village Council. The court found him guilty of embezzlement of budget funds, fraud, and money laundering, and sentenced him to eight years in prison with confiscation of property. According to the investigation, he embezzled over 1.5 million hryvnias in public funds.

Андрій Колісніченко