In Mykolaiv, brother of high-ranking official remains in custody in kickback case

Mykolaiv utility company employee Serhiy Bezdolnyi will remain in custody following a court of appeal decision. The brother of Dmytro Bezdolnyi, the director of the housing and communal services department, is a defendant in a corruption case in the city.

This was reported by MikVisti.

"The Mykolaiv Court of Appeal upheld the preventive measure against Serhiy Bezdolnyi, a suspect in a corruption case involving the purchase of 65 street lighting cabinets," the media outlet reports.

On April 15, Vitovsky District Court placed Bezdolnyi under arrest with the possibility of bail in the amount of UAH 4 million 996 thousand 200. The bail has not yet been paid. The measure of restraint is valid until June 14.

According to the regional prosecutor's office, on April 9, investigators served a notice of suspicion to Serhiy Bezdolnyi, an employee of the Self-Supporting Construction Mechanization Section, and Vasyl Protsyshyn, an entrepreneur from Lviv region. According to the investigation, they organized a scheme to embezzle city budget funds during the purchase of equipment worth more than UAH 5.3 million. As a result, according to law enforcement estimates, the city lost almost UAH 600 thousand through so-called "kickbacks" - 13% of the amount excluding VAT.

Serhiy Bezdolnyi is charged under Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which provides for up to eight years in prison. In addition, he is the brother of Dmytro Bezdolnyi, director of the Housing and Utilities Department of Mykolaiv City Council. The official himself previously stated that he was considering temporarily leaving his position due to the situation with his relative. His wife also works for the same utility company.

For his part, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych assured that the city council would facilitate the investigation.

Ірина Глухова