In Odesa, a city council official is facing trial for overcharging on a building renovation project

Errors made during public procurement can cost the budget hundreds of thousands of hryvnias, even without any intent to commit corruption. According to the investigation, it was precisely because of such a decision by an official of the Odesa City Council that the state suffered financial losses.

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

According to the investigation, in April 2024, the department conducted a procurement process for major repairs to a residential building on Vitaliy Blazhko Slope in Odesa. The estimated value of the tender was nearly 8 million hryvnias.

Law enforcement officials claim that the official responsible for organizing and conducting the procurement improperly determined the estimated cost of the work. During her calculations, she unjustifiably included value-added tax (VAT) in the cost estimate, even though the law exempts construction work on the restoration of residential buildings financed from the budget from VAT.

In May 2024, following the results of the tender, the department entered into a contract with a contractor, the cost of which also included VAT.

According to the investigation’s findings, the local budget suffered losses totaling more than 370,000 hryvnias due to the official’s negligence.

During the pre-trial investigation, part of the losses incurred has already been reimbursed. At the same time, the prosecutor’s office filed a civil lawsuit to recover the remaining funds—over 235,000 hryvnias.

As reported by Intent, the Prozorro procurement documents listTetyana Bekrenyova—chief specialist of the department for coordinating public procurement activities—as the responsible official. Investigators believe that she failed to verify the legality of including VAT in the tender documentation and the contract with PJSC “Repair and Construction Division ‘Odesgolovpostach.’” In July 2026, the previously announced charge against her was changed to official negligence.

Анна Бальчінос