In Odesa, the case against a former official for forgery in procurement for the Armed Forces of Ukraine was closed

The former first deputy director of the Odesa City Council’s Department of Municipal Security and the director of a private company have avoided criminal charges. The portion of the case involving the forgery of documents during the procurement of armor plates has now been closed.

The Center for Public Investigations examined the details of the case.

In March 2022, the Municipal Security Department of the Odesa City Council entered into a contract with the company “Everlast” for the supply of over 20.8 metric tons of steel plates. The purchase was valued at over 5.6 million hryvnias.

According to the investigation, the company’s director signed a delivery note on March 25, 2022. It stated that the Department of Municipal Security had received 20,826 kilograms of metal plates. However, investigators determined that the goods were not imported into Ukraine until April 14.

According to the case file, the first deputy director of the Department of Municipal Security received the delivery note and certified it with his signature on behalf of the department. The document was subsequently forwarded to the accounting department and the State Treasury Service, after which funds were transferred from the local budget to the account of Everlast LLC.

Investigators also examined the documents regarding the secure storage of the slabs. These documents stated that the goods had already been transferred to the company, although in fact they were not yet there at that time—they were imported into Ukraine later.

In court, the defense attorneys for both men requested that the case be dismissed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. However, the prosecutors objected to this.

According to the OpenDataBot resource, Vyacheslav Kovalenko was the director of Everlast LLC at that time.

At the time of the procurement, the department was headed by Yuriy Savchenko, and his deputy was Viktor Kuznetsov.

In the summer of 2024, both officials were implicated in another investigation into possible abuses during government procurement for the Defense Forces, related to inflated prices for armor plates, clothing, and ammunition for Odesa’s defense needs. In July 2024, they were sent to a pretrial detention center and subsequently suspended from their duties.

Анна Літман