In Odessa, a scheme to embezzle 12 million from the renovation of a children's arts center was uncovered

The Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office, in collaboration with officials from the Economic Security Bureau, has charged the founder of a contracting firm and a former Odesa City Council official with conspiracy and embezzlement of 12 million hryvnias from the budget.

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

According to the office, those involved in the scheme include the founder and director of the contracting firm, which carried out repair and restoration work, as well as a former Odesa City Council official who was responsible for overseeing the work.

According to the investigation, the founder of an LLC specializing in construction work organized a scheme to embezzle budget funds. He carried out the scheme through a tender for repair and restoration work at one of the children’s creative centers. The Capital Construction Department of the Odesa City Council served as the contracting authority for the work.

The company had previously performed work at the same facility. Consequently, the perpetrators managed to secure a repeat contract for services and the continuation of repair and restoration work. As a result of the bidding process, a separate contract worth over 46 million hryvnias was signed between the company and the local government agency.

According to the investigation, between December 2020 and August 2022, the perpetrators inflated the volumes and costs of construction, installation, and finishing work in official documents, as well as the costs of materials and equipment used.

In addition, work that was not actually performed, as well as materials and equipment that were not actually used at the site, were included in the reporting documentation. Specifically, this involved the installation of doors, staircases, metal components, and other equipment that were entirely absent.

In 2021, the mastermind behind the scheme formally appointed an engineer as the company’s director. This change in leadership was intended to conceal his role in the illegal activities and make it more difficult to uncover the criminal scheme.

The founder of the LLC is charged with organizing the misappropriation of property and forgery of official documents. The director is charged with complicity in the misappropriation and falsification of official documents. Both company representatives were notified of the charges in absentia. The former head of the OMR department was notified of suspicion of abuse of office.

Based on the contract amount and the timing, I found a procurement listing in the Prozorro system for which the department had entered into an agreement with the limited liability company “Odesmiskbud” for repair and restoration work, including the reinforcement of the foundations of the “Odesa Center for Children’s and Youth Creativity ‘Dyvosvit’” building. 

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According to the YouControl service, the company was registered in 2016 in Odesa; its current owner is Yuriy Voronov, and its director is Volodymyr Malyarov. Until April 2021, Oleg Belosevich wasanother ultimate beneficial owner .  

Кирило Бойко