In the Odesa region, the case against a government official involving the purchase of pellets at inflated prices has been closed

The procurement of fuel pellets for schools in the Ivanivska community has become the subject of criminal proceedings due to suspicions of overpricing and losses to the local budget. At the same time, the court has not yet ruled on the official’s guilt.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.

According to the investigation, in the fall of 2022, Tetyana Shtykova, head of the Department of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Ivanivka Village Council, organized the purchase of 73 metric tons of wood pellets worth over one million hryvnias through the Prozorro system. Investigators noted that the expected price per metric ton was nearly 14,000 hryvnias, while the average market price at that time was approximately 3,000 hryvnias lower.

During the bidding process, one of the bids was rejected, after which the Department of Education signed a contract for the supply of fuel worth 1.021 million hryvnias. According to law enforcement estimates, due to the inflated purchase price, the community may have overpaid by more than 208 thousand hryvnias.

The official was charged with official negligence under Part 1 of Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. During the trial, the defense filed a motion with the court to exempt the defendant from criminal liability due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. The prosecutor did not object to this decision, nor did the representative of the Ivanivka Village Council.

In court, the defendant stated that she did not agree with the charges brought against her but supported the dismissal of the case. The court noted that the application of the statute of limitations does not require the defendant to admit guilt.

Since the events forming the basis of the charges occurred in September–October 2022, and the alleged offense is classified as a minor offense, the court concluded that the statute of limitations had already expired. As a result, the criminal proceedings were closed.

The court also lifted the seizure of a two-hectare plot of land imposed during the investigation and ordered the state to cover the costs of forensic examinations, amounting to over 17,000 hryvnias.

The prosecutor’s office’s civil claim for compensation for alleged damages in favor of the Ivanivka Village Council and the Department of Education was dismissed. The court explained that the issue of compensation could be resolved separately in civil proceedings.

Additionally, a procurement for the municipal enterprise “Odesa City Heat Supply” came under scrutiny by law enforcement due to a possible significant overpricing of materials. An expert examination revealed that the market price of most goods could have been several times lower than the amount specified in the contract.

Анна Бальчінос