Kherson region official embezzled budget money on virtual platforms

The former acting head of one of the village councils in Beryslav district was found guilty of fraud with budget funds.

According to the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office, he was served a notice of suspicion of embezzlement of budget funds on a large scale and forgery. The official's actions were classified under Part 4 of Article 191 and Part 1 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

According to the investigation, in 2019, the suspect entered into an agreement for the arrangement of sports, gymnastic and children's playgrounds in one of the settlements of the Velyko Oleksandrivska community. However, he signed the acceptance certificates knowing that the work had not actually been performed.

As a result, the private enterprise was illegally transferred more than UAH 500,000 under a payment order. This amount was a significant loss to the state budget.

Investigative actions are ongoing, and law enforcement officers are collecting evidence to bring the suspect to justice.

Meanwhile, the State Bureau of Investigation has completed an investigation into the former director of the Department for Civil Protection and Defense of the Kherson Regional State Administration. The official is accused of purchasing low-quality clothing for military personnel, which caused the state losses of more than UAH 21 million.

The court recently imposed a pre-trial restraint on two officials suspected of extortion. One of them is the deputy head of the Kherson regional municipal emergency service. They demanded 10% of the contract amount, which amounted to UAH 199 thousand. Officials threatened the businessman that if he refused, he would not be able to continue his activities in Kherson and the region.

In addition, an investigation was completed in Kherson region into two members of an organized group who extorted money from drivers of overloaded trucks.

Ірина Глухова