Kherson Regional State Administration officials suspected of misappropriating 6 million

Mykolaiv law enforcement officers are investigating the spending of budget funds by former and current officials of the Department of Civil Protection and Defense of the Kherson Regional State Administration.

This became known from the relevant court ruling.

According to the investigation, the defendants in the case lobbied and entered into contracts with a group of entrepreneurs for the purchase of anti-drone nets and other materials for installation for a total of 32.5 million. The court ruling conceals the names of the entrepreneurs. However, it is known that there are six entrepreneurs. It is noted that the individual entrepreneurs are from Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.

All of them started active tender activity only this year, having received contracts from the Department of Civil Protection and Defense.

The investigation found that officials of the Kherson Regional State Administration organized a mechanism for embezzling budget funds worth more than UAH 6.4 million by inflating prices for materials needed for defense.

The scheme involved the use of controlled individual entrepreneurs. These individual entrepreneurs purchased nets and fasteners from real suppliers from different regions, but did not actually conduct financial activities, performing only a nominal function.

The materials were then sold under contracts concluded with the Department of Civil Protection at deliberately inflated prices. Law enforcement officers found that the markup exceeded 25% of the supplier's total profit, which is a direct violation of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine's resolution regulating defense procurement.

The individual entrepreneurs were used to cash in budget funds and create an artificial, false price offer. Currently, the court has granted police investigators temporary access to items and documents related to the scheme of the RSA officials, and the investigation is ongoing.

Катерина Глушко