Mykolaiv Court Extends Fraud Suspect's Obligations Over ₴1.3M Case

A court in Mykolaiv has extended the term of procedural obligations for a fraud suspect by over UAH 1.3 million. The defendant seized the company's funds by promising to sell agricultural products that he did not have.

The Central District Court of Mykolaiv ruled to extend the term of procedural obligations for the suspected fraudster. The defendant in the case is a resident of the Kazankivskyi district of Mykolaiv region, who is accused of misappropriating other people's funds by deception.

According to the investigation, the suspect, using the status of the beneficial owner of EC Vikerkaar, organized a criminal scheme to seize funds from another company, Venol Group LLC. He offered the company's representative to buy 100 tons of sunflower seeds for UAH 1.3 million, although he did not actually have the products.

To legalize the transaction, the offender sent an electronic draft of the supply agreement, which listed SMA Logistic LLC as the seller. The head of this company was not aware of the fraudulent activity. According to the contract, the buyer was to transfer funds to bank accounts that were actually controlled by the suspect.

After the payments were made in February 2024, the money was written off in favor of a private enforcement officer who collected the debt of SMA Logistic LLC to the suspect's company. As a result of the financial fraud, 1.3 million actually ended up at the disposal of EC Vickerkaar, while Venol Group never received the goods.

The court found the suspect guilty of misappropriation of other people's funds on an especially large scale (Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Since the case is still at the pre-trial investigation stage, the prosecutor's office filed a motion to extend the term of procedural obligations, which the court granted.

The court order stipulates that the suspect is obliged to

• not to leave his place of residence without the investigator's permission;
• appear for interrogations at the first request;
• not to communicate with witnesses in the case;
• not to change the place of registration or residence without the consent of law enforcement agencies.

These obligations have been extended until March 9, 2025. Law enforcement officers continue the investigation to find out all the details of the financial fraud and identify other possible participants in the criminal scheme.

Recently, in Mykolaiv region, an official was suspected of misappropriating budget funds allocated for the repair of a local lyceum shelter. The court imposed on him a measure of restraint in the form of house arrest. The court also denied a motion to cancel the seizure of property in the case of embezzlement of budget funds. The case concerned the illegal payment of wages to an employee of a utility company who did not actually work there.

The number of fraud cases in Ukraine has decreased. In 2024, more than 60,000 criminal proceedings were opened, but only one in four of them goes to trial.

Анна Літман