Mykolaiv region: Head of defense company and contractor to be tried for embezzlement

The head of a defense company and a contractor will be tried in Mykolaiv region for embezzling two million hryvnias. The defendants face up to 12 years in prison.

This was reported by the press service of the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police of Ukraine.

According to the investigation, in January 2021, the companies entered into an agreement to provide services for the modernization of stands for control and acceptance tests of engines and a turbine generator.

During January-September 2021, the businessman, acting intentionally, for mercenary reasons, did not carry out the above work in full.

The contractor completed part of the work, but not all of it. At the same time, the director of the defense enterprise signed an acceptance certificate containing false information, on the basis of which the commercial entity received funds. Thus, the investigation established that the criminals caused damage to the state in excess of two million hryvnias.

In May, the suspects were served with a notice of suspicion, and the case was referred to court. Their actions are classified as embezzlement and forgery (Part 5 of Article 191 and Part 2 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The pre-trial investigation was conducted by detectives of the BES in Odesa region under the supervision of the Mykolaiv Specialized Defense Prosecutor's Office.

Also in Mykolaiv region, entrepreneurs turned assistance to the military into a profitable scheme. The pseudo-volunteers decided to make money on cars for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the first weeks of the full-scale invasion, the government simplified the procedure for importing cars into Ukraine, allowing imports without duties and fees.

However, in the summer of 2022, all taxes and fees on car imports were reinstated. The only way to avoid expensive customs clearance was to import cars as humanitarian aid. This also applies to vehicles for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Earlier, in Mykolaiv, the prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit to invalidate an energy procurement contract. It turned out that the winning bidder was under sanctions from the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

Анна Бальчінос