National Police uncovers fraud with electricity tariffs for military in Odesa region

The police have served a notice of suspicion to the former head of Kyiv and Odesa energy companies and the company's director over overstating electricity prices by 25 million. The investigation believes that they misappropriated state budget funds by artificially raising tariffs for military units.

The details of the case were reported by Nashi Hroshi.

According to media reports, the suspects are the former heads of Kyiv and Odesa energy distribution companies and the director of Operator Ukraine LLC.

The police claimed that the suspects had illegally seized the funds, citing alleged fluctuations in electricity market prices. The head of the KeU signed a number of contracts with a controlled company to supply electricity to military units, and later the terms of the contracts were changed without objective reasons, artificially increasing the price. As a result, public funds in the amount of UAH 25 million were misappropriated.

The actions of the defendants are classified under Part 5 of Art. 191 of the Criminal Code (misappropriation or embezzlement on a large scale) and Part 4 of Art. 425 of the Criminal Code (negligence in military service). The criminal proceedings are under the supervision of the Specialized Defense Prosecutor's Office of the Prosecutor General's Office.

There are two proceedings in the court register related to the UEU and this firm. The Odesa Specialized Prosecutor's Office tried to collect UAH 17 million from Market Operator LLC under a 2021 contract worth UAH 56 million, but the court refused due to an improper defendant, noting that the Ministry of Defense is the administrator of public funds.

The case file shows that the contract was signed in April 2021 at a price of UAH 2.27 per kWh. In May, the market price fell by half, but the contract price was not reduced, and in July, the supplier demanded a 10% increase under the pretext of market fluctuations and continued to do so throughout the year. The contract price was artificially raised by 86%, and certificates from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry were used to justify the increase, although they reflected only the difference between the two dates, not real market fluctuations.

Thus, prices were raised when it was profitable for the supplier and not reduced when it was necessary to save public funds.

Artem Gerasymenko was the former head of the Kyiv and Odesa energy management companies, and Roman Horban is currently the head of the Kyiv energy management company. Since its foundation in 2019, the company has received public procurement contracts worth UAH 4.67 billion, with Kyiv Energy Management Company being the largest customer.

Also in Odesa, a court arrested the company's director, suspected of fraudulently supplying low-quality products to the National Guard. According to the investigation, the state suffered more than UAH 7 million in losses, while the total contract amount was UAH 97 million.

Анна Бальчінос