Odesa convicts coastal defense contractor in Fontanka

A court in Odesa has found guilty the director of a construction company that was engaged in coastal protection in the village of Fontanka.

This was reported by the press service of the Territorial Department of the Bureau of Economic Security in Odesa Oblast.

The director was found guilty of forging documents on the alleged supply of construction materials for coastal defense.

According to Serhii Muntyan, Head of the Territorial Department of the BES, during the pre-trial investigation, detectives found that the company had received a contract for the reconstruction of the Black Sea coast worth more than UAH 15 million. After the contract was signed, the contractor received an advance payment of UAH 3 million from the local budget.

Subsequently, the director of the company issued fictitious documents for the supply of materials that were not actually purchased or delivered. These forged documents became the basis for making payments for the work performed. After a change in the leadership of the village council, the contract with the company was terminated and the advance funds were returned. However, the head of the village council subsequently signed a new contract with another company that was controlled by the previous contractor.

The director of the construction company was fined and deprived of the right to hold positions related to the performance of administrative and managerial functions at enterprises of any form of ownership for a period of three years.

In April 2025, deputies of the Fontansky village council voted to pass a motion of no confidence in the council chairman, Natalia Krupytsia, and to terminate her powers early.

The Kyiv District Court of Odesa temporarily removed Natalia Krupytsia from office on February 11. She was detained a week earlier. After that, the court ruled to arrest the head, giving her the opportunity to be released on bail in the amount of UAH 9 million 84 thousand. On February 3, she was re-suspected in a case related to the coastal fortification in the village of Kryzhanivka. The investigation began in 2013, when she was the head of the Kryzhanivka village council.

Then, after the construction of a protective buna under her leadership, sea currents changed, and massive amounts of algae began to accumulate on the beaches of Kryzhanivka and the northern part of Odesa. This led to suspicions of misappropriation of more than UAH 2.7 million, which Krupytsia and the head of the contractor organization were accused of. However, in October 2023, the Prymorskyi Court of Odesa declared the evidence invalid and the defendants innocent.

According to law enforcement officials, Krupytsia was notified of being suspected of two articles: misappropriation of property by abuse of office and forgery. She faces up to 12 years in prison with disqualification to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years and confiscation of property.

As explained by the police, Krupytsia, having entered into a contract with a construction firm for the reconstruction of the embankment along the Black Sea coast, deliberately gave the contractor the opportunity to misappropriate budget funds.

Кирило Бойко