Odesa utility company official left in jail for booking scheme

In Odesa, the court has extended the pre-trial restraint for an official of a municipal enterprise whom the investigation believes to be involved in a fictitious employment scheme. Last fall, the Center for Public Investigations found that dozens of men avoided mobilization and misappropriated budget funds through this scheme.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.

It is about the head of the HR department of the municipal enterprise "Housing and Communal Services "Porto-Frankivsk", who is accused of participating in the organization of an illegal mechanism for registering employees only "on paper".

The investigation believes that together with other employees of the enterprise, he set up a scheme with so-called"dead souls". People were officially employed, although in fact they did not work, received salaries and had reserves for mobilization.

According to investigators, about 90 people could have been involved in the scheme. Some of them received official reservations through territorial recruitment centers, which made it possible to avoid conscription during martial law. At the same time, they did not perform any real work, and money was withdrawn from their bank accounts by unauthorized persons.

As part of the investigation, law enforcement officers conducted dozens of searches, during which they seized bank cards, cell phones, and draft documents. They also interrogated more than a hundred witnesses, most of whom confirmed that the fictitiously registered employees did not actually work for the company.

In addition, investigators recorded correspondence and telephone conversations between the participants in the scheme, which, according to law enforcement, indicate a clear coordination of actions to evade mobilization. Data from mobile operators also showed that the so-called "employees" were not at their workplaces during working hours.

The court ruled to keep the suspect in custody until June 24, 2026 in the Odesa pre-trial detention center. The court also extended the custody of the acting director of the Porto-Frankivsk Housing and Communal Services, who is also suspected of involvement in the scheme.

Last year, Intent and the Center for Public Investigations found that despite criminal proceedings, the criticality status was restored even to those housing cooperatives whose managers are under investigation.

Анна Бальчінос