Official arrested in Mykolaiv over procurement of traffic lights

Mykolaiv's Ingulsky District Court has imposed a pre-trial restraint in the form of detention on an official of the municipal specialized installation and maintenance enterprise (KSMEP) suspected of embezzling budget funds during the purchase of traffic lights.

As Intent has learned from the court ruling, the leading lawyer of the enterprise acted in collusion with the director of KSMEP. Law enforcement officers believe that in 2025, officials agreed to pay for traffic lights, some of which were not actually delivered to the company.

The investigation revealed two episodes. The first one concerns the purchase of traffic lights, during which the utility company transferred more than UAH 1.55 million to the supplier. However, according to the investigation, five traffic lights worth more than UAH 130 thousand were never delivered.

The second episode involved the purchase of other traffic control equipment. At the end of 2025, the company transferred more than UAH 1.2 million to the supplier for traffic lights, which at the time of the inspection had not been delivered to the customer either.

In total, investigators are charging the officials with embezzlement of budget funds in the amount of more than UAH 1.3 million under martial law. The suspect was served a notice of suspicion under Parts 4 and 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

In court, the woman pleaded not guilty. Her defense stated that the equipment had been delivered or stored by the supplier, and no damage had been caused to the utility company.

Nevertheless, the court concluded that there were risks of hiding from the investigation, influencing witnesses and obstructing the investigation. Therefore, the suspect was taken into custody until June 20, 2026. At the same time, the court determined the possibility of bail in the amount of UAH 998.4 thousand.

Recently, in Mykolaiv, the court arrested documents of companies involved in criminal proceedings in the case of possible embezzlement of more than UAH 1.2 million of budget funds during the purchase of traffic lights for the city.

Андрій Колісніченко