Participants in a port renovation project will stand trial in Odesa

In Odesa, participants in a scheme to embezzle funds during the repair of the port’s railway infrastructure will stand trial. According to the investigation, the state-owned enterprise suffered losses of nearly 5 million hryvnias due to inflated material costs and forged documents.

This was reported by the BEB press service.

According to the investigation, in 2023, the founder and ultimate beneficial owner of a private company organized a scheme to embezzle funds from the Odesa branch of the state-owned enterprise “Administration of Seaports of Ukraine.” To carry out the scheme, she enlisted the nominal director of a company under her control and certain officials of the state-owned enterprise.

Investigators determined that even before work began, the participants in the scheme allegedly included inflated prices for construction materials in the design and cost estimate documentation. This subsequently allowed them to receive larger payments from the state-owned enterprise’s budget.

The company under her control won the tender for major repairs to tracks and turnouts at the Port of Odesa. The total value of the contract exceeded 16 million hryvnias.

According to law enforcement officials, false data regarding the cost of materials used was entered into the work reports during the course of the project. This included rails, ties, turnouts, reinforced concrete structures, and other components. In some cases, prices were inflated by two to three times. For example, one set of switches was listed in the documentation at nearly 2 million hryvnias, although its actual cost was about 703,000 hryvnias.

To conceal the scheme, according to investigators, the contractors used forged expense invoices issued in the names of third-party companies. During the investigation, representatives of these companies stated that they had not supplied any materials to the contractor, and law enforcement officials found no evidence of the corresponding financial transactions.

According to the findings of the expert examination, the state-owned enterprise suffered losses of nearly 5 million hryvnias. At the same time, the total amount of funds transferred to the contractor for the work performed exceeded 15.3 million hryvnias.

The mastermind behind the scheme is charged with organizing the embezzlement of property through abuse of official position on an especially large scale. The perpetrator is suspected of embezzlement, official forgery, and the use of forged documents. The court will determine the further fate of those involved in the case.

In April, an official atthe “Chornomorsk” Sea Trade Port in the Odesa region was found guilty of official negligence, which resulted in losses amounting to millions. 

Анна Бальчінос