SMEP Director calls accusations of overpricing traffic lights disinformation

The information published last week by the media about overpricing during the procurement and installation of uninterruptible power supplies for traffic lights in the city is not true, according to the director of the company that carried out these purchases.

This was stated by Petro Stoyanov , head of the municipal enterprise Specialized Installation and Maintenance Unit (SMU), during a meeting of the Standing Committee on Planning, Budget and Finance.

"This is disinformation. Moreover, this information is still being verified. Back in 2024, law enforcement officers were provided with documents. The issue somehow got stuck and we do not understand what is happening there," he said.

Last week, detectives from the Bureau of Economic Security and prosecutors searched the premises of the municipal enterprise Specialized Installation and Maintenance Unit of the Odesa City Council. The detectives found that officials of three private companies acted in collusion with employees of the municipal institution responsible for road safety. They developed and implemented a fraudulent scheme to embezzle budget funds.

"During 2024, a utility company of the Odesa City Council conducted 11 procurement procedures for the supply of balls for discharge lamps and tubes. The total value of the concluded agreements amounted to almost UAH 40.9 million," the statement said.

All tenders, according to the BES, were won by two companies that, as it turned out, were not involved in the production of uninterruptible power supplies for traffic light facilities. In fact, the equipment was manufactured by a third company, and the winners of the tenders were used as a seal to artificially inflate the cost of the supply by more than five times.

During the meeting of the executive committee, Trukhanov asked his subordinates to assist law enforcement officers in conducting their inspections and obtaining all the documents they wanted to see.

"We are working with you today, like the whole country during martial law. We have staff shortages in almost every department, in every office. The burden on people is very high, so transparency, openness and assistance to law enforcement officers is essential to ensure that they carry out all their procedures," said the head of Odesa.

According to the mayor of the city, Gennadiy Trukhanov, nothing unusual is happening.

"I am sure that we have no violations," he added.

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