Suspects appear in Odesa Zoo case

The police served suspicion notices to the director of the contractor company that repaired the heating system in the Odesa Zoo and the technical supervision engineer.

This was reported by the press service of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa Oblast.

In particular, the 58-year-old contractor is suspected of misappropriation of another's property by abuse of office on a particularly large scale, and under martial law, and of entering false information into official documents. If found guilty, the maximum penalty for these crimes is up to twelve years with disqualification to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years and confiscation of property. The suspect was chosen as a measure of restraint in the form of custody with the right to be released on bail in the amount of UAH 2 million 548.7 thousand.

The 53-year-old technical supervision engineer is suspected of gross negligence that led to grave consequences for the state interests protected by law. If convicted, the man faces up to five years in prison with disqualification to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years. The court imposed on him a measure of restraint in the form of nightly house arrest.

The police found that according to the contract concluded in 2025 between the municipal institution Odesa Zoological Park of National Importance and a private company specializing in the installation of water supply networks, heating and air conditioning systems, the latter was to overhaul the heating system with the replacement of boiler equipment with a total estimate of more than UAH 4.7 million.

However, in the course of the work, the director of the contractor had the intention to misappropriate funds allocated from the local budget for the repair. The man personally drafted and signed official documents in which he entered deliberately false information in the form of overstating the value of unit indicators of construction and installation works, the list and materials used in the preparation of reporting documentation compared to the value of unit indicators stipulated by the terms of the contract of acceptance certificates for construction works.

For its part, the local certified entrepreneur authorized to carry out technical supervision and control over the condition of the work performed did not conduct a proper check of its scope and quality and approved the acceptance certificates for the construction work performed. As a result, almost UAH 2.5 million more was unjustifiably transferred from the budget to the contractor's account, which was confirmed by an expert opinion.

Кирило Бойко