The court refused to freeze the assets of an Odessa City Hall official in a case involving negligence

The case involving allegations of official negligence during the renovation of a high-rise building in Odesa continued in court. However, the court did not authorize the seizure of the official’s property.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.

Investigators believe that the chief specialist of the Odesa City Council’s Department of Municipal Services committed official negligence during the procurement process for the major renovation of a residential building at 14 Marineska Descent (now Vitaliy Blazhko Descent).

According to law enforcement, VAT was unjustifiably included in the contract price, even though the work was not subject to taxation. As a result, the contractor was allegedly overpaid more than 374,000 hryvnias from the city budget.

In the Prozorro procurement documents, Tetyana Bekrenyova —chief specialist of the Department for Coordination of Public Procurement Activities—is listed as the responsible official. Investigators believe she failed to verify the legality of including VAT in the tender documentation and the contract with PJSC “Odessgolovpostach Repair and Construction Division.” In July 2026, the previously announced charge against her was changed to official negligence.

As reported by Intent, in March, the department conducted a new procurement process for the major renovation of this building. PJSC “Odessgolovpostach Repair and Construction Division” was once again selected as the winner. This is already the second revision of the project. The first revision was approved in April 2024, when the cost of the work was nearly 8 million hryvnias. Later, the contract amount was reduced to 5.74 million hryvnias.

The first tender for the building’s renovation was announced back in 2021. It was won by BM Granit LLC, which offered to perform the work for 23.9 million hryvnias. However, at the end of 2022, the contract was terminated due to force majeure.

The prosecutor’s office plans to file a lawsuit to recover more than 374,000 hryvnias in damages. To this end, the investigator requested that the official’s land plot, garden house, and bank accounts—excluding those used to receive her salary and social benefits—be seized.

However, the judge denied this motion and noted that the prosecutor’s office’s intention to file a lawsuit does not, in and of itself, constitute grounds for seizing property. 

Also, in early July,the court heard the caseof Natalia Lesna,the former head of the public procurement division at the Odesa Municipal Economy Department. She isaccused of professional negligence during the restoration of a building following a Russian strike. 

Анна Бальчінос