08 October 2026, 10:44
In Odessa, a company director faced a 10-year trial for embezzling public funds
Ця стаття також доступна українською
ILLUSTRATION: Intent/AI
In Odesa, the director of a company accused of embezzling more than 917,000 hryvnias during the reconstruction of a drainage system stood trial. She was sentenced to three years of restricted freedom but was exempted from serving the sentence due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
This is stated in the verdict of the Khadzhibey District Court of Odessa.
According to the case file, in 2012, Soyuz 2007 LLC won a tender to reconstruct and clean the drainage system in the city’s Suvorovsky District. The cost of the work exceeded 7 million hryvnias. The director signed certificates of completion, on the basis of which the contractor received payment from the city budget.
The prosecutor’s office alleged that the scope and cost of the work were overstated in these certificates, resulting in an overpayment from the budget.
The key point of contention was the amount of damage caused. Two construction and technical expert assessments were conducted in the case, and their conclusions differed significantly. One found that the cost of the work had been overstated by 917,637 hryvnias and 89 kopecks, while the other found it to be overstated by only 47,630 hryvnias and 64 kopecks.
The court examined the written evidence and expert opinions and questioned witnesses. Some of the testimony was lost due to technical issues.
The defendant did not admit guilt. She insisted that all work had been completed in full and that the completion reports had been approved by the client. In her opinion, the expert examination was flawed, and the discrepancies in the calculations did not indicate a crime.
The court interpreted all doubts in favor of the defendant. The prosecution’s evidence was deemed admissible. The court concluded that the fact of misappropriation of property through abuse of official position had been proven, though not on a particularly large scale.
The defendant was sentenced to three years of restricted freedom, with a two-year ban on holding management positions in the construction industry. However, since the crime was committed in 2012, the court exempted the LLC director from serving her sentence due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. The seizure of the businesswoman’s property was lifted.
