In Odessa, three years later, officials were suspected of embezzlement in connection with building repairs

Denis Gusak, an accountant at a construction company, has been notified that he is suspected of embezzling public funds and committing official forgery. According to investigators, the cost of work may have been inflated during the renovation of a building in Odesa.

The Center for Public Investigations examined the details of the case.

According to the case file, in 2023, the Capital Construction Department of the Odesa City Council entered into a contract with the private enterprise “Vidnovlennia-Pivden” for major repairs, including preparatory work, valued at 16.6 million hryvnias. The contractor was required to complete the work by the end of that same year. There were no competitors in the procurement process.

According to the investigation, the execution of the contract under martial law may have caused 2.1 million hryvnias in losses to the city budget. Law enforcement officials also believe that the company’s accountant entered false information about the actual cost of the work into the documents.

In September 2026, Gusak was notified that he was suspected of misappropriating property through abuse of office and official forgery. 

Accordingto theYouControl analytical system, the private enterprise “Vidnovlennia-Pivden” was founded in 2004. Its authorized capital is 2 million hryvnias, and its founder and director is Heorhii Markosov.

Between 2023 and 2025, the company received over 117 million hryvnias in government contracts. The largest amount was in 2023, when the sum exceeded 56 million.

Currently, there are no criminal proceedings listed in the system regarding “Vidnovlennia-Pivden.” However, as stated in a ruling by the Odessa Commercial Court, in 2023, the Capital Construction Department of the Odessa City Council contracted the company to repair the roof of the Children’s Consultative and Diagnostic Center on Dvoryanska Street for 12 million.

At the time the contract was signed, however, the budget for the project had allocated only 3 million. According to law enforcement officials, the work never actually began. In December 2025, the parties carried over nearly the entire contract amount—11.97 million hryvnias—to 2026. The prosecutor’s office challenged this supplementary agreement in court.

Also, in August, while a shelter was being built at one of Odesa’s kindergartens, law enforcement officials discovered a possible overpricing of the work.

Анна Літман