In the Odesa region, a government official and an engineer are suspected of embezzling one million

In the Odesa region, a village council official and a technical supervision engineer have been notified of charges against them. They are accused of embezzling nearly one million hryvnias in budget funds.

This was reported by the Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office.  

According to the investigation, in November 2023, the village council entered into a contract with a contractor for additional work on the reconstruction of a stadium worth over 6.5 million hryvnias. In fact, the work was not performed, but the official indicated in the documents that it had been completed. The technical supervision engineer certified the documents with his signature and seal without verifying their authenticity. 

Based on the falsified documents, budget funds were transferred to the company for work that was never performed. As a result, the community suffered losses of nearly one million hryvnias.

As Intent previously reported, in the first six months of 2026, law enforcement officials in the Odesa region uncovered budget fraud totaling over 52 million hryvnias. The money was supposed to go to schools, hospitals, roads, and shelters, but part of it ended up in the wrong pockets.

Over the course of six months, prosecutors notified suspects of their involvement in nearly 30 schemes involving abuse of office, negligence, and embezzlement of public funds.

The money disappeared during the procurement of fuel and electricity for schools and preschools, the construction of shelters for children, the renovation of a children’s arts center, the implementation of government programs to support farmers, payments made during the COVID-19 pandemic, the procurement of traffic light equipment, and the purchase of containers for the Defense Forces.

Юлія Калабайда