Officials of the Odesa City Council embezzled 1.6 million hryvnias by inflating the cost of goods for the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Officials of the Odesa City Council embezzled 1.6 million hryvnias by inflating the cost of goods for the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Officials of the Odesa City Council and heads of private companies, who organized a scheme to embezzle funds, have been identified and detained.

According to the investigation, the former director of the Municipal Security Department of the Odesa City Council and his first deputy, in collusion with the heads of several private companies, unjustifiably added the value-added tax amount to the contract cost while signing a contract for the supply of goods for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Such operations are exempt from VAT taxation under the law, so the officials artificially inflated the contract value and misappropriated over 1.6 million UAH of the community’s budget funds.

On October 31, law enforcement officers conducted 12 searches in Odesa, as well as in the territories of Odesa and Kyiv regions – at places of residence, in the offices of private companies, and in the Municipal Security Department of the Odesa City Council.

As a result of the investigative actions, four former city council officials and heads of private companies were notified of suspicion of committing a crime under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.