The case of "kickbacks" in Poltava: NABU recorded conversations of Oleksandr Mamay about corruption schemes

The case of "kickbacks" in Poltava: NABU recorded conversations of Oleksandr Mamay about corruption schemes

Former mayor of Poltava Oleksandr Mamay, according to information announced during a HACC hearing, negotiated with contractors regarding the transfer of “kickbacks” in exchange for the Housing and Utilities Department not obstructing road repairs.

This is reported by the outlet “Poltavshchyna”.

Conversations between Mamay and local contractors suggest that Brazhnyk may have been delivering bribes to Kyiv. Former “Servant of the People” MP Oleksandr Trukhin is also mentioned in the negotiations.

The individuals in question are representatives of LLC “Transdorcom” and LLC “DRSU Poltava” — Volodymyr Tuzenko and Viktor Pryadko. They have also been served with notices of suspicion under Part 3, Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (providing unlawful benefit to an official). The fourth suspect is Deputy Head of the City Housing and Utilities Department Maksym Teslenko, who, like Brazhnyk, was notified of suspicion under Part 4, Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. According to the investigation, one of the episodes involves Yuriy Brazhnyk receiving a bribe in the amount of UAH 7.7 million.

SAPO prosecutor read out excerpts from the recorded conversations. In particular, they mentioned meetings of the suspects with the long-time contractor of the Housing and Utilities Department — owner of the company “Budivelnyk 2016” Hryhoriy Khachaturyan, who has long been acquainted with Mamay. During these meetings, the payment of “kickbacks” for contracts in exchange for removing obstacles from the Housing and Utilities Department was discussed.

Among the materials presented by the prosecutor was also information about a meeting between Viktor Pryadko, Hryhoriy Khachaturyan, and Oleksandr Mamay. Investigators believe they were coordinating a mechanism for transferring funds via digital codes at the X-Change currency exchange located in Poltava at 46 Sobornosti Street.

Below are fragments of the transcript of this conversation.

Mamay: Previously, the person I knew gave a QR code. And now they give a number, right?

Pryadko: Yes, top-up, right.
Mamay: Top-up? And top-up to some card? Card number or what?
Pryadko: No, there’s some scheme in this same…
Khachaturyan: Code number.
Mamay: What?
Khachaturyan: They give a number, a code. You go and say the code.
Mamay: Well, okay. Maksym (Teslenko — ed.) gives you the code. You go, and he gives you a piece of paper, right? Well, the code.
Khachaturyan: Gives the number.
Mamay: Sends it to the phone?
Khachaturyan: You go into Change. Payment is in numbers there. That’s what I understood.
Mamay: And who gives you the number?
Khachaturyan: Didn’t understand.
Mamay: Who gives you the number?
Khachaturyan: Maksym gives it.

In another fragment of the conversation, Mamay asks:

Mamay: Basically, as I understood it, everything depends on Maksym (Teslenko — ed.), right?

Pryadko: Of course. Brazhnyk takes everything for himself. Takes it for himself and carries it somewhere to Kyiv. Who knows, maybe Trukhin supports him there? He says everyone is his. But I doubt he has a relative there, something…

Investigators’ version of the money transfer scheme
The SAPO prosecutor noted that investigators had recorded how Yuriy Brazhnyk withdrew funds that arrived via digital codes provided to contractors by Maksym Teslenko.