Law enforcement has uncovered a large-scale scheme involving the embezzlement of funds designated for the needs of the Ukrainian army, amounting to 138 million UAH. Thirty officials from nearly all regions of Ukraine are suspected of being involved in this scheme, according to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
The report indicates that officials from housing and utility departments and businesspeople in almost every region of Ukraine are suspected of being involved in the embezzlement. Following investigative actions, 30 officials have been detained and charged, with 15 of them being part of organized criminal groups.
Some officials are also suspected of negligence in their military duties and illegal enrichment.
Among the suspects are three heads of housing and utility departments in Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, seven heads of housing and utility departments in Kropyvnytskyi, Chernihiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zhytomyr, Volyn, and Luhansk regions, as well as representatives of commercial structures.
"Officials are charged with embezzlement and misappropriation of funds used for purchasing overvalued firewood for defense needs, electricity, natural gas, army furniture, construction work on military infrastructure, as well as abuse of office, negligence in military service, creation and leadership of a criminal organization, and participation in it. One suspect, a regional head of a housing and utility department, is accused of unlawfully acquiring assets worth 11.7 million UAH in the form of commercial property, land plots, and other assets by transferring them to a trusted person," reports the Office of the Prosecutor General.
As part of the investigation, law enforcement conducted over 70 searches at the premises of structural units of territorial housing and utility departments and enterprises across Ukraine.
The issue of choosing preventive measures for the suspects is currently being resolved.
Investigative actions are ongoing. The special operation to uncover the scheme was conducted jointly by the State Bureau of Investigation, Security Service, National Police, Strategic Investigations Department, Economic Security Bureau, with support from the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and under the procedural guidance of the Special Prosecutor's Office in the field of defense within the Office of the Prosecutor General.
