Officials of the Odesa City Council were exposed for embezzling over UAH 1.6 million during the supply of goods for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The issue of choosing a pre-trial detention measure for the suspects is currently being decided, UNN reports with reference to the Prosecutor General's Office.
Under the procedural guidance of prosecutors from the Prosecutor General's Office, officials of the Odesa City Council and heads of private enterprises who organized a scheme to seize budget funds of the territorial community of Odesa were exposed and detained.
Details
According to the investigation, the former director of the municipal security department of the Odesa City Council and his first deputy, acting in collusion with the heads of several private enterprises, groundlessly included the amount of value-added tax in the contract price when concluding an agreement for the supply of goods for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. These operations are exempt from VAT taxation in accordance with the law, so the officials groundlessly inflated the contract value and seized over UAH 1.6 million of the community's budget funds.
On October 31, 2025, law enforcement officers conducted 12 searches in Odesa, as well as in Odesa and Kyiv regions – at residences, in the offices of private companies, and in the municipal security department of the Odesa City Council.
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As a result of the conducted investigative actions, four former city council officials and heads of private enterprises were notified of suspicion of committing a crime under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (appropriation, embezzlement or seizure of another's property on a particularly large scale by abusing official position).
The issue of choosing a pre-trial detention measure for the suspects is currently being decided.
The pre-trial investigation is being carried out by the Main Investigative Department of the National Police of Ukraine under the procedural guidance of prosecutors of the Prosecutor General's Office with the operational support of the Security Service of Ukraine in Odesa region.