Signed acts for a program that didn't work: former deputy minister of social policy suspected of embezzling over UAH 23 million in state funds

A former Deputy Minister of Social Policy, who currently serves as an advisor to the Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine, has been notified of suspicion of official negligence. He is accused of signing acts for the payment of the development of the state system "E-social," which never became operational.

This is reported by UNN with reference to the Prosecutor General's Office.

Details

According to UNN sources, the person in question is Mykola Shambir, who was dismissed from the post of Deputy Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine in September 2019.

The investigation established that in 2018, the Ministry of Social Policy entered into an agreement with a consortium of four companies to create an electronic platform that was supposed to combine all data on social payments, benefits, and subsidies.

The contract value amounted to over $3.3 million. In 2018–2019, almost UAH 23.7 million of budget funds were transferred to the contractors.

At the same time, the program turned out to be unsuitable for use – it did not meet the requirements of the legislation and could not work with state registers. Therefore, in 2021, the contract was terminated.

In turn, auditors of the State Audit Service in 2024 confirmed: the tender was conducted with violations, and the companies' proposal should have been rejected at the selection stage.

The examination confirmed that the state suffered losses of almost UAH 23.7 million. Funds for the creation of "E-social" were provided by the World Bank within the framework of the project "Modernization of the Social Support System for the Population of Ukraine."

Now Ukraine has to return this money with interest.

The official's actions are qualified as official negligence that led to grave consequences (Part 2 of Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in the version effective until 01.07.2020).

The investigation is being conducted by the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv under the procedural guidance of the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office and with the operational support of the Cyber Security Department of the SBU.

Reference information about "E-social"

The Government approved the Regulation on the Unified Information and Analytical System for Social Support Management of the Population of Ukraine (E-social) in the summer of 2019. At that time, the Ministry of Social Policy was instructed not only to create "E-social" but also to fill the database with information available in other information systems used by structural units for social protection of the population by September 30, 2020. "E-social" was supposed to be launched on October 1, 2020.

It was planned that the system would be used for providing, assigning, and paying social support. According to Resolution No. 676, it was envisioned that through this system, electronic submission of documents would be possible with the help of an electronic digital signature. It was expected that thanks to "E-social," citizens would be able to apply for and manage the provision of all types of social support (including social services, targeted assistance to IDPs, subsidies, etc.).