Searches are ongoing in Kyiv at the Department of Public Communications of the Kyiv City State Administration and subordinate municipal enterprises. The city hall claims that the actions of law enforcement officers are a tool of pressure and an attempt to discredit.
According to the official statement of the administration, the searches are carried out without prior requests or court decisions to obtain documents. The department notes that employees provide investigators with the requested materials, which are already in the public domain. At the same time, the searches, according to officials, have effectively blocked the work of institutions and their enterprises.
" Law enforcement officers continue to use courts and searches as a tool to pressure and discredit the activities of the Kyiv City State Administration ," the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration said in a statement.
On August 13, prosecutors from the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office and district prosecutor's offices, together with the police and the State Bureau of Investigation, announced suspicions against 22 individuals, including officials of municipal enterprises and structural divisions of the Kyiv City State Administration. They are suspected of official negligence and aiding and abetting the embezzlement of budget funds. The amount of losses is estimated at over UAH 230 million.
Examples include the suspension of metro train traffic on the section from Lybidska to Teremki and inflated costs for repairs and the supply of goods.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko called the suspicions against officials “information smoke” on August 14. According to him, since 2019, the central government has been putting pressure on Kyiv, trying to disorganize the city’s governance, and such actions are even making it difficult to provide assistance to the Ukrainian military.
In addition to the searches, an audit by the State Audit Service is being prepared. Its head, Alla Basalayeva, confirmed that the auditors will inspect the Department of Economy and Investments of the Kyiv City State Administration, even despite the lack of an invitation from the mayor of the capital.
