The investigation focuses on officials of the Odessa Regional Military Administration, whom the investigation suspects of organizing a mechanism for the illegal use of international funds allocated for the construction of a dual-purpose civil defense facility in the city of Vylkove. The case is registered under number №72024161010000017 (dated 11/28/2024); the proceedings are being investigated by the Territorial Department of the Bureau of Economic Security in the Odessa region on the grounds of a criminal offense under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
According to information received by the investigation, the tender for the construction of the shelter was awarded to Trade Development Group LLC, a company associated with an entrepreneur named Kiper. According to investigators, the project estimate was overstated almost threefold: from the initial UAH 16 million to over UAH 46 million - without proper explanations and approvals from donors.
Further, some of the funds were allegedly transferred to the accounts of subcontractors that have signs of fictitiousness — in particular, Astarta-Build LLC and Skylimit Engineering LLC, which, according to the investigation, are registered to individuals without real business experience and live in temporarily occupied Crimea.
According to the investigation, the funds were then transferred to related companies abroad - in Poland, Latvia and Cyprus, from where they were withdrawn in the form of "offshore" transactions. Among the possible beneficiaries is the financial advisor Kiper, who, according to the investigation, was noticed at international digital transformation events in Vienna and Tallinn.
Investigators qualified the actions under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — that is, embezzlement or appropriation of property, which caused significant damage in particularly large amounts (if proven, this is criminal liability for large-scale financial abuse). The investigation, according to information, is focused on checking:
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facts of overestimation of estimates and agreements with donors;
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mechanisms for transferring payments to contractors and the presence of shell companies;
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the role of OVA officials in organizing and approving tender procurement;
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withdrawing funds through related jurisdictions abroad.
The investigation continues to document the movement of funds, process bank statements, contract agreements, and financing orders. If there is evidence of the involvement of officials, reports of suspicion may be filed, as well as requests for temporary measures regarding property and accounts that will establish illegal transfers.
