The mayor of Vyshhorod, Kyiv region, Oleksiy Momot, and the director of a contracting organization are officially suspected of embezzlement of budget funds. The Prosecutor General's Office reported this on October 8. The matter concerns the possible embezzlement of over UAH 6 million, in particular through the purchase of equipment and fictitious work.
According to the investigation, at the beginning of the full-scale war, the Vyshhorod City Council purchased two excavator-loaders worth 7.8 million UAH for a volunteer formation. The purchase was made through a controlled enterprise, which did not have the ability to fulfill the contract. The cost of the equipment was overstated by approximately 800 thousand UAH for each unit. Although the equipment actually arrived only a few months later, the acts were signed and the funds were transferred. The community's losses were estimated at more than 1.6 million UAH.
Another episode concerns the payment of UAH 5 million for dredging work on a reservoir in Vyshgorod. The contractor allegedly did not complete the work, but the mayor signed the acceptance certificates and initiated the payment.
Oleksiy Momota is accused of misappropriation of budget funds through abuse of office (Part 5, Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Momota himself denied the accusations in his comments, calling the case a “political order.” He claims that the purchases and works were legal, and all acts were signed by contractors and supervisory services.
Oleksiy Momot has been the head of Vyshgorod since 2015. In 2016, he was already involved in a high-profile scandal - then he was detained by the SBU on suspicion of extorting 1 million euros in bribes. The court suspended him, but he later returned to his duties. In 2020, Momot won the elections again, running for the party "For the Future".
Now the mayor has once again found himself at the center of a corruption scandal that could result in criminal liability and loss of office.
