In Kyiv, law enforcement officers uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme during the overhaul of the buildings of the Pension Fund of Ukraine. The Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office reported this.
The investigation established that an organized group of six people illegally appropriated budget funds during repairs and the purchase of fire-fighting equipment. The suspects include a shadow manager of a contracting company, a technical supervision engineer, two directors of private enterprises, and two PFU officials, including the former head of the Main Department of the Pension Fund in Kyiv.
The mechanism of the scheme was typical, but effective. In order to win tenders, the organizer involved controlled companies. After receiving contracts, documents on the work performed were falsified: the cost of services for installing fire-fighting equipment was artificially inflated. Later, the acts were signed by pension fund officials, after which the money was withdrawn through fictitious companies and converted into cash.
The amount of damage caused to the state, according to the expert opinion, exceeds 3.6 million hryvnias.
Currently, all members of the group have been notified of suspicion. They are charged with participation in an organized group and appropriation of property on a particularly large scale. The Criminal Code of Ukraine provides for up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property for such crimes.
The investigation is ongoing. Law enforcement officers are checking whether similar schemes were involved in other regional branches of the Pension Fund.
