In Kharkiv, law enforcement officers exposed a criminal organization headed by a former deputy mayor. According to the investigation, a group of persons systematically appropriated budget funds intended for the construction of fortifications during the war. State losses are estimated at over UAH 5.4 million.
According to the Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, the criminal scheme acted under the cover of legal treaties with the state. Through related firms and entrepreneurs, equipment and materials for fortifications were purchased, but their cost was artificially overstated - by an average of one third. The final recipient of the funds was a controlled structure that acted as a contractor.
The investigation has already found that at least five people included the criminal group. Among them are the former high -ranking officials of the City Council, heads of commercial firms and two entrepreneurs registered as FOP. According to the prosecutor, each of them had a clearly defined role in the scheme.
The searches were carried out in Kharkiv and in the region. Law enforcement officers seized computers, financial documentation and accounting reports confirming the signs of a crime. The results of expertise testify to a systematic overestimation of prices and a deliberate task of losses to the state budget.
The defendants are suspected of creating a criminal organization and appropriating budgetary funds in martial law. All five were detained. The prosecutor's office filed a request for detention without the possibility of bail.
Investigators do not exclude that the group operated in other regions. The investigation is ongoing.
