The Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine reported the exposure of a large-scale corruption scheme in the Kyiv region. Five individuals are suspected of embezzling more than 14 million hryvnias allocated from the budget for the construction of civil defense shelters in educational institutions.
The scheme involves officials of a private company that manufactured protective modules and local government officials who conducted the procurement.
According to the investigation, the defendants supplied and installed shelters that do not comply with state building codes - DBN V.2.2-5:2023 and DSTU 9195:2022. The shelters do not provide the protection required by the standards, and therefore may pose a threat to the lives of children.
Control tests of the shelters were not conducted, instead the certificates were falsified. Conclusions about the safety of the structures were based only on theoretical calculations. That is, in practice these structures were not even tested for their ability to withstand loads or provide protection in the event of shelling.
It was also discovered that the tender offers contained certificates with false data, and the procurement documentation contained signs of falsification.
During searches conducted at the supplier's production facilities, the suspects' homes, and the educational institutions that purchased such "shelters," BEB detectives seized documents for contracts that had already been executed.
Law enforcement officers also conducted covert investigative actions that allowed them to collect a complete evidence base regarding falsifications and embezzlement of budget funds.
The court chose preventive measures for the five suspects: detention, night house arrest, and bails totaling almost UAH 14 million. Arrest was also imposed on:
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the suspects' property is worth UAH 12 million,
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corporate rights of the performing company — for almost 18 million UAH.
The case is being investigated under Part 3 of Article 212 and Parts 1, 2 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - tax evasion and official forgery.
