Another corruption scandal has erupted in the Khmelnytskyi region, related to the construction of the Children's Creativity Center in the city of Netishyn. In seven years, at least two tenders and tens of millions of hryvnias - and now law enforcement has become involved in the case.
On August 21, the Shepetiv District Prosecutor's Office reported suspicions to Yaroslav Petruk, head of the capital construction department of the Netishyn City Council. He is accused of possible embezzlement or misappropriation of funds during the construction of the Children's Center.
The history of construction began back in 2017, when UKB signed a contract with Atommontazhservice LLC for the reconstruction of the building of the Center for Social Services for Youth into an after-school educational institution for the amount of UAH 29.7 million. Due to the failure to fulfill the previous contract, a new tender was announced in 2023 for UAH 40 million.
Interestingly, the director and owner of the contractor, Serhiy Voznyuk, who is also a millionaire local deputy, is probably the godfather of Netishyn Mayor Oleksandr Suprunyuk and ex-tax collector Ihor Singaevsky. In the city, Petruk is called the mayor's "wallet", who was recently suspected of embezzling UAH 20 million for the purchase of drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This case is not the first high-profile project under Petruk's leadership: UKB has already been implicated in a case of misappropriation of budget funds for the construction of a school shelter, where part of the work unexpectedly fell on the shoulders of teachers and employees of the educational institution. In addition, Petruk may be involved in another criminal case - about a contract beating.
Local residents complain about nepotism, land scams, and multi-million-dollar corruption schemes that, according to journalists, Mayor Netishyn's entourage is involved in. Law enforcement officials seem ready to investigate the case seriously.
