A large-scale scheme of embezzlement of budget funds intended for the rehabilitation of drug addicts has been exposed in Odessa. The case involves city council member Iryna Kutsenko, who, according to investigators, embezzled over 10 million hryvnias through fictitious contracts.
According to the Absolution , in 2023–2024, the municipal enterprise "Center for Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS" concluded direct contracts with the individual entrepreneur Natsinets for the provision of rehabilitation services. Formally, it was about helping drug addicts, however, as the investigation found out, most of the patients were fictitious, and the funds were "dispersed" among the participants in the scheme.
Fund distribution scheme:
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15% was received by Tetyana Kutsenko (the deputy's mother-in-law) for "food";
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30% was transferred to Vadym Natsinets, who was the main individual entrepreneur in the scheme;
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40% went to Anton Hrybtsov's individual entrepreneur — for alleged "psychological assistance";
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The remaining 15% is for "associated costs," which are also not documented.
The total amount that passed through the accounts of Natsinets was 9.5 million hryvnias. According to the public procurement database, this is exactly how much they won through contracts, which indicates that the funds went exclusively for "development", and not for real assistance.
A failed but implemented program
Formally, the scheme operated under the guise of the Fast-Track Odesa program. The program was twice rejected by city council members due to its questionable nature, but Kutsenko and the director of the health department, Levon Nikoghosyan, implemented it through other city programs, including social protection.
Persons involved in the case:
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Iryna Kutsenko, city council member;
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Vyacheslav Samokish, an official from the health department;
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Oleksandr Babenko, Director of the KNP;
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Vadym Natsinets, self-employed person;
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Denys Boretsky, head of the NGO "Leader Rehab";
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Anton Gribtsov, sole proprietor;
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Tetyana Kutsenko, a relative of the deputy.
The scandalous story of a deputy
Iryna Kutsenko has a scandalous political past: she started in Igor Markov's Rodyn, was in the Party of Regions, and now represents Trust in Business. She previously got into the media for button-pushing and obscene gestures in the session hall. In 2018, she promoted the scandalous Dogtown project, a training camp for dogs, which was built for UAH 4.6 million and is now actually used for private purposes.
