Interpol has detained in Canada the former director of the Volodymyrteplo Communal Enterprise and former deputy of the Volodymyr City Council Serhiy Koba, who was on the international wanted list on suspicion of embezzlement of budget funds. The procedure for his extradition to Ukraine is currently underway.
Criminal proceedings against the former owner were opened in November 2024. According to the investigation, in February 2023, while heading the municipal enterprise "Volodymyrteplo", Serhiy Koba concluded a contract with a private entrepreneur for the supply of one thousand cubic meters of wood chips for the amount of UAH 6.9 million. The contractor was paid an advance of UAH 4 million, despite the fact that he did not have the necessary production capacity and relevant experience.
Subsequently, the entrepreneur fulfilled his obligations only partially - he delivered products worth 1.3 million UAH. The remaining funds, which amounted to 2.7 million UAH, were not returned to the municipal enterprise. The investigation believes that the official negligence or intentional actions of the manager led to significant losses to the local budget.
At the time of the intensification of investigative actions, Serhiy Koba was already abroad. In 2023, he, together with the deputy mayor of Volodymyr Yaroslav Matviychuk and the director of the Polygon enterprise Volodymyr Sobipan, went on a business trip to Lithuania to study the experience of using alternative energy. The delegation was supposed to return on September 15, but Koba did not return to Ukraine. Subsequently, he sent a letter of resignation from the position of head of the enterprise, and later resigned from his deputy's powers.
In August and October 2025, the court twice in absentia chose a preventive measure in the form of detention for him. After that, he was put on the international wanted list.
On February 17, Canadian law enforcement officers detained Serhiy Koba. The information about this was published by the publication "The Power of Truth", and sources in law enforcement agencies confirmed it to journalists. The day before, the ex-spouse's wife published a video on social networks from the family's vacation at a ski resort in Canada. According to the journalists, this publication could have helped to establish his whereabouts.
Serhiy Koba was elected to the Volodymyr City Council in 2020 from the "Strength and Honor" party. In the council, he headed the faction of the political force and was the secretary of the standing commission on socio-economic development, budget and finance. He headed the Volodymyrteplo municipal enterprise in 2017.
The Ukrainian side is currently preparing the necessary documents for the suspect's extradition. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.
