Road сorruption during martial law: UAH 286 million scheme exposed

NABU and SAPO have uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme in the road building sector, which caused over UAH 286 million losses to the state during russia's full-scale invasion.

The suspects are:*

• the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration;
• the deputy head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration; 
• the director of a department of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration; 
• the head of the road unit of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration; 
• the director of a company involved in the scheme.

*position at the time of committing the crime

Their actions fall under Part 2 Art. 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

In 2022, the legislation in effect under martial law allowed for the priority financing of road maintenance, while expenses for current and capital road repairs were only possible as a last resort.

According to the investigation, the suspects, aiming to get priority funding and avoid the need for the development of project documentation, its expert review, and technical supervision, made changes to the relevant documents.  They replaced the information regarding the need for current and capital road repairs with a requirement for operational maintenance.

Expenditures for such maintenance were artificially and unjustifiably increased to UAH 1.5 billion. Contracts for the required work were awarded to a company linked to the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, which inflated the cost of materials by over UAH 286 million.

Part of these funds was later transferred to the accounts of other companies linked to the top official and his deputy.

The investigation is ongoing. NABU and SAPO are examining the possible legalization of the illegally obtained funds and identifying other participants in the crime.