Ukrzaliznytsia official suspected of abuse of office

On September 23, 2021, NABU and SAPO gave a notice of suspicion to the official of Joint-Stock Company (JSC) "Ukrzaliznytsia" (Ukrainian railways). He is suspected of abuse of office, as a result of which Ukrzaliznytsia suffered almost UAH 9.6 million of losses.

The actions of the official are qualified under Part 2 Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In 2017, Ukrzaliznytsia announced the procurement of power supply devices for passenger cars.

The investigation revealed that the suspect, as the Head of the tender committee, established as one of the requirements for participation in the procurement that the bidders must provide confirmation of approval of product drawings, which should be issued by Ukrzaliznytsia.

Approval was given to two related companies, but not to other participants. Thus, other participants were unable to participate in the procurement. The "selected" companies won and supplied products at inflated prices for UAH 9.6 million.

For all four years after purchase, Ukrzaliznytsia has not put these devices into use. This casts doubt on real need for purchase.

As part of the investigation, the National Bureau transferred the collected materials regarding the winning companies to the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine. The Committee found the actions of the tender participants anti-competitive and concerted. These two companies were fined.

According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered non-guilty in the commission of a crime and cannot be subject to criminal punishment until he or she is found guilty by court.