Municipal Enterprise Director was exposed on abuse of office
On January 26, 2021, the Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) under the procedural guidance of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor`s Office (SAPO) gave a notice of suspicion to the Director of Kharkiv Municipal Enterprise (ME). He is suspected of abuse of office, which caused almost UAH 1 million losses to the territorial community. The actions of the official are qualified under Part 2 Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The investigation revealed that in 2016 the Municipal Enterprise announced the procurement of the equipment for the city needs. Before the concluding of the contract with the winner of the tender, the ME Director, being the Deputy of the Kharkiv City Council, on his own initiative changed the characteristics of the procurement. As a result, the ME purchased other products and overpaid about UAH 1 million.
The supplier transferred part of the overpaid amount to the company owned by the ME Director.
NABU and SAPO started a pre-trial investigation as of these facts in January 2019 after transferring case files to the National Bureau.
According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered not-guilty in the commission of a crime and cannot be subject to criminal punishment until he or she is found guilty by court.