NABU, SAPO expose UAH 10 million school construction embezzlement scheme

On Sept. 27, 2023, NABU and SAPO, with the operational support of the Strategic Investigations Department in the Ivano-Frankivsk region of the National Police, notified two persons of suspicion of embezzling over UAH 10 million allocated for the construction of an educational complex in the village of Chukalivka, the Ivano-Frankivsk region, as part of the Big Construction state program.

The suspects are:
- the ex-director of the Capital Construction Department of the Ivano-Frankivsk region;
- the director of a construction company.

Their actions fall under Part 5 Art. 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The investigation found that in 2021, the Capital Construction Department in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, following an open tender, entered into a contract with a company controlled by the department's director for the construction of a school facility worth UAH 45.6 million. In September 2022, due to department's elimination, the construction project was transferred to the Ivano-Frankivsk City Council and adjustments were made to the project cost estimates. As it turned out, the Capital Construction Department had transferred UAH 33.6 million to the controlled company for the work accepted with relevant acts and certificates. In fact, the work was only partially completed, and the rest, worth over UAH 10 million, remained on paper.

The participants of the scheme then laundered the misappropriated funds through controlled organizations.

The investigation is ongoing.