uAH 5.5 million disappeared at Velyke Stroitelstvo, and the suspects were released without bail
12 June 22:36
Judge Natalia Zhyganska of the Svalyava District Court of the Transcarpathian region released the defendants in the case of embezzlement of more than 5 million hryvnias from the Ukrainian budget, allocated for the reconstruction of a village school under the presidential program “Big Construction”. One of the suspects is currently abroad, journalist Vitaliy Glagola wrote on his Telegram channel on June 12, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The investigative journalist wrote that the trial in this case was postponed three times. Each time, different reasons were voiced: malfunctions in the database, power outages, and even the end of the judge’s working day.
The petition for detention was considered by the head of the Svalyava court, Natalia Zhyhanska. And what do you think? The result was house arrest instead of bail or a pre-trial detention center,” Glagola wrote.
According to the investigator, similar cases involving budget funds are considered in courts slowly, and the accused often avoid responsibility, especially if they have connections in local authorities.
He also noted that the judge of the Svalyava District Court may be involved in making other biased decisions.
Zhyhanska has previously been featured in stories about “protecting” businesses – during the lockdown, she issued decisions in favor of violators. Now, it seems, she has moved to a new level,” Glagola wrote on his Telegram channel.
Corruption scandal with the “Big Construction” in Zakarpattia region: context
This is the reconstruction of a school in the village of Polyana, Svaliava district, Zakarpattia region. The project was funded as part of the large-scale state program “Big Construction” initiated in 2020 by the Office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyi. The state allocated UAH 40 million for the renovation of the educational institution in 2021 .
However, as the investigation found out, some of these funds were misappropriated through a simple but effective scheme.
According to journalist Vitalii Hlahola, contractors, together with local government officials, overstated the amount of work performed, signed false acceptance certificates, and withdrew part of the money through fake individual entrepreneurs who withdrew funds in cash.
uAH 3.1 million was withdrawn from the accounts using three straw men. They either had nothing to do with the construction or signed the contracts without understanding their content,” law enforcement officials commented.
As a result, according to the State Audit Service, the losses to the state budget amounted to more than UAH 5.5 million.
Last week, law enforcement officers served suspicion notices to four people, including representatives of the contractor and local officials. They are charged with misappropriation of funds on an especially large scale (Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code) and forgery (Part 1 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code).
What the prosecutor’s office says
The Transcarpathian Regional Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the fact that the suspects were served with the notices and noted that “the actions of the defendants are qualified as crimes against property and in the field of official activity.” However, they refused to comment on the court’s decision, citing the independence of the judiciary.
The future of the project
The school in Polyana was opened in September 2022. It is functioning, but journalists who visited the facility noted a number of deficiencies and questionable quality of the work performed. Tiles are falling off in classrooms, ventilation is unstable, and some rooms have heating problems.
Big Construction scandal: what’s next?
The investigation is currently ongoing. Now it’s up to law enforcement agencies to file a petition for an international wanted list for the suspect, who has left Ukraine.
At the same time, this case has become another example of problems with control over the use of budget funds in the regions. The Big Construction program, which is funded from the state budget, has repeatedly been the subject of journalistic investigations over suspicions of corruption.
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