“Kyivpastrans overpaid UAH 11.5 million for electricity: details
29 July 18:44
In Kyiv, the director of a company that supplied electricity to the Kyivpastrans utility company is suspected of selling the resource at inflated prices, which resulted in a shortfall of more than UAH 11 million in the Kyiv budget. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the Prosecutor General’s Office.
According to the investigation, the official overestimated the cost of energy without informing the customer about the decline in market prices, which resulted in an overpayment of UAH 11.5 million.
The suspect is charged with a criminal offense under part five of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – misappropriation of another’s property by abuse of office in a particularly large scale.
Formally, the electricity supply agreement between the parties was legally concluded. However, the investigation believes that after the cost of the resource decreased on the market, the supplier continued to issue invoices at the old, inflated prices. These funds were spent from the capital’s budget, so the case is qualified as causing significant material damage to the community.
The investigation is ongoing. It is being carried out by investigators of the Podil Police Department with the operational support of the SBU Main Directorate for the Protection of National Statehood. Law enforcers are analyzing documents, including electricity transfer and acceptance certificates, accounting reports, payment documents and internal correspondence between the parties. Additional expert assessments have also been ordered to clarify the actual amount of damage caused.
According to the sanction of the article, the accused faces a prison sentence of seven to twelve years, as well as additional sanctions such as a ban on holding managerial positions for three years and confiscation of property.
For the economic environment, this incident is another marker of the risks associated with insufficient control over the use of budget funds in the energy sector. Utilities often operate under simplified procurement procedures, which can create gaps for abuse. Experts also draw attention to the importance of increasing the transparency of energy contracts and introducing mechanisms for automatic monitoring of market prices, which would allow timely detection of discrepancies in the cost of services.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time that Kyivpastrans has come under scrutiny by law enforcement. A little earlier, the former head of one of the departments of Kyivpastrans was notified of suspicion. She is charged with official negligence (part two of Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), as the woman, according to investigators, failed to ensure proper control over market prices for electricity, which made it impossible to respond in a timely manner to the overpricing of services by the supplier.
In addition, last week, detectives of the Kyiv City Department of the Bureau completed a pre-trial investigation in a criminal proceeding against a former official of the Kyivpastrans utility company. During the investigation, detectives found that the officials, in collusion with a representative of a private company, organized the purchase of pneumatic tires at inflated prices. As a result, the capital’s budget suffered, losing UAH 5 million.
Read also: Collusion in Kyivpastrans tenders: 2 companies fined UAH 51 million
Another case related to Kyivpastrans causing damage to the state was discussed in the first half of July. The Kyiv police exposed one of the company’s executives for embezzling budget funds during the procurement of structures for railroad tracks in 2023.
The investigation found that the official entered into a contract with a private company for almost UAH 5 million, knowing that the cost of the equipment was much higher than the market price. Nevertheless, he signed the documents on the basis of which the funds were transferred from the capital’s budget.
The official has already been served a notice of suspicion under Part 5 of Art. 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – embezzlement of budget funds on a large scale through abuse of office.
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