For embezzling 4.3 million UAH of budget funds, a former official of the Nikopol District State Administration and two of his accomplices will spend seven years behind bars. This was reported by "Vidomo" referencing the National Police in Dnipropetrovsk Region and Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor's Office.
Prosecutors established that in 2019, an official, acting as part of an organized group along with a private entrepreneur and a land management engineer, devised a scheme for embezzling budget funds.
Five years ago, a contract was signed between the Nikopol District State Administration and a local private entrepreneur for conducting an inventory of agricultural land, evaluating its monetary value, and preparing the necessary land management documentation. The land management engineer worked for a subcontractor who became the contractor for the order.
The former official signed acts of completed works, fully aware that they contained false information and that the promised work was not actually done. Nevertheless, the funds were transferred to the contractors' accounts in full.
As a result of these actions, the state budget suffered damages exceeding 4.3 million UAH.
In early 2021, law enforcement notified the wrongdoers of their suspicions, and upon completing the investigation, an indictment was submitted to the court.
During the court proceedings, the defendants denied their guilt. However, based on the collected evidence, prosecutors fully proved their culpability.
With the support of the public prosecution by the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, the High Anti-Corruption Court found the former acting head of the Nikopol District State Administration and two of his accomplices guilty on several counts of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
According to the verdict, they were sentenced to seven years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.
The time for appealing the verdict is ongoing.