The embezzlement of ₴138 million for the needs of the army: among the 30 suspects is the head of the apartment management department in the Mykolaiv region

Suspects of embezzlement of ₴138 million allocated for the needs of the army. Photo: Office of the Prosecutor General.

In the course of a large-scale special operation in almost all regions of Ukraine, law enforcement officers conducted 70 searches and reported 30 suspicions to employees regarding the embezzlement of 138 million hryvnias intended for the Armed Forces. Among the suspects are three heads of apartment management offices in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk region and Mykolaiv region.

This was reported in the Prosecutor General's Office.

Searches were conducted in the premises of structural subdivisions of territorial apartment management offices and commercial enterprises in the western, central, southern and eastern regions.

Suspects of embezzlement of  ₴138 million allocated for the needs of the army. Photo: Office of the Prosecutor General.

It is noted that the total amount of damages caused to the state is more than 138 million hryvnias. According to the law enforcement officers, employees of apartment management units together with representatives of commercial structures in almost all regions of Ukraine are involved in the embezzlement of funds.

«Individual officials were also exposed for negligent attitude to military service and illegal enrichment,» added the Prosecutor General's Office.

According to the results of the investigative actions, 30 persons were detained and notified of suspicion, 15 of them were members of organized criminal groups.

Among the suspects are 3 heads of apartment management departments (AMD) in Kharkiv, Mykolaiv region and Dnipropetrovsk region, 7 heads of apartment management departments in Kropyvnytskyi, Chernihiv, Lviv, Prykarpattia, Zhytomyr region, Volyn and Luhansk regions, as well as representatives of commercial structures.

Suspects of embezzlement of ₴138 million allocated for the needs of the army. Photo: Office of the Prosecutor General.

Suspects of embezzlement of ₴138 million allocated for the needs of the army. Photo: Office of the Prosecutor General.

Suspects of embezzlement of ₴138 million allocated for the needs of the army. Photo: Office of the Prosecutor General.

Officials are accused of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds during purchases at inflated prices of firewood for defense needs, electricity, natural gas, furniture for the army, construction work on military infrastructure facilities, as well as abuse of power or official position, negligent attitude to military service, creation, management of a criminal community or criminal organization, as well as participation in it.

One of the suspects, the head of the regional AMD, was charged with the illegal acquisition of assets in the amount of 11.7 million hryvnias in the form of commercial property, land plots, other means and things by registering them as a trustee. At present, the question of choosing preventive measures for the suspect is being resolved. Investigative actions in criminal proceedings are ongoing.

We will remind that servicemen from the Mykolaiv quarter-exploitation department of the command of the logistics forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are suspected of purchasing wood for defense needs at inflated prices.

Investigators say that this is not the first purchase of AMD at inflated prices. Earlier, Nikcenter journalists wrote about this, in particular, about the purchase of coal and beds at inflated prices.

In June 2024, the law enforcement officers reported the suspicion to the head of the Mykolaiv apartment management department. He is suspected of conspiring with a private entrepreneur and embezzling almost 10 million hryvnias allocated for defense.

We will also remind you that in April of this year, SSU and NABU investigators uncovered a scheme to embezzle funds allocated for the purchase of fuel for the needs of the service in 2022. We are talking about losses of more than 26 million hryvnias.

In January of this year, the National Police and the Security Service, with the assistance of the Ministry of Defense, announced suspicions against those involved in the case of embezzlement of almost 1.5 billion hryvnias for the purchase of ammunition for the Armed Forces. hromadske dedicated an investigation to this case.