Exposure of the Budgetary Funds Embezzlement Scheme
In Kyiv, a scheme of embezzlement of budgetary funds during the procurement of electricity for educational institutions has been uncovered. A specialist in public procurement from the Desnyansky District State Administration has received suspicion. It is known that in January 2023, a tender for the purchase of electrical energy for schools and kindergartens in the Desnyansky district was held.
The Situation with Overpayments and Corruption
During January-September 2023, the suspect signed additional agreements, in which the price of electricity was raised to a level higher than the market price. As a result, 17.2 million UAH was transferred to the company's accounts, of which almost 1.9 million UAH was an unjustified overpayment.
Investigative actions are ongoing within the framework of the criminal proceedings, under which suspicion is raised under part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which provides for abuse of office. The penalty for this article includes imprisonment for up to six years.
Additionally, it has been established that in 32 procurement procedures, the total amount of which reaches 501.2 million UAH, there are confirmed connections between participants, indicating possible corrupt activities. It has been found that the connection between participants and tender winners is 25% or more.
This situation highlights the problems with transparency and control in the field of public procurement in Ukraine, especially in the context of using budgetary funds for educational institutions. The anomalies discovered in the tenders may lead to further investigations and the need for a reform of the procurement system to reduce corruption risks and ensure the effective use of state resources.