Prosecutors in Chernivtsi Expose Major Corruption and Money Theft Among Officials
A comprehensive anti-corruption operation has unfolded in the Chernivtsi region, revealing widespread violations committed by officials at various levels — from managers of municipal enterprises to state officials.
According to official sources, law enforcement agencies have announced suspicion charges against 15 individuals, accused of embezzlement, abuse of office, and falsification of declarations.
The investigation uncovered that among the suspects are the director of the municipal «City Light» utility, who misappropriated nearly 2.2 million hryvnias on the purchase of lighting equipment at inflated prices, and the head of the trolleybus management, involved in buying electricity at inflated tariffs, resulting in over 1 million hryvnias in losses to the budget.
Equally noteworthy are the case involving the head of the housing and communal services department in Chernivtsi and a former technical supervision officer, who caused over 3.3 million hryvnias in damages during repairs to the runway.
Another case pertains to the former village head of Tereblich, suspected of inflating the cost of repair work by more than 250,000 hryvnias.
Additionally, authorities are investigating allegations of possible assault on NABU officers during searches, related to actions by the Security Service of Ukraine.
Environmental violations include the head of the treatment facilities of Chernivtsi Vodokanal and five of his colleagues, who broke the operational regime of the sanitation systems, allowing contaminated effluents to bypass the full filtration cycle, damaging the environment by over 2.5 million hryvnias.
In the sphere of environmental protection, it was also revealed that a former director of the Khortyn National Nature Park permitted illegal tree felling under the guise of road construction, causing ecological damage exceeding 320,000 hryvnias.
Cases of official negligence and false declarations include the head of a construction company’s laboratory, who issued a certificate for low-quality concrete that resulted in approximately 840,000 hryvnias in damages.
A leading specialist from Berehomet village council failed to declare an apartment in Kyiv worth over 3.2 million hryvnias in her financial disclosures for 2022-2023.
The Office of the Prosecutor General emphasizes that all these acts demonstrate systemic corrupt practices aimed at personal enrichment, and preparations are underway to request court measures for detaining and suspending the implicated officials.
Previously, a criminal case was initiated against the head of the Energy Customs of the State Customs Service, Anatoliy Komar, due to his lavish lifestyle uncorrelated with his official income, uncovered during journalistic investigations.