Mayor of Vyshhorod Temporarily Suspended Over Suspected Budget Embezzlement
Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi District Court has made the decision to temporarily suspend Vyshhorod Mayor Oleksiy Momot from his duties amidst allegations of financial misconduct involving over 6.6 million hryvnias.
The ruling extends until November 16 and follows an investigation revealing serious breaches during the procurement of two excavators and the repair of a rainwater sewage sludge pond.
Prosecutors claim that Momot was involved in illegal appropriation of significant funds, leading to substantial damages to the community’s budget.
It was found that during the procurement procedures, the cost of equipment was inflated by nearly 800,000 hryvnias per unit, and that the mayor signed acceptance acts and transferred more than five million hryvnias to a contractor that failed to complete the work.
The community suffered losses exceeding 1.6 million hryvnias.
Additional allegations concern the misappropriation of funds allocated for dredging works of the rainwater sewage pond, where Momot allegedly signed acceptance acts despite knowing the work was incomplete, funneling over five million hryvnias to the contractor’s account.
Momot denies all charges, asserting that his actions were necessary for safety and community stability.
Public support surged for a petition calling for his deprivation of Ukrainian citizenship, which gained rapid momentum.
Momot’s lawyer announced plans to appeal the court’s decision.
Earlier, the mayor received personal obligations until December 15.
The investigation implicates him in physically misappropriating funds from the purchase of two excavators valued at 7.8 million hryvnias, through a firm lacking the capacity to fulfill contractual obligations.
The equipment was delivered months later, while funds had already been transferred, costing the community over 1.6 million hryvnias.
The case also involves the illegal signing of acceptance acts related to dredging work, amounting to over five million hryvnias, with authorities suspecting abuse of office and embezzlement.
The situation has heightened tensions in local politics, with calls for accountability and transparency.