Under the procedural guidance of prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General, an indictment has been sent to court against the deputy director for scientific work of one of the research institutions of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. He is accused of embezzling budget funds in a particularly large amount by prior conspiracy of a group of individuals (part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

According to the investigation, in 2023, the official organized the procurement of analytical equipment at a significantly inflated price. The accused deliberately rejected the most economically advantageous offer from the official distributor and ordered his subordinates to conclude a contract with a pre-determined private company.

The company purchased the equipment from the distributor at market price but resold it to the research institution for 5 million UAH more. The import, delivery, and commissioning works were actually carried out by certified specialists of the distributor. Thus, the involvement of the intermediary was used solely to illegally inflate the cost of the procurement.

As a result of these actions, the state suffered losses of over 5 million UAH.

Within the framework of the criminal proceedings, prosecutors filed a civil lawsuit against the accused for compensation of the damages caused.

The documentation and exposure of the scheme were carried out by detectives of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine with operational support from the Security Service of Ukraine.

Note: according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a guilty verdict of the court.