Funds have been allocated from the regional budget for the renovation of a communal institution for the care and accommodation of individuals with intellectual disabilities and those suffering from drug addiction.

A group of individuals responsible for carrying out the renovation and supervision developed a scheme for embezzling funds. This involved: the head of the communal institution, who is a deputy of one of the local councils, the director of a private enterprise, and officials of the enterprise that developed the project and cost documentation and provided author supervision.

It has been established that from July to December 2023, they submitted false information in official documents regarding the volumes and costs of the work performed – they carried out smaller volumes of work and purchased construction materials at inflated prices.  

For the "completed" work, the contractor received 1.2 million UAH of budget funds, which the participants of the scheme distributed among themselves. 

Under the procedural guidance of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Prosecutor's Office, all participants in the scheme have been notified of suspicion regarding the embezzlement of budget funds and the official forgery of documents  (part 2 of article 28, part 5 of article 191, part 1 of article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). 

Currently, the issue of choosing a preventive measure in the form of detention is being resolved.

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by investigators of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the region with operational support from the Department of Strategic Investigations in the Khmelnytskyi region of the National Police 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.