A scheme to embezzle 27 million hryvnias in humanitarian aid was uncovered in the Kyiv region (photos, video)
Law enforcement officials in the Kyiv region have uncovered a large-scale scheme to embezzle funds intended for humanitarian aid. According to the investigation, approximately 27 million hryvnias allocated to support de-occupied communities were misappropriated. Investigative proceedings are currently underway to identify all individuals involved in the scheme.
This was reported by the National Police of Ukraine and the Office of the Prosecutor General.
The funds in question were allocated by the state in the spring of 2022, following the de-occupation of settlements in the Kyiv region, to provide emergency aid to the civilian population that had endured the Russian occupation.
Charitable and civic organizations were involved in the process to ensure rapid assistance to the affected communities.
“However, there were also those who decided to exploit the humanitarian crisis for their own enrichment,” the police noted.
The perpetrators were exposed by investigators from the Main Investigative Directorate and operatives from the Department of Strategic Investigations of the National Police.
According to the investigation, the scheme was organized by a lawyer—the head of a law firm—who recruited accomplices to create and control fictitious charitable organizations.
They sought out people to serve as nominal leaders, opened accounts, prepared documents, and ensured the signing of reports, the police report.
Through controlled organizations, funds intended to assist de-occupied communities were transferred and partially diverted to the accounts of affiliated companies.
To conceal the scheme, they submitted fictitious reports claiming that humanitarian aid had been fully delivered. “In reality, however, the reported goods were delivered to the communities only partially or not at all,” the National Police noted.
At least three instances of embezzlement were identified between March and July 2022. The total amount of losses exceeds 26.9 million UAH.
The suspects spent part of the funds on luxury assets—cars, apartments, and land plots in the Kyiv region.
Seven members of the group have been notified of suspicion of embezzlement and misappropriation of property. The penalty under this article provides for up to 12 years of imprisonment.
As a reminder, a scheme to help men flee abroad via the TCC was uncovered in Kharkiv.
The SBU detained the head of a medical examination commission in Kropyvnytskyi for selling disability certificates.
Kyiv police dismantled an interregional cocaine distribution network worth 8 million hryvnias.
