A former Odessa official is suspected of overpaying 11.4 million hryvnias for apartments for orphans
On June 24, the former head of the Capital Construction Department of the Odesa City Council was notified that he was suspected of abuse of office. According to the investigation, this could have resulted in an overpayment of 11.4 million hryvnias in budget funds during the procurement of housing for orphans.
As noted, in 2018, the Odesa City Council implemented a program to provide housing for orphans and children deprived of parental care, under which the city was to purchase 22 apartments for subsequent transfer to the children. The head of the capital construction department was appointed to oversee the procurement process.
Before signing contracts to purchase apartments with budget funds, the official was required to ensure that the proposed price corresponded to the actual market value of the real estate. To this end, a mechanism for independent review of appraisal reports was established—an additional verification intended to confirm that the appraisal was conducted correctly, without any overvaluation.
"Instead, the apartment valuation reports were provided by the sellers themselves—that is, the party with a direct interest in ensuring the price was as high as possible. The official accepted these documents without verification: he did not compare the stated prices with market prices, did not initiate a review of the reports, and effectively approved the purchase of the apartments on terms set by the sellers themselves. Based on these documents, the Odesa City Council signed contracts and paid for the purchase of 22 apartments at the prices specified in the reports,” the statement reads.
Subsequently, as part of the investigation, independent construction, appraisal, and economic expert assessments were commissioned. They determined that the actual market value of the apartments was significantly lower than the value listed in the contracts, and that the appraisal reports themselves contained substantial methodological violations and could not serve as a legal basis for determining the price.
The difference between the amount actually paid by the city council and the true market value of the apartments amounted to 11.4 million hryvnias. The Odesa territorial community suffered losses in the specified amount, according to the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Earlier, the Supreme Court upheld the position of prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General and upheld the sentence against the former director of a vocational high school in the Khmelnytskyi region. She was convicted of embezzling nearly 1 million hryvnias in budget funds.
The former head of the Rivne Regional Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support will stand trial for negligence that caused the state losses of over 830 thousand hryvnias during the procurement of vehicles for the army.
