The deputy mayor and the director of the utility company have established a scheme for obtaining illegal benefits. The functional duties of a city council official included, in particular, monitoring compliance with legislation in the field of public procurement.
Using their powers, the perpetrators organized a “rollback” scheme based on the contract for the supply of goods — for the unimpeded transfer of funds from the local budget, the perpetrators demanded 14% of the value of the agreement from the entrepreneur.
According to the results of the procurement tender procedure, one of the entrepreneurs of the region had to supply the local utility company with 620 tons of sand for a total amount of over UAH 300,000. Accordingly, the supplier had to pay 42,000 hryvnias as a “kickback”.
On July 13, the police detained the officials in accordance with Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine while receiving the second tranche of illegal benefits in the amount of UAH 30,000. Law enforcement officers seized money and physical evidence from the crime scene.
Earlier, the operatives of the Strategic Investigations Department in Lviv region, together with the investigators of the regional police, documented the fact that the defendants received part of the “kickback” in the amount of UAH 12,000.
The law enforcement officers informed the deputy mayor and the director of the utility company of the suspicion under Part 3 of Art. 368 (Acceptance of an offer, promise or receipt of an illegal benefit by an official) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The perpetrators may face up to 10 years in prison for the crime.
Currently, other possible facts of illegal activity are being established.
The pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings continues under the procedural guidance of the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
Department of Strategic Investigations
National Police of Ukraine