When Odesa was experiencing power outages, municipal utilities were purchasing uninterruptible power supplies for traffic lights. According to the investigation, they did so at prices that in some cases exceeded the manufacturer's cost by five times. Detectives from the Territorial Office of the Bureau of Economic Security in Odesa Region reported suspicions against seven individuals.
How the scheme worked
The central figure in the case is the owner of a group of companies, whom the investigation considers the organizer. According to the BES version, he acted in collusion with the director of the Specialized Installation and Operational Division (SMEP) of Odesa City Council and several managers and employees of enterprises. The group also included a lawyer and a procurement specialist — a detail indicating intentional legal and procedural "packaging" of the scheme.
The mechanism worked as follows: SMEP officials determined the expected procurement cost based on fictitious commercial proposals — without any real market analysis. Subsequently, controlled firms unrelated to equipment manufacturing won the tender.
"In fact, the equipment was manufactured by another company, while the tender winners were used to artificially inflate the cost of products by more than 5 times"
Sergiy Muntyan, head of the BES Territorial Office in Odesa Region
According to the investigation, the case involves LLC "Logic Power," "Light Energy Plus," and "Great Seller" — all allegedly connected to one entrepreneur according to law enforcement.
Scale and preventive measures
The total amount of embezzlement that the investigation attributes to the suspects is over 20.9 million UAH from the local budget. In June 2025, even before the suspicion was announced, law enforcement conducted 18 searches in offices, private homes, and dachas of the suspects.
The court imposed various preventive measures: from detention with the option of posting bail to round-the-clock house arrest. The criminal proceeding was opened under parts 4 and 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (embezzlement of property through abuse of official position — up to 12 years imprisonment) and Article 366 (official forgery).
- 7 suspects: organizer, SMEP director, managers of intermediary firms, lawyer, procurement specialist
- 3 controlled companies, none of which manufactured the equipment being procured
- 18 searches at the first stage of the investigation
- Price markup — up to five times relative to the actual manufacturer's cost
A suspicion is not a conviction: all seven deny guilt, and the SMEP director publicly called the accusations disinformation. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.
The key question for further proceedings in the case is: if the court confirms that fictitious commercial proposals were signed by the same officials who later accepted the goods — will Odesa City Council obtain a mechanism to recover funds to the budget, or will the case end with a verdict without actual compensation for damages?
