Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko has announced that prosecutors and police have uncovered a criminal organization in Kharkiv led by a former deputy mayor, suspected of embezzling over 5.4 million hryvnias from the state budget allocated for fortification construction.
According to the Specialized Defense Prosecutor’s Office for the Eastern Region, the criminal group consisted of the ex-official and four accomplices — two company directors and two private entrepreneurs. Investigators say the main contractor, together with the organizer, involved a shell company and two sole proprietors who purchased supplies for fortifications at prices inflated by more than 30% above market rates.
As a result, the state suffered damages amounting to 5.4 million UAH (about $134,000). Law enforcement officers have carried out multiple searches in Kharkiv and the surrounding region, seizing computers and financial documentation.
All suspects have been formally charged under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for participating in a criminal organization, large-scale embezzlement of state funds during martial law, and forgery of official documents. They have been taken into custody with no option for bail.
Prosecutor General Kravchenko stressed that the stolen money must be fully returned to the state and warned that anyone attempting to profit from defense or the military will face the full force of the law.