Former deputy mayor of Kharkiv suspected of embezzling UAH 5.4 million intended for fortification works
The former deputy mayor of Kharkiv appears in the case of large-scale embezzlement of budget funds that were supposed to be used for the construction of defense structures. By information Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, the investigation believes that it was he who organized the criminal scheme of embezzlement of state funds.
According to the statement of the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in the field of defense of the Eastern region has announced the suspicion of five persons who are considered to be members of an organized criminal group. led this group, according to law enforcement officers, is Andrii Rudenko, an ex-official who from 2015 to 2024 held the position of deputy mayor of Kharkiv for housing and communal services.
The criminal group also included managers of two commercial enterprises and two individual entrepreneurs. According to the investigation, these persons purchased equipment for fortifications at significantly inflated prices — on average, more than 30% higher than market prices. As a result of such actions, the state budget was damaged in the amount of at least 5.4 million hryvnias.
Investigators claim that the former official, together with the director of the contracting organization, involved in the scheme a fictitious company and two entrepreneurs, through whom the arrangements were made. All five involved in the case are currently detained. The prosecutor’s office has already applied to the court for detention without bail.
As part of the investigation, a series of searches were conducted in Kharkiv and the region, during which financial documentation, electronic data carriers and other evidence were seized, which, according to the investigation, confirm the fact of the commission of a crime.
The extras are accused of creating and participating in a criminal organization, embezzlement of budget funds in particularly large amounts during martial law, as well as official forgery. The former deputy mayor was charged under Articles 255, 191 and 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Other members of the group were charged under the same articles, taking into account the extent of their participation.
