Half of Kryvyi Rih was left without heating in winter because utility workers removed equipment to sell for scrap
Half of Kryvyi Rih was left without heating in winter due to the fact that utility workers dismantled brass tubes from water heaters and handed them over for scrap. About this informs Office of the Prosecutor General.
Under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General’s Office, two former managers of one of Kryvyi Rih’s thermal power enterprises, as well as eight other ex-employees of this enterprise, were notified of suspicion. They are charged with the creation and participation in a criminal organization, as well as the embezzlement of state property in particularly large amounts in the conditions of martial law (Part 3 of Article 255, Part 3 of Article 27, Part 4 of Article 28, Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
According to the version of the investigation, the former managers organized a hierarchical criminal structure, to which eight more accomplices were involved. Under the guise of moving utility equipment to preserve it under martial law, the suspects took more than 1,140 water heaters from heat regulation points to the closed territory of the enterprise.
Next, using manipulators and oxygen tanks for cutting metal, participants dismantled brass tubes containing non-ferrous metals from the equipment. To hide the disassembly, the cavities of the water heaters were filled with foreign objects, in particular clothes, after which they were returned to their place, imitating the equipment’s serviceability. During the inventory, these water heaters were recorded as fully operational.
Dismantled tubes were sold at local metal depots for cash, without registration of accounting documents and radiation control required by law. The received funds were distributed among the participants of the organization. The total weight of the recovered brass tubes was more than 6 tons. Damages in terms of the value of non-ferrous metal are estimated at almost 30 million UAH, and the total cost of the disabled equipment reaches 300 million UAH.
The actions of the suspects led to the complete cessation of hot water supply for almost half of the city — more than 250 thousand residents, as well as dozens of enterprises and critical infrastructure facilities. To date, more than 65 episodes of criminal activity have been documented. The investigation is ongoing.
A preventive measure in the form of detention was applied to all members of the criminal organization. The question of the selection of preventive measures is being resolved, and other persons involved in the commission of the crime are being identified.
The pre-trial investigation is carried out by investigators of the Main Investigative Department of the National Police of Ukraine under the operational support of the Department for Ensuring Activities Related to Hazardous Materials and employees of the Security Service of Ukraine.
