Electricity tariff scheme exposed in Volyn: losses exceed UAH 1.2 million, prosecutor’s office says
In Volyn, a former official of a housing maintenance department has been served with a notice of suspicion over causing the state more than UAH 1.2 million in losses through electricity tariff manipulation.
This became known from information released by the Specialized Defense Prosecutor’s Office of the Western Region, Censor.NET reports.
Case details
According to the investigation, in March 2021, the then head of the housing maintenance department signed a contract with a company for the supply of more than 4.5 million kWh of electricity worth about UAH 10 million in total.
Later, from August to November 2021, the 44-year-old lieutenant colonel approved amendments to the contract and the signing of additional agreements with higher tariffs.
However, investigators established that there were no justified and documented grounds for changing the market price.
The prosecutor’s office stressed that the official failed to ensure proper control over the formation of the electricity price, which allowed the supplier to unjustifiably raise the price beyond the limits set by law.
Consequences
As a result of these actions, the state budget suffered more than UAH 1.2 million in losses, the amount overpaid in settlements between the housing maintenance department and the company.
Legal qualification and preventive measure
The former serviceman has been served with a notice of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 425 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, negligent attitude to military service.
The court imposed a personal recognizance measure on him.
Investigation
The pre-trial investigation is being carried out by investigators of the Territorial Department of the State Bureau of Investigation in Lviv, with operational support from the Strategic Investigations Department in Volyn Oblast.
The sanction under the incriminated article provides for up to seven years in prison.
At the same time, under the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
