Authorities in Lviv Oblast have exposed a fraudulent scheme involving the misappropriation of funds from “Ukrenergo” during the restoration of energy infrastructure following Russian attacks. This revelation comes from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which has identified key individuals involved in the operation.
The investigation indicates that a senior official from the Western Territorial Network Service of “Ukrenergo” and a former head of a contracting company orchestrated the scheme. In December 2022, “Ukrenergo” entered into a contract with this company for the capital repair and restoration of damaged transformers, amounting to 16.3 million hryvnias. However, during the execution of the project, the documentation was manipulated to include work that was never performed, and the costs for materials and services were artificially inflated.
The implicated “Ukrenergo” official approved the documents without verifying the actual repairs conducted on the transformers, allowing a portion of the budget allocated for restoring energy infrastructure to be siphoned off by the perpetrators.
The Lviv regional prosecutor’s office emphasized the urgency of the repairs, noting that the equipment in question plays a critical role in transmitting large volumes of electricity. Failure of this equipment could disrupt electricity supply to entire regions, affecting approximately 60% of Kyiv and around 8-10% of the national consumption.
According to the investigation, the contractor claimed to have completed repairs on three autotransformers within the group. However, the director of the company submitted false information in the project and reporting documentation, including inflated volumes and costs of work and materials, as well as falsely indicating that certain tasks had been completed.
As a result of the investigation, charges have been filed against the suspects under several articles of the Ukrainian Criminal Code, including abuse of office, large-scale misappropriation of property under martial law, and official forgery.
A fraudulent scheme involving the misappropriation of funds from "Ukrenergo" has been uncovered in Lviv Oblast, with key officials implicated in inflating costs and falsifying documentation during energy infrastructure repairs. The investigation highlights the critical nature of these repairs for maintaining electricity supply in Ukraine.