Employees of Transcarpathian utility companies are suspected of fraudulent calculation of heating tariffs

Two officials of a utility enterprise have been notified of being suspected. The illegal actions of the suspects caused more than two million losses. This is stated in a report posted on the official website of the Economic Crime Department of the Transcarpathian Police.

Officers of the Economic Crime Department of the National Police of Ukraine in Transcarpathian region and a special unit of detectives of the regional police, under the procedural control of the Transcarpathian Regional Prosecutor’s Office, found out that during 2015-2017, officials of one of the utility enterprises of the Transcarpathian Regional Council had knowingly stated in official documents false information about the needs for gas for heating.

Thus, officials of the utility enterprise, in violation of the current legislation, issued orders, which approved the calculation of the cost of tariffs for heat supply services in public sector institutions. In these documents, they stated economically unreasonable needs for gas, which led to an overestimation of the cost of heating services.

As a result, the enterprise received from the public sector institutions of the region, financed from both local and state budgets, more than two million hryvnias for the provision of the aforementioned service.

Subsequently, the illegally received funds were distributed among the officials, in particular through unlawful payment of bonuses and wage supplements to these individuals.

On February 28, 2019, two officials of the utility enterprise were notified of being suspected under Part 5 of Art. 191 (appropriation, embezzlement, or theft of property by way of abuse of office in particularly large amounts or by an organized group) and Part 2 of Art. 28, Part 1 of Art. 366 (forgery) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The sanction of the article provides for imprisonment for a term of seven to twelve years with the deprivation of the right to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term up to three years with the confiscation of property and a fine of up to two hundred and fifty non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens or restriction of liberty for a term up to three years, with the deprivation of the right to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term up to three years.