Ex-deputy mayor of Kharkiv suspected of embezzling UAH 5 million for construction of fortifications

The former deputy mayor of Kharkiv is suspected of embezzling UAH 5.4 million of budget funds allocated for fortifications. He and several other accomplices were notified of suspicion, said Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.

According to the sources of Ukrayinska Pravda, it is Andriy Rudenko, who was the deputy mayor for housing and communal services from 2015 to 2024.

It is noted that the organization included four other people besides the former deputy mayor: two business leaders and two individual entrepreneurs.

The organizer and director of one of the enterprises, as the main contractor, involved the head of the lining company and two similar individual entrepreneurs in their plan. They purchased the property for the fortification at prices inflated by more than 30% of market prices.

The investigation established that the group's activities caused losses to the state in the amount of UAH 5.4 million. The investigation will also investigate other episodes of the suspects' activities.

Law enforcement officers conducted a series of searches in Kharkiv and the region, seized computer equipment, accounting and financial documents.

The suspects are accused of participating in a criminal organization with the aim of embezzling budget funds on a particularly large scale under martial law. The organizer was served with a notice of suspicion under 10 articles of the Criminal Code, and the perpetrators – under seven articles.

All persons involved in the case have been detained, the issue of choosing custody without bail is being decided.

"I would like to add that the funds stolen from the budget must be returned to the state in full. And this applies not only to this case. And I warn all those who want to get rich on the defense or army – you will be held accountable with the utmost severity," Kravchenko emphasized .

• on January 20, the State Bureau of Investigation and the Security Service of Ukraine detained General Galushkin, Lieutenant General Horbenko and Colonel Lapin in the case of the failure of the defense of Kharkiv region in May 2024.
• On January 21, the court imposed detention on Galushkin and Lapin, and on January 22, the SBI reported the discovery of new facts regarding the defense of Liptsi, Kharkiv region. on January 24, General Galushkin was taken into custody without the right to bail.
• On April 4, the court released Lapin under house arrest due to his health condition, and on June 11, Galushkin was placed under round-the-clock house arrest.