140 million hryvnias in losses: NABU uncovers embezzlement scheme for heating and water supply in Donbas cities
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine has exposed a criminal group led by the head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration’s Department of Housing and Public Utilities. The officials embezzled 140 million hryvnias allocated for providing heat and water to three towns in the Donbas.
The NABU press service reported this.
According to the investigation, in the spring of 2023, the group’s members identified facilities to be restored using public funds. They then artificially inflated the cost of equipment and labor, created fictitious competition in tenders, and ensured victory for a company they controlled, which was effectively run by a classmate of the official.
“Despite the lack of proper design documentation, this company was awarded a contract worth over UAH 200 million for the supply and connection of seven modular boiler houses in Selydove and Ukrainsko,” NABU noted.
Of the seven boiler houses, only two were connected, and even they did not work due to defects.
In Svyatogorsk, the criminals moved on to the next stage, under the guise of restoring water supply and sewerage. “Money was transferred for work that was either not performed at all or was carried out in a makeshift manner—without permits, without projects, and with gross violations of regulations,” the bureau reported.
To conceal the scheme, participants falsified certificates of completion, unreasonably extended contract terms, and pressured utility company managers into accepting the projects onto their balance sheets.
As a result, the state suffered losses of more than 140 million hryvnias, while residents of frontline cities were left without heat and drinking water during the winter.
Five participants in the scheme have already been charged under Part 3 of Article 27 and Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code. The organizers—the former head of the department and his classmate—have been detained.
As a reminder, following Operation Midas, which exposed large-scale corruption at Energoatom and rocked the government, a systematic campaign to discredit NABU and the SAP was launched on Ukrainian Telegram . Anti-corruption agencies called the operation one of the most effective in 2025, but alongside its successes, a wave of identical messages appeared attacking investigators and prosecutors.
On the eve, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy enacted National Security and Defense Council sanctions against Kvartal-95 co-owner Timur Mindich and businessman Alexander Tsukerman, who are linked to a corruption case in the energy sector.
It was previously reported that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office are conducting a large-scale operation, Operation Midas, to expose corruption in the energy sector.
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