Embezzled millions for infrastructure restoration: the head of the village council of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district in Odesa region has been declared wanted

The head of the Serhiyivka community in the Odesa region has been declared wanted. The individual in question is Anatoliy Cherednychenko, who is suspected of embezzling budget funds.

This was reported on the Serhiyivka community’s official page.

The criminal proceedings against Cherednychenko were registered in the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations on June 12, 2023. On July 17, 2024, he was officially informed of the suspicion, and as of July 19, he has been on the wanted list.

Cherednychenko devised a scheme to embezzle funds allocated for the restoration of infrastructure damaged by Russian missile strikes.

The scheme involved the director of a municipal enterprise, a contractor, and a technical supervision engineer. The accomplices embezzled budget funds during the major repairs of residential buildings in the villages of Serhiyivka and Chabanske, which were damaged by shelling.

They inflated the actual amount of work performed and the cost of the building materials used, resulting in the illegal transfer of almost 1.4 million hryvnias (about 31,519 euros) to the contractor’s account. Additionally, Cherednychenko, along with the head of the municipal enterprise, hired 12 fictitious workers, who were paid over 1 million hryvnias (22,513 euros).

Based on the collected evidence, investigators have notified four individuals of suspicion: the village head, the director of the municipal enterprise, the technical supervision engineer, and the contractor. Depending on their involvement and role in the criminal scheme, their actions are qualified under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:

• Embezzlement, misappropriation, or conversion of property by abuse of office,
• Legalization (laundering) of property obtained by criminal means,
• Official forgery.

The maximum penalty for the charges is up to 12 years in prison.

It is worth recalling that on July 1, 2022, a missile attack killed 21 people in the town of Serhiyivka, Odesa region. This attack turned a peaceful resort into a site of tragedy. Three Kh-22 missiles, launched from TU-22 aircraft over the Black Sea, hit a nine-story residential building and two recreation centers.

Subsequent active restoration work began. In December 2022, more than 10 million hryvnias were allocated for the initial stages of repair. However, the agreement was concluded with violations, leading to the termination of the contractor’s work. The total repair work was estimated at over 75 million hryvnias, and completion is planned by the end of 2024.