Anti-corruption authorities serve Energoatom officials with suspicion of misappropriation of UAH 100 million during construction of nuclear waste storage facility
The contractor purchased equipment at market value and then sold it to Energoatom at a much higher price, resulting in overpayment of UAH 100 million to the state-owned enterprise
The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the NABU have served suspicion notices to five people involved in the misappropriation of UAH 100 million during the construction of a spent fuel storage facility, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office reports.
"On October 25, 2023, the SAPO and NABU served five people with a notice of suspicion of causing almost UAH 100 million in damages to SE NNEGC Energoatom," the SAPO telegram channel said.
According to the prosecutor's office, in December 2020, the Atomproektengineering, a part of the Energoatom, and a predetermined private company signed an agreement to complete the construction of a centralized spent fuel storage facility, bypassing open bidding.
"In order to seize the funds of SE NNEGC Energoatom, the suspects tripled the price of the contract by additional agreements – from UAH 421 million to UAH 1.497 billion, in particular by adding to its terms the supply of radiation monitoring equipment," the statement said.
The SAPO clarifies that the contractor purchased this equipment at market value and then sold it to Energoatom in 2021 at a much higher price, resulting in almost UAH 100 million overpayment by the state enterprise.
"The suspected participants in the scheme include the CEO of a separate subdivision of Energoatom, the head of the estimate and contract department of a separate subdivision of Energoatom, the head of a private company, his deputy and an employee of the company's legal department," the prosecutor's office said.
These are the CEO of Energoatom Mykola Bozhko, and his 4 accomplices.
The actions of the individuals are classified under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (embezzlement of another's property committed on a particularly large scale, by prior conspiracy by a group of persons, by abuse of office). Law enforcement officers are deciding on a type of detention for the suspects.
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