Sister of MP Honcharenko was caught embezzling UAH 24 million during street repairs in Odesa Region

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) suspects the third cousin of the Member of Parliament Oleksii Honcharenko (European Solidarity) Lesia Derevyanko of embezzling UAH 24 million of budget funds during the repair of streets and the construction of kindergartens and clinics in the Odesa Region.

This was reported to the Ukrainian News Agency by sources in law enforcement agencies.

Derevyanko is the wife of Mykola Derevyanko, a member of the Odesa Regional Council from the European Solidarity party, who is suspected of bribery.

Two months ago, they were exposed during the raiding of the land near the sea.

According to the new episode, Honcharenko’s sister and her husband laundered budget funds for infrastructure repairs in 11 settlements of the Odesa Region in 2017-2021.

According to sources, the case also includes Volodymyr Herasymchuk, the director of Ukrmezhbud LLC, a relative of the Derevyanko family, as well as Volodymyr Barnasevych, the head of the Tsebrykove settlement council.

The participants in the corruption scheme stole more than UAH 24 million from the budget.

The member of the Odesa Regional Council and Honcharenko's sister coordinated the conclusion of contracts between the village councils and the contracting organization, which received the funds provided for in the budget for the implementation of projects.

At the same time, the organizers of the scheme artificially inflated the cost and volume of repair and construction works, and the received "difference" was hidden and distributed among themselves.

On the basis of the collected evidence, wife of the member of the Odesa Regional Council, the director of the contractor and the head of the village council were notified of suspicion under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:

▪️ Part 3 of Article 28 (commitment of a crime by a group of persons, a group of persons based on a prior conspiracy, an organized group or a criminal organization);

▪️ Part 1, 3 of Article 358 (forgery of documents, seals, stamps and forms, sale or use of forged documents, seals, stamps);

▪️ Part 1 of Article 366 (official forgery);

▪️ Part 5 of Article 191 (appropriation of property or taking possession of it by abuse of official position, committed on a particularly large scale or by an organized group).

The question of bringing to criminal responsibility the member of the regional council, who organized the criminal scheme, and the heads of village councils, who were involved in the scheme, are being resolved.

The suspects face up to 12 years in prison.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the member of the Odesa Regional Council and his wife stole the coast near the Black Sea from the state.