Under the procedural guidance of the Kherson Specialized Prosecutor's Office in the field of defense of the Southern region, indictments have been sent to court against officials of the Housing and Utility Department of Kherson, who purchased timber at inflated prices, resulting in a loss of over 430 thousand hryvnias to the state.

It has been established that the acting head and the head of the project and estimate group, acting in collusion, set the conditions of the tender in favor of a specific entrepreneur during the state procurement of timber. As a result, they purchased over 570 cubic meters of hardwood firewood at prices significantly higher than market rates.

Consequently, the state suffered losses amounting to over 430 thousand hryvnias.

The actions of the officials have been qualified under part 2 of article 28, part 2 of article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. 

In order to recover the damages incurred, the prosecutor's office has filed civil claims.

The pre-trial investigation was conducted by investigators of the Territorial Administration of the State Bureau of Investigation in Melitopol (located in Kherson). 

Note: according to article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court verdict.