NABU completes probe into ex-Dnipropetrovsk governor over $9M embezzlement

NABU said that Reznichenko and his accomplices are suspected of embezzling more than 392 million hryvnias (more than $9 million) in road repairs.

Investigation showed that the suspects falsified documents in order to receive money more quickly and “avoid complex procedures.” They reclassified current or major road repairs as maintenance services, which were a budget priority in 2022.

The suspects unjustifiably increased spending on the work to 1.5 billion hryvnias (almost $35 million). They concluded contracts for this amount with a company connected to the former head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration.

At the same time, the company inflated the cost of materials by more than $9M. Part of this money was transferred to the accounts of other companies controlled by the high-ranking official and his deputy.

In September 2024, law enforcement announced suspicions against five participants in the scheme.

Their actions are classified under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misappropriation, embezzlement of property, or taking possession of it through abuse of office).

One of them, a former director of a department of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, was additionally notified of suspicion of illicit enrichment.

In November 2022, journalists found that since the beginning of 2022, the Dnipro-based company Budinvest Inzhyniring had received $35 million in budget funds for road maintenance in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast — a significantly inflated amount compared to other Ukrainian oblasts. Journalists from the Skhemy project and Ukrainska Pravda reported that a 34-year-old fitness trainer, Yana Khlanta, who was allegedly Valentyn Reznichenko’s partner, was a co-owner of the company.

When Skhemy tried to find Budinvest’s subcontractors, it turned out that the companies BNM and Maksi-bud Plyus were registered in Dnipro at the same address, which is also the legal address of at least 40 other firms.

On Sept. 12, 2024, NABU reported that law enforcement had uncovered a large-scale scheme in the road sector involving the former leadership of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration. Due to the actions of the former officials, the state budget suffered losses of more than $6 million.

Suspicion was announced to: the former head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration; the former deputy head of the administration; a former department director; a former head of the road infrastructure division; and the head of a business entity.

On Sept. 18, bail of more than $700k was posted for Reznichenko.

On Nov. 21, the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine left the preventive measure for the ex-head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration unchanged.