Law enforcement officers in Chernivtsi have uncovered a corruption scheme involving the procurement of quadcopters for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which caused losses to the state budget exceeding 1.34 million UAH. According to investigators, Chernivtsi City Council officials signed five contracts totaling over 8.5 million UAH with a predetermined supplier. The authorized procurement officer of the executive committee has already been officially charged.
The criminal case is being investigated under articles addressing abuse of power and misappropriation of property. The investigation established that procurement officer Bohdana Zalishchuk and accountant Liubov Holik introduced specific requirements into the tender documentation. This was done to guarantee that the contract would be awarded to LLC «Holovna Manufaktura» (directed by Andriy Tkachenko).
To create the illusion of a transparent competitive process, the organizers involved shell bidders. The director of the winning company arranged the registration of several sole proprietorships (O. Bliednov, V. Stohniy, N. Nedolia) and LLC «Minvik,» which submitted purely formal commercial proposals.
«These business entities were registered shortly before the procurement process, conducted no actual business operations, and lacked the registered economic activity codes required to supply quadcopters,» the investigation documents state.
Throughout November and December 2023, five contracts were signed between the Chernivtsi City Council, military unit A7035, and LLC «Holovna Manufaktura.» In total, the state-funded purchases included:
17 DJI Mavic 3 Fly More Combo quadcopters;
9 Autel Evo Max 4T Protect+ drones;
8 DJI Mavic 3T units.
A forensic commodity expert evaluation confirmed that the price of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) was significantly inflated. As a result of these actions, the state budget lost 1.34 million UAH.
Bohdana Zalishchuk, the authorized procurement officer for the city council’s executive committee, has been served a notice of suspicion under Part 2 of Art. 28 and Part 2 of Art. 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (abuse of power or official position committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy).
The investigation is currently ongoing to determine all the circumstances of the crime and to review the potential involvement of other Chernivtsi City Council leadership figures in the financial fraud. No charges have been filed against Mayor Roman Klichuk at this stage.