Former Poltava Mayor Oleksandr Mamay discussed a kickback scheme with local contractors to ensure smooth road repair operations without interference from the municipal Housing and Utility Department (HUD). This came to light during a hearing at the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC), where a prosecutor from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) read transcripts of wiretapped conversations, as reported by the local news outlet Poltavshchyna.
According to the investigation, one of the central episodes of the case involves Yuriy Brazhnyk, head of the «Poltava-Service» municipal enterprise, receiving an illicit benefit of 7.7 million UAH.
Investigative materials reveal that the co-conspirators utilized sophisticated methods to conceal financial transactions. Specifically, Oleksandr Mamay, «Budivelnyk 2016» owner Hryhoriy Khachaturyan, and contractors’ representative Viktor Pryadko discussed transferring funds using digital or crypto-exchange codes at the X-Change currency outlet located on Sobornosti Street in Poltava.
According to court records, the codes needed to withdraw the cash were provided to the contractors by Maksym Teslenko, Deputy Head of the Poltava HUD.
Excerpt from the Wiretapped Transcripts:
Mamay: The one I used to know was a QR code. Do they just give a number now? Pryadko: Yeah, a top-up. <…> No, it’s some kind of scheme inside this… Khachaturyan: A number, you give a code. <…> You go into Change. The payment is in digits. That’s how I got it. Mamay: And who gives you the digits? <…> Who gives you the digits? Khachaturyan: Maksym gives them.
Detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) established that Yuriy Brazhnyk subsequently withdrew the cash arriving at the exchange using these digital codes.
During the surveillance operations, law enforcement also documented conversations suggesting that the illicit funds were being funneled out of Poltava. According to the case files, a portion of the money was routinely transported to the capital.
The dialogue also mentions Oleksandr Trukhin, a former Member of Parliament from the «Servant of the People» party. Contractors suspected he might have been providing political cover for the operation.
Excerpt from the Transcripts:
Mamay: So, from what I gather, mostly everything goes through Maksym, right? Pryadko: Of course. Brazhnyk takes everything for himself. For himself, and then dashes off somewhere to Kyiv. Who is backing him there, Trukhin? He claims everyone answers to him.
So far, official charges have been served to four individuals within this criminal proceeding:
Volodymyr Tuzenko and Viktor Pryadko (representatives of Transdorkom LLC and DRSU Poltava LLC) — suspected under Part 3 of Art. 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (offering or providing an undue benefit to an official).
Maksym Teslenko (Deputy Head of the Poltava HUD) and Yuriy Brazhnyk — suspected under Part 4 of Art. 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (acceptance of an offer, promise, or receipt of an undue benefit by an official on a large scale).
The investigation into the misappropriation of budget funds and corruption in Poltava is ongoing, as the HACC continues pretrial detention and bail hearings for the suspects.