NABU exposes scheme involving shipment of metro cars from Warsaw
NABU and SAPO have announced suspicion against seven members of a criminal group who, according to investigators, misappropriated UAH 137.5 million from Kyiv Metropoliten municipal enterprise while organizing the shipment of cars provided free of charge by the Warsaw Metro.
This was reported by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.
According to investigators, in late 2022 the Warsaw Metro agreed to transfer 60 metro cars to Kyiv for free. To deliver the rolling stock to Ukraine, Kyiv Metropoliten held a series of tenders for freight forwarding services in 2023.
The investigation alleges that a predetermined company won the tenders. It offered to transport the cars at a significantly inflated cost. The total value of the concluded contracts reached UAH 190 million.
After receiving the payment, per NABU and SAPO, the money was transferred from the company's account to accounts of another controlled firm abroad. Part of the funds was subsequently directed to the actual carrier that directly handled the delivery of the cars.
The remaining UAH 137.5 million, as the investigation claims, was misappropriated by the scheme's participants. Thus, the alleged damages amount to over 70% of the total value of the transport contracts.
Seven people received suspicion notices: a former official of Kyiv Metropoliten municipal enterprise, three current employees of the utility, two alleged co-organizers of the scheme, and the director of the controlled company.
Their actions were qualified under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — misappropriation, embezzlement or seizure of property by abuse of official position on an especially large scale or by an organized group.
NABU noted that specialists from the State Audit Service actively assisted in exposing the alleged scheme and conducting the pre-trial investigation.
The investigation is ongoing. Under the law, the suspects are presumed innocent until their guilt is established by a court's guilty verdict.
