The NABU and the SAPO suspect Valentyn Reznichenko, the former head of the Dnipropetrovsk RMA, of causing over UAH 392 million in losses to the state during road repairs, in collaboration with colleagues from the Department of the Regional Military Administration.

According to the prosecution, Reznichenko collaborated with his deputy, Maksym Bespalchuk, the director of one of the departments, Andrii Kolomoiets, and the CEO of a private company.

The scheme allegedly bypassed complex procedures to award a contract to a company linked to Reznichenko. In the documents, the defendants replaced current and major road repairs with operational maintenance, which was prioritized in 2022.

They did this to avoid developing project documentation, undergoing expert examination, and conducting technical supervision.

According to the prosecution, officials of the Dnipropetrovsk RMA, acting in collusion with the director and founders of Budinvest Engineering LLC, misappropriated budgetary funds of the Department of Housing and Utilities of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration.

According to the investigation, the contracts were concluded contrary to the interests of the service and in the interests of the said company. Under these contracts, approximately UAH 1.5 billion from the budget was transferred to the accounts of Budinvest Engineering LLC, which is linked to the head of the Dnipropetrovsk RSA. The Dnipropetrovsk RSA, in turn, allegedly overstated the cost of materials by more than UAH 392 million.

Between January and October 2022, Budinvest Engineering LLC received UAH 1.36 billion from the Dnipropetrovsk RSA, purportedly for services related to the operational maintenance of local roads.

Further analysis of the flow of funds indicates that a significant portion of the money was siphoned off through a chain of fictitious transactions to other companies.

Officials of Budinvest Engineering LLC, allegedly aware of the criminal origin of part of the funds received, took actions aimed at concealing and disguising them. The laundering mechanisms reportedly included multi-stage financial transfers, splitting amounts, and routing them through controlled entities.

The defense argues that the roads were repaired to allow the Armed Forces to move freely.

Five individuals have been served with notices of suspicion under Article 191(5) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Reznichenko has additionally been served with a notice of suspicion under Article 368-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

In early November, a journalist published an investigation reporting that the private company Budinvest Engineering, which had already misused one and a half billion hryvnias for road repairs, was allegedly linked to Reznichenko. The SAPO initiated criminal proceedings based on those allegations.

In January 2023, Reznichenko was dismissed at his own request.