Andrei Pivovarsky and his ex-first deputy Vladimir Shulmeister about causing more than $49 million in losses.
The specialized anti-corruption prosecutor's office sent to court an indictment against former Minister of Infrastructure Andrei Pivovarsky and his ex-first deputy Vladimir Shulmeister for causing more than $49 million in losses.
As part of the pre-trial investigation, it was established that in 2015, the minister, together with his first deputy, who was also the chairman of the Tariff Council of the Ministry of Infrastructure, issued an order that allowed private companies to charge half the ship dues rate from ships in the Yuzhny seaport.
This order was issued despite the fact that the water area of the Yuzhny seaport is state property and is in the use of USPA and the right to fees belongs exclusively to the state enterprise.
But in accordance with this order, only part of the funds was intended for the state enterprise, the other part was collected by private companies. As a result, the USPA State Enterprise suffered more than $49.63 million in losses, which was confirmed by relevant expert findings.
The actions of the ex-officials are qualified on the grounds of a crime under Part 2 of Art. 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The sanction of the article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of three to six years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of up to three years, with a fine of five hundred to one thousand tax-free minimum incomes of citizens.
Criminal proceedings regarding abuses in the Ministry of Infrastructure were requested from the SBU and the National Police in the fall of 2019.
Let us note that NABU and SAPO, as a result of repeated appeals to the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Infrastructure, and the State Enterprise "USPA", achieved the cancellation of the illegal order and the filing of claims to eliminate existing obstacles in the use and disposal by the state of a part of the water area of the seaport "Yuzhny". The amounts of ship dues that private companies illegally received were seized from the accounts of these enterprises.