The Zavodskyi District Court of Mykolaiv chose a preventive measure in the form of bail for the former director of the Kherson LLC “Budpostach-СТSV” Oleksandr Novokhatskyi, who is suspected of embezzling more than 5 million hryvnias of budget funds during the reconstruction of the shelter of the Kherson City Perinatal Center.
The corresponding ruling was published in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions.
According to the investigation, in November–December 2024 Novokhatskyi, while serving as director of “Budpostach-СТSV”, knowingly entered false data into the certificates of completed construction works, overstating the volumes and cost of works during the reconstruction of the shelter with a maternity-operating block in Kherson. As a result, the enterprise was unjustifiably transferred 5,018,514.75 hryvnias, which, according to the investigation, he disposed of at his own discretion.
The suspect did not admit his guilt and stated that the works under the contract were to be carried out until the end of 2025. The defense insisted that he had not received funds in the stated amount, and that the client allegedly owed money to the contractor.
The investigation asked to detain Novokhatskyi for 60 days with the alternative of bail of nearly 1 million hryvnias. However, the court refused to remand him in custody and set bail at 499,200 hryvnias — this is 150 subsistence minimums for able-bodied persons.
The court also obliged the suspect to appear at the request of investigators and the court, to notify about a change of place of residence or work, to refrain from communicating with employees of the Kherson City Perinatal Center and to surrender his foreign passports. The obligations will be in effect until March 8, 2026.
This is not the first bail in cases involving Oleksandr Novokhatskyi. Earlier MOST wrote that he is suspected of collusion with the deputy director of the municipal enterprise “Khersonteploenergo” and of demanding kickbacks from a contractor during the performance of electrical installation works.
Recall, Oleksandr Novokhatskyi was detained in Kherson on January 14, but was released on bail of 908,400 hryvnias. From the court rulings it is known that Novokhatskyi does not admit his guilt.
Later it became known that Novokhatskyi had passes that were allegedly issued by the Kherson Regional Military Administration (OVA).
During searches at Novokhatskyi’s home and at the office of “Budpostach-СТSV” law enforcement officers found stamps of other companies that also received multimillion contracts in the Kherson region.
After Novokhatskyi’s detention and the searches, “Budpostach-СТSV” disappeared from its office in Kherson. On January 24 MOST journalists tried to speak with representatives of the company, but the office doors were closed.