Former official of the Kherson Regional Military Administration Vitaliy Karavaev has been notified of suspicion of embezzling state funds for demining agricultural lands in Kherson Oblast
This was reported by the Kherson Oblast police.
According to the investigation, officials of a private company, including Vitaliy Karavaev, falsified reports of work performed on already cleared plots, simulated the disposal of ordnance, and forged documents.
In Kyiv, the company’s director Vitaliy Karavaev and the head of a demining team decided to enrich themselves at the state’s expense after winning a tender to carry out humanitarian demining of territories totaling about 122 hectares. However, the work was not actually performed.
The investigation established that the land plots have been sown for several years and were demined by State Emergency Service (SES) personnel in 2023–2024. To obtain state funding, the perpetrators created the appearance of work: they simulated demining on the plots, dug up the soil and planted ordnance, passing them off as explosive devices found during the survey. Afterwards they drew up service acceptance-transfer acts with false data.
As a result, the customer received certificates confirming the clearance of the territories, and the perpetrators received payment in the amount of over 6 million hryvnias of state funds.
The company’s director and the head of the demining group have been notified of suspicion under articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine that provide for up to twelve years imprisonment with confiscation of property and a ban on holding certain positions or engaging in certain activities.
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing. Law enforcement officers are identifying other persons involved in the illegal activities and preparing materials to bring the guilty to justice. Procedural guidance is being provided by the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office.
Recall that Karavaev became famous nationwide on August 20, 2021, when a huge flagpole in Kherson crushed his Lexus, which was not in the declaration.
The official from Serhiy Kozyr’s “miners” team was not remembered for anything else.