Kharkiv City Council member suspected of supplying defective hand warmers to State Border Guard Service

Kyiv police have charged a Kharkiv City Council member in a criminal case regarding the supply of defective individual heating devices for the State Border Guard Service. According to the investigation results, the damages from this contract exceed 5.4 million hryvnias.

Tender contract details

As established by law enforcement, a State Border Guard Service military unit held a tender for the purchase of hand warmers. The winner of the competition was an enterprise with which contracts were signed for the supply of over 260,000 units of goods with a total value of nearly 5.4 million UAH.

However, the received products did not meet the requirements of the technical specification. Violations regarding temperature indicators and materials used were recorded, as well as the absence of necessary labelling. It turned out that the hand warmers were produced from low-quality raw materials and in violation of the technological process, despite which they were delivered to the customer.

Role of the local elected official

As early as February, police charged an entrepreneur whom the investigation considers the organiser of the supply of substandard goods. During the further investigation, the probable involvement of a Kharkiv City Council member in the scheme was established.

According to the investigation, the elected official controlled production processes at the enterprise and issued instructions to employees regarding the manufacture and supply of products. Law enforcement officers claim that the councillor was aware of the non-compliance of the hand warmers with the declared technical requirements but did not stop their production and supply.

Currently, police have charged the councillor. The pre-trial investigation in this case is ongoing. The police statement does not disclose the names of the suspects or the specific legal qualification of the elected official's actions.