Court orders Ukrenergo ex-CEO Kudrytskyi held in custody with bail set at over UAH 13M

Judge Kristina Konstantynova announced the decision, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“The motion is granted. Apply a preventive measure to Kudrytskyi in the form of 60 days of detention. Set bail (as an alternative measure — ed.) in the amount of 13,730,810.40 hryvnias,” she stated.

If bail is posted, the former Ukrenergo head will be required to follow several obligations, including surrendering his international passports for safekeeping and wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet.

Earlier, the prosecution requested detention with the alternative of bail set at more than 13.7 million hryvnias.

The defense asked the court not to take Kudrytskyi into custody.

Several MPs, including Maksym Khlapuk, Yaroslav Zhelezniak and Inna Sovsun, said they were willing to act as guarantors for the former Ukrenergo head.

As reported, on October 21 a source informed Ukrinform that the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) was conducting investigative actions involving former Ukrenergo chief Volodymyr Kudrytskyi.

According to the source, the investigative actions were related to alleged abuse of office and misappropriation of state company funds.

On October 28, law enforcement confirmed that SBI officers detained Kudrytskyi in Lviv region and formally notified him of suspicion.

Investigators say that in 2018, during tenders for the reconstruction of perimeter fencing at substations in the Southern and Western energy systems, an Ukrenergo official conspired with representatives of a private company.

At that time, he served as Deputy Director for Investment of the state enterprise NPC Ukrenergo.

According to the SBI, following procurement procedures, two contracts worth a total of more than 68 million hryvnias were signed, after which over 13.7 million hryvnias in advance payments were transferred to the contractor.

Investigators allege that the funds were embezzled with no intention of fulfilling the contractual obligations.

The investigation also found evidence of forged documents submitted for state registration of a legal entity used in the criminal scheme.

Law enforcement noted that the suspects carried out financial operations with the funds in an attempt to make them appear legitimate.

According to the SBI, the scheme was organized by a Lviv businessman previously exposed by the Bureau over the procurement of substandard clothing for the Armed Forces of Ukraine worth more than 1 billion hryvnias. Media reports identify him as Ihor Hrynkevych, who has also been notified of suspicion in this case