The court reduced the bail of the arrested Mykolaiv utility company Bezdolnyi by almost 8 times — now he can be released on bail for only ₴651,000.

The court extended the arrest of Sergei Bezdolny until 8 September. Archive photo: «_nikvesti»

The Vitovskyi District Court extended the arrest of Mykolaiv utility company CEO Serhii Bezdolnyi, suspected of a corruption scheme, until 8 September with the possibility of bail. However, its amount was reduced by almost 8 times.

This is evidenced by a court ruling of 23 July, according to NikVesti.

It should be noted that the bail amount set by the court for the former head of the department of development, modernisation and implementation of energy saving and logistics of the utility company «Self-supporting construction mechanisation section» was 4 million 996 thousand 200 hryvnias.

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However, by a court decision of 23 July, the bail was reduced to 651,020 hryvnias.

A similar decision was made by the court against Vasyl Protsyshyn, director of the Scientific and Industrial Company «Eastern European Energy Union» from Lviv region.

Corruption in the procurement of street lighting for Mykolaiv

On 9 April, it became known that Serhii Bezdolnyi, who works for the municipal enterprise «Self-supporting Construction Mechanisation Section» (hereinafter referred to as the SCMS), and Vasyl Protsyshyn, a businessman from Lviv region, were notified of suspicion of misappropriation of budget funds. He is charged with an offence under Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He faces a prison sentence of 5 to 8 years. In addition to working for the utility company, Serhii Bezdolnyi is the brother of Dmytro Bezdolnyi, Director of the Housing and Communal Services Department of Mykolaiv City Council.

Money and documents seized during the searches. Photo: National Police

Money and documents seized during the searches. Photo: National Police

Money and documents seized during the searches. Photo: National Police

According to law enforcement officers, during the purchase of 65 street lighting control cabinets worth more than 5.3 million hryvnias, the budget of Mykolaiv lost almost 600,000 hryvnias due to the so-called «kickbacks» — 13% of the amount excluding VAT.

The director of Mykolaiv's Department of Housing and Communal Services, Dmytro Bezdolnyi, previously told NikVesti that he was considering resigning from his post for the duration of the investigation due to the suspicion served on his relative. It is worth noting that the wife of the director of Mykolaiv's Housing and Utilities Department also works for the utility company where his brother is suspected of corruption.

The mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, promised to cooperate with the investigation in the case of corruption in street lighting.

On 15 April, the Vitovskyi District Court of Mykolaiv imposed a pre-trial restraint on suspected corrupt utility worker Serhii Bezdolnyi in the form of arrest with the possibility of bail in the amount of over 4.9 million hryvnias. As it turned out during the hearing, the Department of Internal Financial Control, Supervision and Anti-Corruption of Mykolaiv approved a tender for the purchase of 65 street lighting cabinets at an inflated price in September 2024.

The court also ruled to compulsorily bring the suspect Vasyl Protsyshyn to the court hearing. However, Protsyshyn did not appear at the hearing on 22 April. The court learned that his whereabouts are currently unknown, but he has not crossed the state border. As of the end of April, the suspected businessman Vasyl Protsyshyn continued to hide from the investigation.

NikVesti previously reported on new evidence in the case — CCTV footage captured the moment of transferring funds to an official of the municipal enterprise «Self-supporting Construction Mechanisation Section» (SMS).

Read also: «Everyone should be happy in the New Year». The court heard dialogues between the utility company and a Lviv businessman in the Bezdolnyi case

It is worth noting that within the framework of this criminal proceeding, Mykolaiv law enforcement officers conducted a number of searches at firms and enterprises related to the implementation of the tender schemes of the utility company.

In particular, it has become known that searches were conducted at JSC «Mykolaivoblenergo» as part of criminal proceedings regarding the possible embezzlement of budget funds allocated for the reconstruction of power grids. And also at the municipal enterprise «Mykolaivvodokanal», where possible embezzlement is suspected in the conclusion of energy service contracts for the maintenance of water supply facilities.