Law enforcement officers uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme related to the supply of low-quality rolling stock for international transportation to JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia”. The case involves former and current directors, as well as the head of the management of one of the car manufacturing plants, who have already been notified of suspicion.
This is reported by Finway
Details of the investigation and consequences for the state
It has been established that a contract was signed between “Ukrzaliznytsia” and the specified enterprise for the supply of passenger cars and wheel pairs, which were to be operated on both Ukrainian and European railway tracks. After the manufacture and commissioning of the cars, serious defects were discovered during scheduled maintenance over several years – cracks and ruptures in the key structures of the cars and bogies.
“The products were manufactured, supplied, and put into operation. But just a few years later, during scheduled maintenance, critical defects were found – cracks and ruptures in key elements of the cars and bogies,” informed Kravchenko.
It is noted that the normative service life of such rolling stock is decades, however, due to the use of steel with reduced physical and technical characteristics and gross violations of welding technology, the cars became unusable much earlier. According to expert conclusions, these deficiencies were allowed at the production stage.
Qualification of the crime and further steps
The total damage caused to the state amounted to over 64 million hryvnias. The actions of the officials have been qualified under part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — this is embezzlement, misappropriation of property, or acquisition of it through abuse of office. The Attorney General emphasized that “the railway is not only a transport system but also a matter of public safety and a key element of the country’s critical logistics, especially in wartime conditions.” He also added that such actions cannot be justified by technical errors — these are conscious decisions for which responsibility will be incurred.
Earlier, in Kyiv, two deputy directors of the branch “Center for the Construction and Repair of Tracks” of JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” were notified of suspicion due to the purchase of equipment for locomotives at inflated prices, which led to losses of over 4.4 million hryvnias.