The former Minister of Infrastructure commented on the suspicion of abuse of power

NABU and SAP informed ex-minister of infrastructure Andriy Pyvovarsky about suspected abuses, due to which the state suffered losses of more than $30 million. The former official commented on the situation.

According to the investigation, in July 2015, the then minister together with his deputy (at that time also the head of the Tariff Council of the Ministry of Infrastructure) ensured the adoption of an order, according to which the shipping fee from ships in the seaport “Pivdenniy” together with the state-owned enterprise “USPA” began to be collected and private company (50/50). Whereas, according to the law, the collection of such a fee is the exclusive prerogative of a state-owned enterprise as a user of the water area of the port, which belongs to the state, the NABU Telegram channel reported.

The investigation established that the order was passed without proper economic reasoning and contrary to the comments of the Department of Economy and Finance of the Ministry of Infrastructure and State Enterprise “USPA”.

The actions of the former official were qualified under Part 2 of Art. 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (abuse of power or official position).

“According to the results of the examination, only during 2017-2021, due to an illegal order, the state did not receive more than 30 million dollars. USA, which is currently incriminating the suspect. However, the investigation is investigating the consequences of the scheme in the following periods as well,” NABU said.

Andriy Pyvovarskyi commented on the situation on Facebook. According to him, on February 22, NABU detectives handed him a suspicion within the framework of the case, which has been under investigation for almost seven years.

The ex-minister noted that the current legislation entrusts the resolution of issues related to the definition and change of the procedure for handling port dues (including ship dues) to the Ministry of Infrastructure. He also explained that the order of the MIU, which changed the order of distribution of ship levy funds, was previously agreed upon by a number of ministries and departments, including that this issue was considered and supported at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers.

In addition, the issuance of the order was preceded by its discussion in the Tariff Council. The Ministry’s document was approved by the Ministry of Justice, which means it was checked for compliance with the current legislation of Ukraine. Only after that was it registered and entered into force.

Pyvovarskyi added that the specific law “On Sea Ports of Ukraine” clearly provides that the ship distribution is collected between the user of the port water area (in this case, it is USPA) and the owner of the operational water area of the berth (in this case, it is TIS). Therefore, establishing the order of the Ministry of Infrastructure for the implementation of the provisions of the Law should not be a crime in Ukraine. The ex-minister said that he is ready to “defend his rightness and honor both in the bodies of pre-trial investigation and the prosecutor’s office, and in the courts.”