The son of a lawmaker from "European Solidarity" is suspected of embezzling 1 million UAH from the budget.

The State Bureau of Investigations (DBR) has announced suspicion of embezzlement involving the funds of a village community in Lviv region against Arthur Lopushansky, the son of Ukrainian MP Andriy Lopushansky from the "European Solidarity" party. On Saturday, January 18, searches were conducted at the Lopushansky family home. Meanwhile, "ES" representative Oleg Sinyutka claimed political pressure is at play.

According to the DBR press service, the Bureau has documented a scheme of embezzlement of budget funds from the Upper Synivydne Village Council in the Skole district in 2019. Investigators have established that the son of a sitting Ukrainian MP is involved in the scheme. As a result of the illegal activities, damage amounting to nearly one million hryvnias was incurred.

“From September to December 2019, the MP's son, along with officials from the village council and employees of commercial structures under his control, developed an illegal mechanism to misappropriate the community's budget funds. The scheme was implemented during the purchase and supply of equipment and components within the framework of the project ‘Reconstruction of street lighting using innovative energy-efficient measures from renewable energy sources’,” the DBR report states.

The DBR announcement does not specify the names of the suspect or his father. However, according to information from Oleg Radyk, advisor to the head of the Lviv Regional State Administration, the person in question is Arthur Lopushansky, the son of MP Andriy Lopushansky from the European Solidarity party.

Information about the searches at Lopushansky's home was also confirmed by Oleg Sinyutka, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament from "European Solidarity."

“On Saturday morning, the DBR came to our colleague Andriy Lopushansky's house with a search warrant regarding a case from six years ago, in which a member of his family is somehow involved. The case was closed back in 2020 due to lack of evidence of a crime but was somehow reopened a month ago. This concerns the procurement of light bulbs for the village council by a private entity, which a family member of Andriy Lopushansky had no connection to and did not influence either pricing or other aspects of this contract,” wrote Oleg Sinyutka on Facebook.

According to information from Prozorro, the tender for the project “Reconstruction of street lighting using innovative energy-efficient measures from renewable energy sources” was won in 2019 by LLC “Arthur.” Its director is Vasyl Blyznak. The investigation into the misappropriation, embezzlement, or unlawful acquisition of property through abuse of office is still ongoing. The accused in the case include the then-head of the Upper Synivydne Village Council Roman Zarevych, engineer Andriy Shymkiv, and the director of LLC “Arthur” Vasyl Blyznak. The next hearing in this case at the Stryi District Court is scheduled for January 31.

According to data from YouControl, Arthur Lopushansky is the director of LLC “Edem Solar” in Slavutych, which is engaged in electricity production. He is also listed as the founder of the "Layar" farming enterprise in Staryi Sambir.

Investigators conducted searches at the home of the suspect and his father and have announced suspicion of misappropriation, embezzlement, or unlawful acquisition of property through abuse of office (Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).