The former Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine and his former first deputy received a notice of suspicion of abuse of power and official position, which caused the state more than $30 million in damage, the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office reports.

"On February 22, 2023, under the procedural leadership of the SAPO prosecutor, NABU detectives reported suspicion of abuse of power and official position, which caused the state more than $30 million in damage to the former Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine and his former first deputy. The actions of the ex-officials were qualified on the grounds of a crime under Part 2, Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," the SAPO said on its Telegram channel on Wednesday.

Considering that the whereabouts of the former First Deputy Minister was not established, he was informed about the suspicion in absentia - in the manner prescribed by Article 135, Article 278 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.

According to the investigation, in 2015, the minister, together with his deputy, who was also the chairman of the tariff council of the Ministry of Infrastructure, issued an order allowing private companies to charge half the ship dues rate from ships in the Pivdenny seaport. This order was issued despite the fact that the water area of this port is state property and is in the use of USPA and the right to charge belongs exclusively to a state enterprise.

In accordance with this order, only part of the funds was assigned to the state enterprise, the other part was collected by private companies. As a result, more than $30 million of damage was inflicted on the state, which was confirmed by the relevant expert findings.

The pretrial investigation of the case continues, and other persons who may be involved in the commission of this crime are being identified.

The SAPO report did not name the suspects.

In 2015, Andriy Pyvovarsky was the Minister of Infrastructure, and Volodymyr Shulmeister was his first deputy.