A firm linked to oligarchs was awarded a contract in Kherson

In Kherson, a boiler repair contract was awarded without competition. The work will be carried out by a Kyiv-based company with ties to Kharkiv business and the Yanukovych-era government.

This is evidenced by data from the Prozorro procurement system.

In Kherson, a procurement for the overhaul of hot water boiler No. 3 at the boiler house on V. Velykyi Street has been completed. The cost of the work amounted to UAH 12.39 million. The tender was held without competition, as only one company submitted an offer. According to the plan, the works are to be completed by December 31, 2025.

Intent decided to check whether there were any red flags in the company's activities. Energobudkonsult LLC was registered in Kyiv in 2008 with an authorized capital of 55 thousand hryvnias. The founder of the company is Victoria Shcherbakova from Kharkiv, and the head is Maksym Khodak. The company's main activities include engineering, geology, geodesy, technical consulting, and production of equipment for the coal, mining, and metallurgical industries.

SCREENSHOT: Prozorro

According to YouControl, since 2018, the company has received government contracts worth more than UAH 474 million. The largest income was in 2023, amounting to more than 214 million, and the main customer was Kharkiv Heating Networks. The company has two licenses - for the construction of architectural objects and the production of industrial equipment.

Journalistic investigations linked the company to the Kharkiv-based Energomash company and its former head, Volodymyr Buzinov. He has been working in the energy sector for more than 20 years: He managed investment programs at Ukrgazdobycha and later became the first deputy director of NPC Ukrenergo.

Buzinov was considered a business partner of the Bohatyrev family, which at the time, despite international sanctions against the medical sector of their business, retained control of the energy sector.

SCREEN SHOT: YouControl

Back in 2014, Nashi Hroshi wrote that after Bohatyrev's appointment to Ukrenergo, Buzinov was promoted to the position of Deputy Director for Investment Programs and Capital Construction. His private structures, in particular the Energomash Construction and Installation Department, operated in Kharkiv and were the main suppliers of equipment to state-owned companies.

In 2025, Energobudkonsult has already received contracts from Kharkiv Heating Networks and Khersonteploenergo for more than UAH 50 million. In July alone, the company won contracts for the repair of two hot water boilers in Kherson worth over UAH 40 million. Like the current procurement, they were awarded without real competition and with a symbolic price reduction.

Анна Бальчінос