An advance payment went missing during the construction of a storage facility for the Borozenska School, which cost 68 million

In the Kherson region, law enforcement officials are investigating the possible embezzlement of funds allocated for the construction of a shelter. Investigators have determined that the contractor never returned the 15 million advance payment received from the client.

The Center for Public Investigations examined the details of the case.

According to a ruling by the Zavodskyi District Court of Mykolaiv dated October 27, the case concerns the possible embezzlement of budget funds by officials of a municipal institution and a private company.

The case involves the construction of a shelter for the Borozenske Secondary School.

According to the investigation, in November 2024, the school entered into a contract with Karat Finance LLC for 68.2 million hryvnias. As stated in the ruling, the contractor received a 15 million hryvnia advance from the budget. However, according to investigators, the contractor almost immediately transferred these funds to two private companies under the guise of paying for construction materials. The money was later returned to the contractor’s bank account, but not to the same account from which the advance payment had been made.

Construction was subsequently halted, the client terminated the contract, and the contractor never returned the budget funds received.

Investigators are tracing the subsequent flow of funds through other companies and the accounts of the company’s owner. The court authorized law enforcement to obtain bank documents, information on financial transactions, and photographs of individuals who may have withdrawn cash.

Law enforcement is investigating the possible embezzlement or misappropriation of public funds through abuse of official position.

According to the monitoring portal Dozorro, 35.3 million hryvnias were allocated for construction materials for this shelter, and prices for the largest line items exceeded market rates by 31–76%.

As Intent reported, in the Kherson region, a contract for a school shelter was awarded to a company that had previously been accused of fraud, overpricing, and embezzlement of budget funds. 

Анна Літман