April 22, 2026, 5:32 p.m.
(ILLUSTRATION: Intent/AI)
A company involved in a criminal investigation into the alleged embezzlement of budget funds for catering has been awarded a new government contract - this time to provide food for schoolchildren. This is a multimillion-dollar deal for students in Teplodar, concluded without a tender.
This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.
In April 2026, the Teplodar Lyceum named after A.P. Medvedkov signed an agreement to organize meals for primary school students and children of privileged categories.
The procurement was conducted under a non-competitive procedure with an expected value of UAH 7.8 million. The winner was Fabryka Smaku LLC, which agreed to provide services for UAH 7.63 million.
The contract provides for the provision of meals until the end of 2026 at the lyceum's location in Teplodar, Odesa Oblast. Funding is provided both from the local budget (over UAH 3.6 million) and from the state educational subvention (over UAH 4.1 million).
The procuring entity cited "correction of a technical error" in the preliminary report on the contract execution as the reason for the procurement without competition, referring to the relevant resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers regulating procurement under martial law.
At the same time, in April, a court in Odesa considered a request from prosecutors to seize property in a case of possible misappropriation of budget funds allocated for food for hospitals and social institutions. The case involves contracts worth over UAH 1 billion and alleged price overcharging through related companies.
According to the investigation, in 2024-2025, a scheme could have been operating in Odesa and the region to supply food and ready-to-eat meals to medical, educational and social institutions at significantly inflated prices. The key role, according to law enforcement, was played by related companies, Fabrika Smaku LLC and Project Invest XXI LLC, which regularly received large contracts.
As Intent wrote, the company's customers included the regional mental health center, city hospitals, children's boarding schools and local governments. The total amount of contracts with Fabryka Smaku LLC alone exceeded UAH 1.2 billion, with Project Invest XXI accounting for more than 680 million more. The investigation found that the products were purchased through intermediaries at market or even lower prices, and then sold at a markup of 40-80%.
In February 2026, law enforcement officers searched the office of Fabrika Smaku, seizing financial documents, contracts, and computer equipment. The prosecutor's office requested that the property be seized, but the court refused.
Back in December 2025, the head of the Odesa City Military Administration ,Serhiy Lysak, criticized the situation with food in the city's schools, noting that the limited number of suppliers negatively affects the quality of services.
According to YouControl, Fabryka Smaku LLC was registered in 2015 with an authorized capital of only 1,000 hryvnias, but two months later it began receiving contracts for hospital catering. Its owner and manager is Igor Levinzon. Previously, he also ran the Bit-Yug company, which the media linked to former MP Oleksandr Presman.
Since 2023, the company has been involved in a criminal investigation by the Bureau of Economic Security into the possible misappropriation of budget funds. According to the investigation, representatives of several companies, in collusion with city council officials, supplied products to medical institutions at artificially high prices.
Law enforcement officers also found that in 2021, when supplying food to schoolchildren in the Usativska community, the cost of cooking and transportation was artificially inflated. In fact, the food was prepared in a neighboring village and delivered in violation of sanitary standards. Another criminal proceeding regarding alleged collusion between the companies and local authorities was closed due to the expiration of the pre-trial investigation.
In total, since 2017, the company has received over UAH 3.7 billion in public tenders, including over UAH 1 billion in 2026 alone.
Back in 2023, the CPR called the company a de facto monopolist in the medical food market in Odesa, as one supplier provided products to various budgetary institutions - from hospitals and schools to law enforcement agencies and military units.
In 2024, there was also a scandal over the quality of food in City Hospital No. 5. A member of the city council reported numerous violations: dirty containers, lack of labeling, expired food, and failure to comply with the food delivery schedule.
Анна Бальчінос