Corruption in the construction of school shelters exposed in Mykolaiv

Mykolaiv is investigating possible overpricing of construction materials during the construction of radiation shelters. According to the investigation, the procurement could have resulted in an unjustified overpayment to the budget.

This is evidenced by the ruling of the Zavodskyi District Court of Mykolaiv.

Mykolaiv prosecutors gained access to Webcom LLC's documents as part of an investigation into possible overpayment of public spending on shelter construction. According to the investigation, two contracts for the construction of shelters were signed in 2024. The first contract amounted to over UAH 70 million, and the second - over UAH 18.7 million.

The pre-trial investigation established that the purchase of construction materials required for the work was carried out by Webcom LLC. In particular, the contract price for the metal shockproof entrance door blocks was UAH 97,308 per piece, excluding delivery, while in open sources on the Internet such products were sold for UAH 50,328 - UAH 67,164 per piece.

The facts indicate a possible overstatement of the contract price by the customer in terms of construction materials, which could have led to an unjustified transfer of more than UAH 3.5 million to the contractor.

As previously reported by Intent, in December 2024, the Department of Urban Development, Architecture and Capital Construction of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration announced an auction for the construction of a radiation shelter for the South Ukrainian Lyceum No. 4. The tender was held without competition, and the contract was awarded to First Ukrainian Construction Company. The contract was worth 70 million hryvnias, and the alleged overpayment for construction materials could have exceeded six million.

The investigation continues to review documents and procurement procedures to determine whether the prices were inflated intentionally and whether these actions resulted in unnecessary expenditures of the state budget.

Also in Mykolaiv, law enforcement officers are investigating possible overpricing of works during the reconstruction of the food unit of the regional clinical hospital to create a transplantation laboratory. According to the investigation, part of the funds could have been embezzled through fictitious certificates of completion.

Анна Бальчінос