Court Removes Mykolaiv Utility Official for Leaking Procurement Data to a Business

The procurement of equipment for critical infrastructure has become the subject of a criminal investigation. In Mykolaiv, a court suspended an engineer from the procurement department of the municipal enterprise “Mykolaivvodokanal” from his duties; he is suspected of misconduct during the procurement of equipment.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.

According to investigators, in late 2022, the official used his position to ensure that a predetermined company—Eco Genius LLC—won the procurement contract. Law enforcement officials believe that he informed the company’s director in advance about the upcoming procurement and suggested preparing commercial proposals with inflated prices to justify entering into a direct contract without an open bidding process.

To create the appearance of competition, according to the investigation, the company was provided with proposals from four firms, but all of them contained inflated prices. Despite this, the suspect approved the contract and did not verify the market value of the goods.

In February 2023,“Mykolaivvodokanal” entered into a contract with “Eco Genius” LLC for the supply of flanged joint kits worth over 8.3 million hryvnias. An expert assessment determined that the cost of just three installation kits alone was inflated by 686,000 hryvnias. The investigation considers this amount to represent the municipal utility’s losses.

On July 16, 2026, the engineer was notified that he was suspected of abuse of office. The prosecutor’s office requested that he be suspended from work, citing the risk that he might influence witnesses, including the former director of “Eco Genius”—who currently works at “Mykolaivvodokanal”—as well as representatives of other companies involved in the case.

The defense attorney objected, noting that the investigation has been ongoing since 2023, the necessary documents have already been seized, and the suspect has cooperated with the investigation. However, the judge suspended the official from his duties for two months.

Lawmakers are also proposing to hear testimony from the leadership of the Department of Internal Financial Control, as well as fromthe municipal enterprise “Mykolaivelektrotrans,” following journalistic investigations into possible financial irregularities at municipal enterprises.

Анна Бальчінос