House in Mykolaiv destroyed by shelling may be repaired by defendant in embezzlement case

The winner of the tender for the repair of a damaged building in Mykolaiv may be the company that submitted the only bid with the lowest price reduction. The company has previously been involved in scandals involving poor-quality work and suspicions of overpricing construction materials, but continues to receive millions of dollars in contracts from the budget.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations with reference to the Prozorro procurement system.

At the end of May, the Department of Housing and Communal Services of Mykolaiv City Council announced an open tender for the overhaul of a multi-storey residential building located on Yevhenia Loginova Street. The building was damaged as a result of Russia's armed aggression.

According to the tender documents, the expected cost of the works is UAH 20 million 65 thousand. The contractor must complete the overhaul by December 15, 2025.

The auction was scheduled for June 16, but the bidding did not take place due to a lack of competition - only one company applied to participate in the tender.

Screenshot: Prozorro

This is Interbud Construction Company LLC, which is currently awaiting the client's decision on the possibility of concluding a contract without an auction. The price of the potential contractor was only 140 thousand hryvnias less than the procurement amount.

According to the YouControl service, Interbud Construction Company LLC was registered in 2016 in Mykolaiv. Its owners are city residents Vadym Drapezo and Mykhailo Mazur.

This company has already been involved in scandals in the media. In particular, it was about the overhaul of the fence around school No. 44, which the contractor did not carry out for a year after the funds were allocated. The work began only after publicity, but it was never completed. In 2021, Mykhailo Mazur was accused of embezzling budget funds allocated for the repair of the Kazankiv Multidisciplinary Hospital. The case was closed due to the expiration of the pre-trial investigation.

In addition, for several years now, the prosecutor' s office has been seeking compensation from BC Interbud LLC for damages under two 2018 agreements totaling more than UAH 916 thousand. These are related to poor-quality repairs of the same hospital and overestimation of the scope of work.

Nevertheless, the company continues to actively receive budget orders - the total amount of signed agreements exceeds UAH 428 million, most of which were concluded in the Mykolaiv region. The company earned more than UAH 171 million in 2023.

Screenshot: YouControl

The company also came under scrutiny by anti-corruption investigators. According to the media, the contract with the Department of Housing and Communal Services of Mykolaiv City Council for the repair of one of the damaged high-rise buildings showed signs of overstating the cost of building materials - in particular, the bricks and roofing material in the estimate were one third more expensive than the average prices in the region.

Last November, the Department of Urban Planning, Architecture, Capital Construction and Project Development of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration signed a direct agreement without open bidding for the construction of a radiation shelter for the Nechayan Lyceum. The contract for UAH 33.8 million from the budget was awarded to BC Interbud LLC, and the work is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025.

Анна Бальчінос