In Odessa, a company implicated in an embezzlement case was awarded a 21-million contract for cogeneration

The Odessa City Heating Utility has signed a new contract worth over 21.3 million hryvnias with Pivdenenergomontazh LLC. This company regularly receives multi-million contracts from the utility and has already carried out similar work.

The relevant information is available on the Prozorro e-procurement system.

The project involves the construction of a power distribution system based on gas-piston cogeneration units at 80-B Heroes of the Defense of Odessa Street. The work is being carried out as part of the city’s preparations for the heating season and energy-saving measures. In the procurement documents, this is listed as an “adjustment.” 

The expected cost of the procurement was 21.33 million hryvnias. The bidding was conducted as an open tender with special conditions, but only one participant took part—Pivdenenergomontazh LLC. A contract for the full expected amount was signed with this company on July 10. The work is scheduled to be completed by December 31, 2026.

According to the YouControl service, Pivdenenergomontazh LLC was registered in Odesa in 2017.

The company regularly receives government contracts. The total value of contracts it has signed since 2016 amounts to nearly 170 million hryvnias. A significant portion of this amount comes from contracts with the municipal enterprise “Odesa City Heat Supply.”

The company is listed as having three owners: Andriy Onyshchenko from Zaporizhzhia , and Andriy Shcherbin and Mykola Zabrotskyi, both from Odesa.

As reported by Intent, “Pivdenenergomontazh” LLC is implicated in a criminal investigation into the possible embezzlement of public funds during the performance of work commissioned by the Odesa City Heat Supply Municipal Enterprise.

According to investigators, officials of the municipal enterprise, in collusion with contractors, entered false information regarding the scope of work into the certificates of completion while martial law was in effect.

A court order from late 2025 mentions Andriy Onyshchenko, the director of “Pivdenenergomontazh” LLC .

According to the investigation, he held meetings with officials—budget administrators of the Odessa City Council—in an office on the second floor of the “ARK SPA PALACE” complex at 1a Genuezka Street, as well as at the “Vinobroteria” restaurant.

The investigation notes that during these meetings, they discussed methods for embezzling budget funds, the amounts of “kickbacks” for capital projects, and handed over funds that had already been embezzled. Law enforcement launched the investigation in the fall of 2024.

Earlier,on the “Intent.Insight” program, the then-deputy mayor of Odessa, Anna Pozdnyakova, reported that the Odessa region was supposed to receive nine such vehicles as part of a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) project funded by the Japanese government.

Ірина Глухова