In the case involving millions in markups, police were granted access to a hideout in the Mykolaiv region

The construction of a fallout shelter for the Prybuzhsky Lyceum in the Mykolaiv region, costing over 50 million hryvnias, has become the subject of an investigation. Investigators are examining whether the prices for construction materials in the cost estimate were significantly inflated.

The Center for Public Investigations has uncovered details of the case. 

The case was opened back in August 2025 regarding the possible embezzlement of public funds. In July 2024, the Lyceum announced a tender for the construction of the shelter with an estimated cost of 51.1 million hryvnias. Only one company participated in the bidding—First Ukrainian Construction LLC—with which a contract was signed for 50.16 million hryvnias.

In the case files, investigators cited examples of potentially inflated prices. In particular, reinforcing steel was priced at 40,690 hryvnias per metric ton, although in the open bids, its price ranged from 25,950 to 30,500 hryvnias. Aerated concrete blocks were priced at 6,437.50 hryvnias per cubic meter, compared to 2,490 hryvnias in the bids found.

According to investigators, this discrepancy could have resulted in an unjustified overpayment to the contractor of more than 3 million hryvnias. The final amount of potential losses is to be determined by an expert assessment.

The court authorized law enforcement to inspect the shelter with the assistance of an expert to determine the actual scope of work, materials used, and the condition of the facility. Previously, the head of the contracting company had refused to allow such an inspection.

Read the full version on the Center for Public Investigations website: Contractor Ordered to Grant Access to the Pribuzhsky Lyceum Shelter in Case of Inflated Prices

As reported by Intent, the State Audit Service had also recently completed an audit of the lyceum’s procurement. Auditors identified violations totaling over 900,000 hryvnias, including excess materials and work listed in reports amounting to 768,000 hryvnias and the duplicate inclusion of certain work totaling an additional 132,000 hryvnias. The Lyceum has rectified the identified violations.

Анна Бальчінос