Kherson Hospital Renovation: Law Enforcement Probes ₴22M Contractor Payments

Law enforcement officers became interested in the renovation of the regional rehabilitation hospital in Kherson. They suspect that the money could have been paid for work that was not completed. Inspections of the premises showed that the repairs were not completed and the work was still ongoing. The contractor has already received more than 22 million hryvnias.

According to local media, in the first half of February, an investigating judge of the Kherson City Court granted law enforcement officers access to documents related to the renovation of the regional rehabilitation hospital. The relevant rulings were published in the state register of court decisions. It is about access to bank accounts, payment documents, defect reports, acts of completion, design and tender documents, as well as other important documents related to the renovation.

Law enforcement officers were interested in three specific contracts signed between the client and the contractor in 2021:

• A contract for the overhaul and equipment of the neurological pathology department worth more than UAH 24 million.
• A contract for the overhaul of the surgical department worth more than UAH 4 million.
• A contract for the overhaul of the polyclinic and diagnostic department worth about UAH 4 million.

In all three cases, the client was the Department of Territorial Development of the Kherson Regional State Administration, and the contractor was Construction Technologies South LLC from Kherson. At different stages, the funds were managed by Valentyn Danyliuk and then Ivan Chornyi.

Law enforcement officers suspect that during the performance of work under these contracts, payments could have been made for work that was not actually performed. This may indicate misappropriation of budget funds. During the inspection, it was found that the repairs were not completed: there were traces of uncompleted work, construction debris and unfinished construction work in the premises. For example, in the surgical department, a man was found during the inspection who was laying tiles. All this shows that the repairs are not completed and the premises have not been put into operation.

As of today, the contractor has received more than UAH 22 million from the client. According to the Youcontrol analytical system, the founder of Construction Technologies South LLC is Maryna Balan from Kherson. She has already been detained as part of another investigation, where she is suspected of misappropriating public funds while providing technical inspection services for war-damaged facilities. In this case, according to the investigation, together with Svitlana Vasina, Director of the Territorial Development Department of the Kherson Regional State Administration, they overestimated the cost of the inspection of 107 social infrastructure facilities by more than 15 times. The total losses to the budget could reach almost UAH 8 million. Nevertheless, Svitlana Vasina continues to hold her position, and the trials are ongoing.

Also, law enforcement officers are investigating corruption schemes during the construction of shelters in Kherson region.

In addition, Intent wrote that the auditors were interested in a contract for more than 60 million for the construction of a shelter in one of the lyceums in Kherson region.

Ірина Глухова