Kivalov International University had to return 300 thousand to Odesa for advertising

The litigation between Odeskreklam and a university associated with Serhiy Kivalov over more than UAH 300,000 ended rather unexpectedly, with the court satisfying only a tiny portion of the claims. Less than two percent of the total amount claimed was recognized as justified.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations, citing the decision of the Economic Court of Odesa Oblast.

This is a claim of a municipal institution against the International University (formerly the International Humanitarian University) to recover more than UAH 313 thousand for the use of advertising space. Despite the significant size of the claim, the court agreed to only partially satisfy it.

The lawsuit was filed in August 2025 through the Electronic Court system. "Odeskreklamy demanded to recover UAH 241,828 of the principal debt for outdoor advertising, UAH 71,560 of penalties for breach of contract, and UAH 3,760 of court fees.

The dispute concerned several advertising structures installed on the basis of permits issued in 2016 by the executive committee of the Odesa City Council. According to the plaintiff, the university did not pay for the use of these places for a long time, although the permits remained valid.

The case file shows that since the fall of 2016, the university has actually stopped making regular payments, resulting in the accumulation of debt.

This is not the first legal dispute between the parties. In 2022, Odesreklama also went to court, and then it partially succeeded in winning the case, recovering more than UAH 33 thousand. The appellate court upheld the decision, and in March 2024, the university paid the amount, but then payments stopped again.

As a result, the court decided to satisfy the claim only partially: the university was ordered to pay UAH 4,685 in fines and UAH 56 in court fees, while dismissing the rest of the claims.

Thus, out of more than UAH 313,000 of the claimed amount, the court found only a small part - less than two percent - to be justified. The decision can still be appealed.

Last year, applicants of 2024 and 2025 who entered the "Professional College of the National University "Odesa Law Academy" actually ended up in a private institution instead of a state institution. As Intent found out, the path to the private professional college led through twin websites, a silent admissions office, and the premises of a former private institution.

The journalists of the publication recreated this route and came across the main discovery: the new private college, which uses the name, structure and premises of the Law Academy, belongs to Serhiy Kivalov 's grandson, 26-year-old Serhiy Kosianenko. Kivalov himself does not speak publicly about his family's involvement in the "new educational network."

Анна Бальчінос