Mykolaiv highway lighting contract won by defendant in money laundering case

The Dnipro-Mykolaiv highway is to spend over UAH 40 million to upgrade lighting to improve nighttime safety. The main candidate for the work is a company that has been previously mentioned in cases of fictitious contracts, tax fraud and money laundering.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.

It is a comprehensive maintenance and repair of the lighting infrastructure on certain sections of the H-11 highway connecting Dnipro with Mykolaiv via Kryvyi Rih. The works are to cover accidentally dangerous sections and areas with heavy traffic, where proper lighting is critical for the safety of drivers and pedestrians.

SCREEN SHOT: Prozorro

The client was the Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service in Dnipropetrovska oblast. The expected value of the procurement was UAH 41.7 million.

Repair and maintenance activities are planned for several sections of the H-11 road at once - in particular, at kilometers 9+499-10+243, 15+580-16+680, 71+581-72+781 and 76+781-78+230. In addition, the list includes certain sections of other national highways - H-23 and P-85.

This is not about installing new lights, but about maintaining the existing infrastructure in working order. This involves technical inspection of networks, replacement of lamps, repair of cable lines, poles and related equipment. As a result, the lighting should operate stably even in difficult weather conditions and at night.

The auction was held on April 21 and was attended by four companies: Enterprise Bask LLC, Baldr LLC, Trendstroy LLC, and Specialized Mobile Mechanized Column No. 90 ALC.

The lowest price offer - UAH 41.7 million - was submitted by BASK Enterprise LLC, which made it the leader of the bidding. The company is currently awaiting the customer's final decision to conclude the contract.

SCREENSHOT: Prozorro

Funding is provided from the state budget as part of the road maintenance and development program. Part of the funds may be provided in advance, and the final payment will be made after the completion of the works - within 30 days.

All planned works are expected to be completed by the end of 2028. It is expected that after that the level of security in these areas will increase significantly, especially at night.

According to the YouControl analytical system, Enterprise Basque LLC was registered in 1992 with an authorized capital of UAH 100 thousand. The company's main KVED is electrical work. The founders are Vyacheslav Pivniak and Iryna Nazmundinova, residents of Dnipropetrovs'k region.

Since 2017, the company has received more than UAH 86 million in public tenders, with the largest revenues recorded in 2025 - more than UAH 25 million. In 2022-2023, the company's procurement activity was minimal.

SCREENSHOT: YouControl

Despite this, court documents mention the company's participation in criminal proceedings. In particular, according to a 2015 ruling of the Zhovtnevyi District Court of Dnipro, the company was involved in a case of fictitious entrepreneurship and tax evasion.

The investigation found that a group of people in Dnipro operated a fictitious company registered in the name of fictitious persons without any real business activity. They used them to conduct non-commodity transactions and "scroll" funds, which allowed other companies to artificially reduce their tax burden.

Among the companies that, according to the investigators, could have used such schemes was Enterprise Basque LLC. As part of the investigation, the court authorized searches of a number of related companies.

SCREEN SHOT: YouControl

Thus, a company with an ambiguous reputation may be awarded the contract to upgrade the lighting of a strategic highway.

Also, the repair of the M-05 Kyiv-Odesa highway worth more than UAH 79 million was awarded without an open tender to a company that has been repeatedly involved in criminal proceedings. Law enforcement officers were checking for possible abuses, including kickbacks, the use of fictitious employees and illegal mining.

Анна Бальчінос