Mykolaiv misappropriated funds for the construction of the Yuzhnobug bridge

In Mykolaiv, a court is considering a case of embezzlement of almost 40 million allocated for the construction of a bridge that has never been built. The defendants are the director of the company and a technical supervision engineer, who are accused of forgery and money laundering.

This was reported by Anti-Corruption Dimension.

The Central District Court of Mykolaiv has started consideration of the case of embezzlement of tens of millions of hryvnias from the budget. The defendants are Ivan Ivanchenko, director of the private enterprise Mirage, and Valerii Korobeynikov, a technical supervision engineer, who are accused of misappropriating regional budget funds, forging documents, and laundering illegal income.

On November 6, 2023, the Urban Development Department of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration announced a tender on Prozorro for the construction of a bridge across the Southern Bug between Bohdanivka and Kostiantynivka. The cost of the work was over UAH 46 million, and the winner was determined by the lowest price. Mirage won the tender, although questions were raised by the public and the State Audit Service. The auditors found violations: the director submitted an outdated certificate of no criminal record, but the bid was not rejected.

The contract with the contractor was signed at the end of November 2023, after which the terms and conditions were changed several times. But by the end of 2024, construction had not even begun, and the contract was eventually terminated.

According to the investigation, the director of Mirage issued fake certificates of completion, which were approved by Korobeynikov, a technical supervision engineer. The documents indicated false volumes and cost of work for UAH 39.4 million. Although the bridge was not built, the company received these funds from the budget.

According to law enforcement officers, Ivanchenko legalized some of the money through expensive purchases, registering them in his mother's name: an apartment for 1.7 million, an Audi SQ5 and a Tesla Model X worth more than 2.8 million hryvnias.

Ivanchenko was charged with misappropriation of property on a particularly large scale during martial law, forgery and money laundering. He was remanded in custody with bail set at UAH 908,000. Korobeynikov, who is accused of aiding and abetting, is at large but is obliged to attend hearings.

Separately, the court has already considered the case of Oleksandr Nefyodov, a former official of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, who also signed fictitious acts. He pleaded guilty to negligence and was sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment with a probationary period, a ban on working in the construction industry, and a fine.

As a result, the bridge across the Southern Bug never appeared, and the community was left without the promised infrastructure, while tens of millions ended up in private hands.

The suspects face up to 12 years in prison, a ban on holding certain positions, and confiscation of property.

Анна Бальчінос