Mykolaiv Prosecutor's Office Targets Corruption in Public Contracts

The Prosecutor's Office has challenged supply contracts to social institutions due to collusion of entrepreneurs in Mykolaiv region and is demanding a refund. The entrepreneurs are accused of collusion during the bidding process, which distorted the procurement results and violated the principles of efficient use of budget funds.

This was reported by the press service of the Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor's Office.

The Commercial Court of Mykolaiv Oblast opened proceedings on the claims of the Bashtanka District Prosecutor's Office to invalidate contracts for the supply of goods to social institutions in the district.

These are agreements concluded as a result of open bidding, during which anti-competitive concerted actions were committed by entrepreneurs. This distorted the procurement results and caused losses to the state in the amount of almost UAH 2 million, which was confirmed by the decision of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine.

The press service noted that the violation of the basic principles of public procurement - transparency, economy and efficient use of budget funds - was the basis for the prosecutor's office to file eight lawsuits. The cases are currently being considered to recover damages from the state.

Recently, in Mykolaiv region, a court terminated an agreement with a contractor who had not started construction of a stadium in almost two years, despite having been allocated more than UAH 17 million. At the same time, the Department failed to exercise proper control and did not respond to the violation of the contract, which indicates ineffective management of budget funds during martial law.

The Special Prosecutor's Office also exposed officials of housing and maintenance departments who misappropriated funds allocated for defense needs. In particular, the head of the Mykolaiv Municipal Housing and Utilities Department and his colleagues purchased wood at inflated prices, causing the state losses of UAH 2.3 million. In addition, a criminal group that illegally privatized land plots with sewage treatment facilities and legalized the funds was exposed in the region.

In 2024, 43 indictments in corruption cases were filed with the court, including 30 in the public sector and 19 in land relations, and the amount of claims exceeded UAH 2 billion.

Анна Бальчінос