April 18, 2026, 3:37 p.m.
(ILLUSTRATION: Intent/AI)
A member of the regional council received almost 24 million hryvnias for the repair of a road in Mykolaiv without a tender. The monopoly company, which has already spent billions on government contracts, has once again become the sole bidder.
This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.
It is a major overhaul of a section of the road on 6th Slobidska Street - from Central Avenue to 1st Voennaya Street. The customer was the Housing and Communal Services Department of the City Council, and funding was provided from the local budget - the expected cost of the work was about 24 million hryvnias.
The tender lasted from late March to April 10, 2026. After reviewing the proposals, the winner was Mykolaivmagistral, the only participant in the procedure that offered an amount slightly lower than expected.
Under the terms of the contract, the contractor must complete a full range of works by the end of September 2026: renew the pavement, level the road and carry out related infrastructure works. Payment is due upon completion within 20 banking days. The agreement is currently pending.
According to the YouControl analytical system, Mykolaivmagistral PE was registered in 2021 with a registered capital of UAH 2 thousand. It specializes in road construction. The founders are Oksana and Serhii Shulhach.
According to the Chesno movement, Serhiy Shulhach has political experience: he has run for local councils in different years, was a city councilor from the Nash Krai party, and since 2020 has been a member of the regional council from the Propozytsiya party.
In addition to this business, the couple set up several other companies that also received public contracts. In particular, Mykolaivavtodor LLC and BF Mykolaivavtodor LLC, which are now registered in the names of Central Asian citizens. Both companies are mentioned in criminal proceedings.
Since 2022, Mykolayivmagistral has won public tenders totaling about UAH 1.8 billion. The largest revenues came in 2025 - more than 923 million.
According to the court registry, law enforcement officers investigated possible misappropriation of funds during road repairs in the former Bereznehuvata district, as well as in Kyiv - in both cases, investigators had access to the documents of these companies.
Last year, Intent investigated what the Mykolaiv Oblast Local Roads Agency spent budget funds on from February 2022 to April 2025. Most tenders were won by the same companies without proper competition. Auditors often conducted inspections during procurement, as some procurements were conducted with violations. Mykolaivmagistral was one of the regular contractors.
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