NABU completes investigation of case on seizure of 31 million from Izmail port

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine has completed an investigation into an organized group that seized UAH 31 million from the State Enterprise Izmail Commercial Sea Port in Odesa region during public procurement.

According to the NABU press service, the case file was opened to the defense for review.

The suspects include the current first deputy director of the state-owned enterprise and three representatives of private supplier companies. The investigation found that during 2022-2023, the port operated a scheme to inflate the cost of equipment and goods. The group members had access to proprietary information about upcoming procurements and determined the winners of the bids in advance.

Investigators found that the organizer of the crime, involving the port director and representatives of controlled private supplier companies, developed a criminal scheme to misappropriate funds of the state-owned enterprise. Each person was assigned a role, in particular, the beneficiary of the enterprises was the general director, and the accomplices played the roles of technical and financial directors.

According to the criminal scheme, the individuals learned in advance about the procurement needs and subsequently realized them from a predetermined company. Instead of the port, the members of the organized group negotiated with manufacturers of goods, drafted technical requirements for goods and tender documents, which included discriminatory conditions (unfavorable payment terms for suppliers, short delivery times, submission of documents not required by law, exclusion of the possibility of supplying similar goods, etc.) In addition, they provided the port with inflated price offers from controlled companies in order to overstate the expected value of the procurement item and committed other anticompetitive actions.

As a result, real enterprises, producers of goods, their dealers and market leaders were deprived of the opportunity to compete and did not participate in procurement, and products were supplied by controlled companies at inflated prices.

In December 2025, members of the organized group were served with a notice of suspicion, and if found guilty, the suspects face imprisonment for a term of seven to twelve years with disqualification to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years and confiscation of property.

Кирило Бойко