Odesa businessman is on trial for embezzling money from house repairs

The Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa has begun consideration of a unified case against local businessman Pavlo Bardai, who is accused of misappropriating budget funds while performing contract work commissioned by the municipal enterprise Porto-Frankivsk Housing and Communal Services.

As established by the Anti-Corruption Dimension on the basis of court materials, Bardai is involved in two criminal proceedings that were opened in the fall of 2023. Both cases concern improper fulfillment of contracts for the repair of residential buildings in the center of Odesa.

They concern the activities of the contracting organization Bukanis LLC, which was managed and owned by the defendant. In 2020, this company received 32 contracts from Porto-Frankivsk Housing and Communal Services without competitive procedures. The utility company chose the contractor independently within the framework of sub-threshold procurement.

According to the documents, Bukanis was supposed to repair entrances, adjacent territories, and replace windows and doors. However, according to the findings of the investigation and experts, much of this work was either partially completed or not carried out at all, while the financial statements included full acts of completion.

The most illustrative case was the one at 8 Osypova Street, where uncompleted work worth more than UAH 54 thousand was recorded. In total, experts estimate that the amount of damage caused in six projects exceeds UAH 532 thousand.

Here are just a few addresses from the list:

• 17 Hradonachalnytska St. - UAH 120,443
• 9 Yevreyska Street - UAH 94,665
• Koblevska 13 - UAH 79,866
• 29 Zhukovskoho St. - UAH 75,038
• 16, Olhiyivska St. - 108 446 UAH
• Troitska, 12 - 73,938 UAH

Moreover, Bardai is also related to another company, Solvin LLC, which also actively cooperated with the same housing cooperative. According to open registers, this company received 12 utility contracts. There are also publicly available reviews of individuals who complained about the dubious quality of Bardai's services.

So far, the investigation has collected enough evidence for a trial. If proven guilty, the contractor faces real punishment for misappropriation of local budget funds.

Ірина Глухова