Power plant repairs worth 64 million in Chornobaivka were awarded to a company with a history of overpayments

In the Kherson region, almost UAH 64 million from the state budget was allocated for the reconstruction of a power facility in the Chornobaiv community without an open tender. The contract was awarded to one company, which became the only bidder.

This was reported by Intent with reference to the Prozorro public procurement system.

It is the reconstruction of facility No. 8, which was ordered by the Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service in Kherson Oblast. The expected cost of the work was over UAH 64 million. The only bidder was European Road Construction Company LLC, which eventually became the winner.

SCREENSHOT: Prozorro

The procurement was conducted under a non-competitive procedure - without open bidding. This was explained by the martial law and a special government decree that allows direct contracting for works related to the protection of critical infrastructure.

Funding is provided from the state budget reserve fund. The works are to be completed by the end of March 2027.

The justification states that the reconstruction concerns critical infrastructure facilities, in particular the fuel and energy sector. At the same time, the lack of competition traditionally makes it difficult to assess the market price and the efficiency of using budget funds.

According to the YouControl analytical system, European Road Construction Company LLC was established in 2008 in Donetsk with an authorized capital of UAH 51,500. In addition to the main activity, the company declared about twenty additional areas of work. In 2018, there were changes in the company's structure: it was re-registered in Kyiv region, and Muslim Keloyev became the owner. The business is now controlled by his family.

The company's beneficiaries live in Odesa region. Among the company's regular customers are the Infrastructure Restoration and Development Services of Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.

SCREENSHOT: Prozorro

The company and its owner have repeatedly appeared in journalistic investigations. They are among the three contractors that most often receive contracts for road works without open bidding. Since 2018, the company has received about UAH 10.4 billion through public procurement. The company's largest profit was recorded in 2025 - more than UAH 3 billion.

In 2025, the head of the NGO Non-Stop filed a complaint with the court about a possible conspiracy within the framework of the Big Construction program. According to his version, the participants of the scheme could have misappropriated budget funds through fictitious road works and transferred them to the shadow economy, in particular to Russia. It was also assumed that representatives of tax and law enforcement agencies could have been involved in this, allegedly covering up such actions for a fee. However, the court refused to open proceedings.

SCREENSHOT: YouControl

Journalistic materials also linked the company and its beneficiary to possible misuse of budget funds, conspiracies, and overstatement of the cost of work. In particular, in May 2024, the Recovery Service signed a contract with the European Road Construction Company LLC for UAH 39.9 million without using the electronic procurement system to replace a small bridge with a culvert on the Odesa-Voznesensk-Novyi Buh highway. At the same time, these works were additional works at the same facility.

Intent's analysis of previous procurements showed that back in 2023, UAH 162 million was already allocated for this facility through a tender that was also won by this company. According to analysts, the overpayment could have reached UAH 23 million.

Анна Бальчінос