Scandalous company from Mykolaiv region wins 30 million from Kherson budget

In Kherson region, almost UAH 30 million for road repairs may go to a company involved in a criminal case of embezzlement of budget funds. Only one company applied for the tender, which reduced the price by only 0.2% of the minimum bidding step.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations with reference to the Prozorro procurement system.

The tender was announced by the state institution "Local Roads of Kherson Region" in early June. It is about repairing a section of the road Zahradivka - Kochubeivka - Davydiv Brid - Kalynivske - Bobrovyi Kut worth UAH 29.2 million. The works are to be completed by the end of 2025.

Screenshot: Prozorro

The project involves leveling roadsides and slopes, eliminating potholes, strengthening roadsides, arranging drainage ditches, installing bollards, and cleaning bridges and pipes.

The auction was supposed to take place on June 17, but only one company took part in it, offering to perform the work for UAH 29.14 million - with a minimum reduction in value of UAH 63 thousand, while the bidding step should have been at least UAH 292 thousand.

According to the YouControl service, Dorbut 777 LLC was registered in 2018 in the village of Domanivka in Mykolaiv region, and the owner is Arman Kazaryan. The company was involved in criminal proceedings regarding the alleged embezzlement of budget funds in collusion with a Kyiv utility company and LLC SC Avtostroy. The investigation believes that the contractors may have entered false data into official reports in order to receive payment for work that was not actually performed.

Screenshot: Prozorro

According to the investigation, Dorbut 777 LLC received more than UAH 88.8 million from various customers, including road services in Mykolaiv, Odesa, and Poltava regions, in 2021-2022. And since 2019, the company has won a total of more than UAH 264 million in government contracts.

The winner of the 64-million-hryvnia tender for road repairs in Kherson region was a company that was involved in criminal proceedings and is suspected of collusion and embezzlement of budget funds. This company has already received state contracts worth more than UAH 7 billion, most of which were awarded without tenders.

Анна Бальчінос