School renovation contract in Kherson region awarded to company linked to money laundering

In Kherson region, the contract for repairing a school damaged by Russians was awarded to a company associated with corruption and money laundering.

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

The Department of Territorial Development of the Kherson Regional State Administration announced a tender for the overhaul of the premises of the educational building and the roof of the Malooleksandrivka secondary school.

During the occupation of the settlement, the school was significantly damaged: part of the roof was demolished, internal sanitary facilities, heating system, power grid, water supply and modular gas boiler were damaged.

An open tender with special conditions was held on November 8. The contractor has to complete the works by December 25, 2025.

Only one bidder attended the auction and was awarded the contract. ATLAS BUILD-PRO offered UAH 17 million 942 thousand 562.

Screenshot: Prozorro

According to the YouControl online analytical system, ATLAS BUD-PRO LLC was registered four years ago. The company has four founders. The company has earned UAH 90 million 144 thousand 726 in public tenders during its activity.

The court ruling states that the company was accused of corruption, misappropriation and laundering of budget funds.

The head of the civil society organization "Platform Public Control" sent a statement to the investigation department of the National Police in Kherson region about a possible crime (part 2 of Article 364 and part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The statement says that certain officials from the Department of Territorial Development of the Kherson Regional State Administration and representatives of ATLAS BUILD-PRO LLC allegedly developed and implemented a scheme to misappropriate budget funds in the amount of over UAH 460 thousand.

Screenshot: Prozorro

This was done through overpricing materials and works during the overhaul of the Sonechko kindergarten in the village of Kyselivka, Kherson district. According to the investigation, the applicant claims that the funds were deliberately overstated and distributed among those involved. The judge dismissed the claim on the grounds that the case had already been initiated by regional law enforcement.

There have been numerous cases of contracts with firms accused of corruption. Contracts for the repair of shelters in Kherson worth 15 million were awarded without a tender to odious firms and a newcomer. It turned out that the company in question was involved in a case of misappropriation of budget funds by prior conspiracy earlier this year.

In early November, a contract for the construction of the shelter was signed in Mykolaiv region without open bidding. The cost of the work was over UAH 33 million. In 2021, the company's co-owner was accused of embezzling budget funds, namely from the Kazankivska Multidisciplinary Hospital.

Анна Бальчінос