Shelter for kindergarten in Kherson region to be built by company suspected of fraud for European funds

A Kharkiv-based company that was the only bidder in the tender will build a shelter for a kindergarten in the Kherson region. The company has already been involved in investigations into a possible conspiracy to embezzle funds.

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

In Kherson region, a Kharkiv-based company that was the only bidder in a tender worth almost UAH 29 million will build a shelter for a kindergarten in the village of Bobrovyi Kut. The same company was previously mentioned in journalistic investigations and a criminal case regarding a possible conspiracy with an educational institution to embezzle budget funds.

Screenshot: Prozorro

The tender for the construction of a civil defense facility in Bobrovyi Kut was announced in early June. The customer was the Kalynivka secondary school of Beryslav district. The works are to start on June 25, 2025 and be completed by December 25. The project is funded under the Ukraine Facility initiative.

The only tender proposal was submitted by Budkom Production and Commercial Firm LLC, which agreed to perform the work for an amount that is more than UAH 765 thousand less than the expected cost.

According to the YouControl service, the company was registered in Kharkiv in 1997 with an authorized capital of over UAH 9 thousand. In total, the company received UAH 29.3 million in public procurement in three tenders, of which UAH 29.2 million was for the construction of the Orlivka Shelter. The last tender is not yet listed in the system.

Screenshot: YouControl

This is not the first government contract for the company in Kherson region. In October 2024, the same company became the executor of a project to build a shelter for an educational complex in the village of Orlove. Its cost exceeded UAH 30 million, and the contract was also awarded without competition. The auditors undertook to check this procurement, but Budkom was awarded the construction contract for UAH 29.2 million, with the completion of the work by December 25, 2025.

According to a ruling of the High Anti-Corruption Court of February 14, 2025, officials of the educational institution and representatives of the company were suspected of conspiring to embezzle more than UAH 5.3 million by inflating prices for construction materials. However, the court refused to open proceedings due to insufficient evidence.

Анна Бальчінос