State enterprise and contractor in Mykolaiv region must return millions to the budget due to collusion

In Mykolaiv region, the prosecutor's office is seeking a court order to return to the budget the funds received by the bidders as a result of collusion. The Antimonopoly Committee has established a violation of competition that led to losses for the state.

This was reported by the press service of the Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor's Office.

The Voznesensk prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit to invalidate the contracts for the supply of goods concluded as a result of public tenders and to recover funds received through illegal schemes from the companies.

According to the press service, the Commercial Court has already opened proceedings on the relevant claims. These are contracts that were concluded between a state-owned enterprise and several private firms after open bidding. The amount of the contracts exceeds UAH 15 million.

Subsequently, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine found that the winning companies had colluded with other bidders. As a result, these actions grossly violated the principles of fair competition, which led to the distortion of the tender results and the conclusion of contracts that were unfavorable to the state.

Since the violations were intentional and commercial in nature, the prosecutor's office insists on returning the budget funds received under these contracts to the state budget," the department said.

According to prosecutors, such schemes not only cause damage to the state but also undermine confidence in the public procurement system, which should ensure fair competition and efficient use of budget funds. The court proceedings are ongoing.

At the end of May, the Antimonopoly Committee fined two construction firms for collusion in tenders held in Mykolaiv region. The companies now face suspension from public procurement for up to three years. The investigation was launched in December 2024 after suspicious schemes were detected in tenders organized by the Syniukhino-Brid village council and the Mykolaiv Apartment and Maintenance Department.

Анна Бальчінос