Suspicions of racketeering and 175 million: who received the contract for sewer repair in Mykolaiv

In Mykolaiv, a multimillion-dollar sewer reconstruction was entrusted to a company with no competition and a rather controversial past. As the city prepares to spend more than fifty million hryvnias, the contractor's history raises more questions than answers.

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

Mykolaiv has selected a contractor for the reconstruction of sewage infrastructure. It is about renovating the gravity collector on Chkalova Street - from 6th Slobidska to Inzhenerna Street, for which it was planned to spend more than UAH 59 million.

SCREENSHOT: Prozorro

The customer was the city utility Mykolaiv Vodokanal. The tender was announced on March 20, 2026, and the contractor has until the end of the year to complete all the work. Funding is provided at the expense of the company's own funds and other non-prohibited sources.

The only bidder was Effekt, a private enterprise that offered to perform the work for UAH 56.05 million. This was the winning bid after reviewing the documents.

According to the terms of the contract, payment will be made in stages - after the work is completed, on the basis of certificates and with a delay of up to 30 calendar days.

According to the YouControl analytical system, the company was registered in Odesa region back in 2005, and its authorized capital is only UAH 500. The founder is Tatiana Ioano.

SCREENSHOT: Prozorro

It turned out that PE "Effect" has a controversial reputation. According to the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv in 2018, a group of people allegedly tried to fraudulently extort money from the head of DPL Corporation through a fictitious debt to the company. On July 27, 2018, in Odesa, on Seminarska Street, the victim was forced into a car. There, he was beaten and extorted 200 thousand dollars. Later, the man was taken to a building where he was kept in the basement against his will, beaten and held until nightfall.

Later, in December 2018, in order to make their actions look legitimate, the victim was forced to sign a fake loan agreement. It stated that he had allegedly received a loan of $200,000, although in fact no money was transferred to him. In this way, the criminals tried to disguise the extortion as a civil law relationship.

Also, according to a 2021 ruling by the Ternopil City District Court, officials of the regional Road Service could have used their official position to enter into fictitious subcontracts with the company Effect. Under this scheme, the company was paid twice for the same work that it did not actually perform. The total amount of funds transferred amounted to UAH 1.8 million. Because of this, the investigators asked for more time for the investigation and the court extended the deadline.

The main activity of the company is the construction of residential and non-residential facilities. The total amount of tenders won exceeds 175 million hryvnias, of which the company received more than 131 million in 2025 alone.

SCREENSHOT: YouControl

Despite its minimal authorized capital and ambiguous background, Effekt PE continues to win tenders on a regular basis.

The contract for the renovation of boiler rooms at a lyceum in Voznesensk was also awarded to an entrepreneur who was previously linked to alleged price gouging in public procurement.

Анна Бальчінос