In Mykolaiv, a company with schemes can get 89 million for the Yuzhnobuzkyi Bridge

Almost UAH 89 million for the maintenance of the Yuzhnobuzkyi Bridge in Mykolaiv may be awarded to the Muslim Keloyev-owned EDBK. The company entered the tender without a single competitor, despite numerous journalistic investigations, court cases and mentions in criminal proceedings.

The Center forPublic Investigations investigated the terms of the procurement and the contractor's background.

Almost 89 million for a bridge without competition

According to the Prozorro system, in May, the Mykolaiv Oblast Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service announced a tender for the maintenance of the Pivdenobuzkyi Bridge on the M-14 Odesa-Melitopol-Novoazovsk highway.

SCREENSHOT: Prozorro

The repair works are to be carried out on spans 10-11, 11-12, 12-13 and 13-14. The expected value of the procurement is UAH 88.52 million.

The tender was announced on May 13, 2026, and the submission of proposals ended on May 21. The works are to be completed by December 20, 2027. Funding is provided from the state and local budgets, as well as other sources authorized by law.

The only bidder was European Road Construction Company LLC. The company submitted an offer for UAH 88.5 million, which is only slightly less than the expected amount. At the time of publication, the final decision on the winner has not yet been made.

SCREENSHOT: Prozorro

To participate in the procurement, the client required proof of financial solvency, availability of equipment, employees and experience in fulfilling similar contracts. It also required a tender security of more than UAH 885 thousand.

How a company from Donetsk region became a billion-dollar contractor

According to the YouControl analytical system, the company was established in 2008 in Donetsk under the name Altmost. Its authorized capital was then 51.5 thousand hryvnias. Currently, the company is registered in Vasylkiv, Kyiv region, and its owner is Muslim Keloyev. Among the co-founders of the company are the Eurotransmosts consortium and Paid LLC. The group's principal activities are fuel trading and road construction.

The company is associated with the Keloyev Family Group from Odesa region. The group's assets include Paid LLC, which supplies fuel to state-owned enterprises, including seaports, as well as the EDBK itself, which is engaged in the construction of roads, airfields, parking lots and other infrastructure facilities.

According to Znay.ua, Muslim Keloyev also controls Promtekhpostachinvest, from which Avtomagistral-Pivden leased a production base in the Kyiv region.

SCREEN SHOT: YouControl

EDBK started actively winning government contracts in 2018. The company recorded the highest profits in 2025 - more than three billion hryvnias in revenue. In total, the company's government orders have already exceeded UAH 11 billion.

The company's main customers include the restoration services of Mykolaiv and Kherson regions, Local Roads of Kherson Region, the Territorial Development Department of Kherson Regional State Administration, and other government agencies.

Scandals, criminal cases and suspected schemes

In journalistic investigations, the company and its owner have been repeatedly linked to possible schemes of embezzlement of budget funds, conspiracies and overpricing of works.

In a statement, the head of the Non-Stop NGO claimed that a former adviser to the Prime Minister, who was a member of the coordinating council of the Big Construction, allegedly created a criminal group together with officials from the Ministry of Infrastructure, regional administrations, and heads of contractors, including EDBK. As Radio Liberty reported, it was Yuriy Holyk, the coordinator of the Big Construction program.

According to the applicant, through fictitious road works, the scheme participants could misappropriate public funds and transfer them into the shadows, including to the territory of the Russian Federation. The complainant also alleged the possible involvement of law enforcement and tax authorities, who allegedly covered up the fraud for bribes.

SCREENSHOT: YouControl

However, the court saw no grounds to open criminal proceedings. The judge noted that the statement lacked specific facts and evidence that would indicate the existence of a crime or confirm the fact of the event. Therefore, the information was not registered in the URPTI.

In May 2024, as the CPR wrote, the Restoration Service concluded a contract with the EDBK for almost UAH 40 million to repair the Pivdenobuzkyi Bridge without an electronic auction. An analysis of previous procurements showed that back in 2023, tenders for the same facility were already held for UAH 162.2 million, which, according to journalists, led to an overpayment of UAH 23 million.

Seizure of equipment and subsoil case

The company was also involved in criminal proceedings. Thus, according to the ruling of the Haisyn District Court of Vinnytsia Region, the company was denied the cancellation of the seizure of equipment that the investigation believes to be involved in illegal mining.

These are Ford Cargo and Iveco Trakker dump trucks and a CAT excavator. According to law enforcement, this equipment was used to extract and transport raw materials.

Representatives of the company insisted that the arrest was groundless, as the investigation did not provide evidence of illegal mining on a large scale. They also claimed that the blocking of the equipment impeded the fulfillment of government contracts.

SCREEN SHOT: YouControl

The prosecutor's office, in turn, pointed out that special equipment can be material evidence and a direct instrument of crime, and its return creates a risk of concealment or alienation of property.

The investigating judge upheld the prosecution's position and upheld the arrest, noting that the pre-trial investigation was ongoing and that the needs of the investigation currently outweighed the interests of the owner.

Despite reputational scandals, criminal proceedings, and suspicions of possible misuse of public funds, the company continues to receive large government contracts, often without competition.

The company, which was the only bidder for the Mykolaiv-Domonivka highway repair, may receive a contract worth almost a quarter of a billion hryvnias. At the same time, law enforcement officers have already seized documents from the office of Techno-Bud-Center LLC and are checking its possible involvement in schemes to embezzle budget funds during road repairs.

Анна Бальчінос