Mykolaiv region's highway repair for 633 million won by contractor with fictitious works

While billions from the budget are being poured into the asphalt again, one of the largest tenders in the Mykolaiv region was actually awarded without competition. This is a company that has already been involved in a criminal case about forged documents and "painted" works.

This was reported by Intent with reference to the Prozorro procurement system.

On April 16-17, the Mykolaiv Oblast Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service announced eight tenders for the repair of key roads in the region. The total expected cost of these works exceeds UAH 1.7 billion. It is about renovating sections both on highways and at the entrances to resort areas.

SCREENSHOT: Prozorro

The largest funding is provided for the repair of the T-15-06 Mykolaiv - Domanivka - Berizky road. UAH 636 million was planned to be spent on the section from km 70+333 to km 94+680. The auction, scheduled for May 3, did not actually take place, as only one company, Techno-Bud-Center LLC, participated in it with a bid of 633 million.

SCREENSHOT: Prozorro

According to the YouControl analytical system, Techno-Bud-Center LLC was registered in 2005 in Ternopil with an authorized capital of over UAH 33 thousand. The company's main activity is focused on the construction of roads and highways. The founders are Andriy Yarema and Yuriy Khanin. The company is affiliated with the National Association of Road Workers of Ukraine.

In addition, the company is a member of the corporate group of the same name and is associated with Transbud-Merezha LLC, August LLC, Zakhidtransbud LLC, Rostdorstroy, Altcom and ONUR corporate groups.

Since 2017, the company has earned more than UAH 25 billion from public tenders. The company's largest profit was in 2020 - more than UAH 5 billion.

SCREENSHOT: YouControl

The company has been repeatedly mentioned by journalists in their publications, and a criminal case has also been filed against it. Thus, according to the ruling of the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv, during the pre-trial investigation, law enforcement officers found that the acting head of the Road Service in Ternopil region, together with the director of Techno-Bud-Center LLC and the general director of Zakhidtransbud LLC, organized a fraud scheme. They drew up and issued deliberately false official documents, which led to serious consequences.

One of the episodes of this case was an agreement dated January 23, 2019 between the Road Service and Techno-Bud-Center LLC. The contractor was obliged to maintain national roads in the Ternopil region on its own and with the involvement of subcontractors, including Zakhidtransbud. The contract was worth over UAH 949 million.

SCREENSHOT: YouControl

According to the investigation, it was not in July 2019 that the CEO of Zakhidtransbud, together with the director of Techno-Bud-Center and the acting head of the Road Service in Ternopil region, agreed to forge official documents. It was about the operational maintenance of the national importance road P-24 Tatariv - Kosiv - Kolomyia - Borshchiv - Kamianets-Podilskyi, including the construction of a detour near the destroyed bridge.

Knowing that the dismantling of concrete bridge structures with a volume of 123.5 m³ was not actually carried out, they issued forged acts for July 2019. The documents unreasonably "painted" works for more than UAH 3.16 million, of which 279 thousand were for missing works. The papers were signed by representatives of contractors and the management of the Road Service.

SCREEN SHOT: YouControl

Based on these documents, the accounting department transferred the funds to the companies' accounts, unaware of the fraud. Thus, according to the investigation, part of the public funds was misappropriated through a scheme with forged acts. The judge then ruled to continue the pre-trial investigation.

Also, on the Dnipro-Mykolaiv highway, it is planned to spend more than UAH 40 million to modernize lighting to improve nighttime safety. The main candidate for the work is a company previously mentioned in cases of fictitious contracts, tax fraud and money laundering.

Анна Бальчінос