In the Mykolaiv region, the director of a construction company is suspected of embezzling more than 61.3 million hryvnias in public funds during the reconstruction of an electrical substation. According to investigators, the contractor inflated the cost of materials by a factor of four.
The Center for Public Investigations examined the details of the case.
The case involves the reconstruction of the 330 kV “Trikhaty” substation, which was carried out by Ukrtransmist LLC under a contract with the Mykolaiv Regional Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service. The contract, worth over 1.92 billion hryvnias, was signed in June 2023 and funded by the state budget.
According to the investigation, the cost estimates for waterproofing called for the use of Sikagard-702 W Aquaphob. However, its cost was calculated based on the price of the undiluted concentrate, even though the manufacturer’s instructions specified diluting one part of the product with three parts water.
The actual preparation of the working mixture was confirmed by a processing report dated March 2024. Despite this, the contractor continued to list the price of the concentrate in the payment documents. The total cost of work for this item in the reports amounted to over 78.7 million hryvnias.
According to law enforcement officials, as a result, over 61.3 million hryvnias were excessively transferred from the state budget. The documents regarding the completed work and the certificates of their cost were signed by the company’s director.
On October 5, 2026, she was notified that she was suspected of embezzlement on an especially large scale and official forgery.
The investigator requested that the director be suspended from her position, citing the risks of document destruction and witness tampering. However, the court denied the motion because the prosecutor failed to prove the existence of these risks. At the same time, the court acknowledged that the evidence gathered—including expert reports and witness testimony—confirmed the validity of the suspicion.
According to the YouControl analytical system, Ukrtransmist LLC is registered in Kyiv and specializes in the construction of bridges and tunnels. Since 2017, the company has received government contracts worth over 9.5 billion hryvnias.
Анна Літман
