In Kyivpastrans tenders, you can cheat not only on tires, but also on the scheme. That is how, according to the investigation, in 2022, the head of a private company, together with officials of a municipal enterprise, cheated on the scheme for almost 5 million hryvnias - at the expense of the city budget.
The scenario is simple: the tender conditions are prescribed for one “own” participant, the others are automatically eliminated, the contract is signed, the tires are imported — but at prices that are somewhat far from market prices.
The Kyiv Prosecutor's Office has reported suspicions to the director of a private company that won the tender. Formally, for the supply of tires for municipal transport. In fact, for jointly rigging the tender with officials of Kyivpastrans.
According to the investigation, the company's officials created discriminatory conditions — that is, a technical task that only a specific company could fulfill. Coincidence? Hardly. Then they signed a contract with this company. And then everything went according to the script: the price tags soared, and the quality and transparency disappeared somewhere.
The examination showed: budget losses — 4.9 million hryvnias. And this, by the way, is approximately the price of 5 new trolleybuses for Kyiv (or 15 years of free travel for a pensioner in the capital's transport). Or — a good cashback for someone who knows how to “prepare” tenders.
Earlier, suspicions were raised against two officials of Kyivpastrans — the former deputy director for production and the head of one of the departments. Now, the law enforcement officers have reached the direct perpetrator — the entrepreneur who supplied the tires.
This is not the first tender with tires that has led to criminal liability. In previous years, there have been stories in Kyiv when rubber turned out to be “goldier” than gold, and documents of compliance were fake. But this time the scheme was designed “in the classic way”: a “rigged” tender, a winner, an inflated price, and half of the budget “went” to business class.
Kyivpastrans serves millions of passengers every year. But, apparently, it serves not Kyiv residents but selected suppliers who are perfectly versed in tenders. And even better — in how to bypass these tenders.
