While the state is counting every penny to rebuild the destroyed infrastructure, it seems that no one in the Kharkiv region has planned to “tighten their belts.” Under the cover of big names and strategic enterprises, a large-scale corruption scheme has been operating for over a year, according to sources, covering several structures at once: “Kharkivoblenergo”, “Dorohy Kharkivshchyny”, “Pivdenna Zaliznytsia” and “Chuguyiv Aircraft Repair Plant”.
The essence of the scheme is typical for Ukrainian realities: state-owned enterprises hold tenders formally, but in fact “under their own control”. The winners are again and again the same companies — LLC “PSK Energobud”, LLC “Region-Bud”, PE “Golden I K”, LLC “Techimpex”. There is no competition at all: one participant, prices inflated by two or three times, signatures are required — and another tens of millions of budget hryvnias are “mastered”.
A case in point is the contract with Energobrud for emergency and restoration work in Kharkiv. The amount is over 17 million hryvnias. According to the documents, it is a serious amount of construction and repair. In practice, local residents saw neither equipment, nor crews, nor real work.
Instead, the acts of completed work exist and look impeccable from a paper perspective. They are personally signed by the heads of state-owned enterprises, effectively legalizing work that did not exist.
Then, according to sources, a classic “laundry” begins: the money goes into the accounts of the winning companies, then passes through a series of overnight accounts, is “processed” through fictitious VAT, is withdrawn in cash and disappears into the “black market”. The companies themselves, which formally win tenders, often have neither their own equipment, nor a staff of employees, nor even a normal office. But they have the main thing — connections and patrons in the regional authorities.
The most revealing thing in this story is the reaction of law enforcement officers. According to the interlocutors, investigative structures have known about this scheme for at least a year and a half. However, during this time there have been no real procedural actions: no high-profile searches, no suspicions, no personnel decisions regarding the heads of state-owned enterprises who sign the acts.
All those involved continue to remain in their positions and continue to manage budget flows. Meanwhile, tens of millions of hryvnias may continue to disappear through financial “fan routes” — the same ones that are formally lacking for the reconstruction of cities, roads, and energy.
Against the backdrop of constant statements about the budget deficit, the need for international loans and donations from citizens, the story of Kharkiv tenders looks especially cynical. While some are raising money for generators, building materials and home renovations, others are turning government contracts into a mechanism for enriching a limited circle of people.
The same companies are going around in circles — Energobuda, Region-Budy, Golden — and the ultimate beneficiaries, according to sources, have remained the same for years: influential figures who control key sectors in the region.
So the next time the phrase is heard that the state “does not have the funds for reconstruction”, it is worth remembering the other side of the coin: there is money, but a significant part of it continues to be “absorbed” through tenders “for its own”. And if searches do begin in the offices of “Kharkivoblenergo” and other mentioned structures in the near future, it is unlikely that anyone will be sincerely surprised.
