Who took over the Rada TV channel? Details of the Audit Chamber's audit have been made public

The 24-hour broadcast of the state TV channel is conducted by a private structure that receives hundreds of millions from the budget

The media obtained documents from an audit of the state enterprise Parliamentary TV Channel Rada, conducted during 2020-2022. Until now, the results of this audit, for unknown reasons, have not been presented at a meeting of the Accounts Chamber and have not been approved.

This, as follows from the audit materials, may have a completely logical explanation: since mid-December 2021, an “experiment” has been implemented on the Rada channel, from which a private company benefits. Its name is “Kinokit”. And the results of the work of state auditors who discovered this could provoke a scandal.

For the first time, Kinokit LLC fulfilled the state order in the fall of 2019. Then the State Administration of Affairs hired this company for 198.5 thousand UAH to provide technical support for filming and broadcasting the record-breaking press marathon of President Vladimir Zelensky, which took place on the premises of the Kyiv Food Market. Then everything went like clockwork...

According to the Youcontrol analytical system, Kinokit LLC with an authorized capital of UAH 10 thousand was created in February 2017. Since December 2021, the Kinokit company has been owned by actress Yulia Drozdova from Odessa, who was a legal adviser to Meylor Global LLP, which is controlled by Timur Mindich, one of the co-owners of the Kvartal 95 company, which was co-founded by Zelensky himself before his presidency. Ms. Drozdova is also a graduate of the Ukrainian Film School, which was founded by the wife of the ex-deputy head of the Presidential Office of Kirill Tymoshenko, Alena Tymoshenko.

In the media, the Kinokit company was associated with the former deputy head of the Presidential Office, Kirill Tymoshenko. After leaving Bankova in the winter of 2023, the ex-official publicly dissociated himself from the company, which is still sitting on budgetary funds.

Since the beginning of January 2022, Kinokit LLC has completely occupied the airwaves of the Rada TV channel: the company produces programs for which it receives millions of hryvnia from the budget, including during the great war. According to media reports, during the period of the invasion, the Rada channel paid Kinokot more than 228 million UAH, mainly for filling the United News telethon.

Let us remind you that the Rada channel has a license for the right to broadcast around the clock. It provides for the broadcast of plenary meetings of the Verkhovna Rada; parliamentary hearings and question hours for the government; work of committees, commissions and conciliation councils in parliament; coverage of the activities of people's deputies and parliamentary factions (deputy groups).

Now about the aforementioned audit of the Accounts Chamber, which for some reason fell under the carpet.

His key conclusion is this: the state television channel has actually been taken over by a private structure and no one controls it.

During December 2021 and the first half of 2022, the parliamentary broadcaster did not properly monitor what Kinokit LLC produced and in what quantities. For example, the television program “Actually” was produced 11 times over three days instead of only three episodes, as stipulated in the agreement signed with the Rada channel.

In addition, according to the audit, since mid-December 2021, the Rada TV channel has not executed lease agreements for three premises with a total area of ​​65.5 square meters. m. in the administrative building (Grushevskogo St., 5), where business activities are actually carried out by Kinokit LLC. Here, on the third floor of the sidelines of the Verkhovna Rada, in January-February 2022, filming of the TV program “Talk show “Rada” took place.

The situation is the same with the use of some government premises. In the first half of 2022, a private production company, without a rental agreement or reimbursement for consumed utility services, operated the “Cabinet of Ministers” mobile studio for filming television programs, which were then paid for by taxpayers.

Separately, auditors had questions regarding how Kinokit LLC managed to emerge as a winner in competitions without other participants. As it turned out, in December 2021 – the first half of 2022, the Rada TV channel signed six contracts worth UAH 92.6 million with Kinokot. This happened “based on the results of internal art competitions.”

“However, holding an art competition in December 2021 with the participation of only one participant (LLC “Kinokot” - “Glavkom”) does not comply with the conditions of paragraph 2 of the Regulations on the organization and conduct of art competitions in the State Enterprise “Parliamentary TV Channel “Rada” regarding the purpose of the competition - objective and transparent selection of the best artistic projects,” the auditors say.

Also, according to the auditors, the requirements of the Regulations on art competitions were violated, as a result of which agreements were concluded between the Rada channel and Kinokit LLC in the amount of UAH 15 million. The fact is that in November 2021, the parliamentary broadcaster began holding art competitions in the absence of budget allocations approved for 2021 for these purposes. And this is a budget violation, in accordance with Article 116 of the Budget Code, as indicated in the audit materials.

From the juicy details of the check. As “Glavkom” learned, the written objections to the audit of the Accounts Chamber were prepared not by the parliamentary TV channel “Rada”, which was actually the object of the audit, but... by the same LLC “Kinokit”.

It is worth noting: Kinokit LLC has a privileged status, despite the fact that, in essence, it performs the functions of a contractor for the parliamentary television channel. So, in May 2023, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy classified Kinokit as a critical enterprise. In March 2024, the Ministry of Culture again confirmed this status, which allows reservation from mobilization of 50% of those liable for military service working at Kinokit LLC.