Millions for the fortified areas of the Kharkov region were “flown” to front companies

OVA entered into direct contracts for timber for fortifications with companies whose “owners” do not even know that they earn millions.

The Department of Housing and Communal Services (HPU) and Fuel and Energy Complex of the Kharkov Regional State Administration entered into direct contracts for the supply of wood for fortifications with companies with signs of fictitiousness. In total, five LLCs were paid 270 million hryvnia. The chairman of the Anti-Corruption Center “Mezha” Martyna Boguslavets wrote about this

She analyzed direct contracts that were concluded without tenders between the department of the Kharkov OVA and companies with signs of fictitiousness.

Front companies received funds for the construction of fortifications

“Hundreds of millions of hryvnia could probably have been stolen during the construction of fortifications in the Kharkov region, where the “Rusnya” is now actively advancing. Multimillion-dollar contracts for the construction of fortifications, on which a total of 7 billion hryvnia were spent, were passed on to front companies by the Kharkov OVA.

In particular, the Department of Housing and Communal Services (HPU) and Fuel and Energy Complex of the Kharkov Regional State Administration entered into direct contracts for the supply of wood for fortifications with companies with signs of fictitiousness,” she notes.

HOVA selected newly registered noname companies and individual entrepreneurs

Thus, for 270 million UAH for wood, information about which is classified, contracts were concluded with individual entrepreneur Chaus I.A., Herts Industry LLC, Satisbud LLC, ATT BUD LLC and WOOD PRODUCING ENTERPRISE VOSKHOD LLC.

Boguslavets notes that they all began earning millions immediately a few months after registration. Classically - under direct contracts and without competitive procurement.

“It so happened that the department of the Kharkov Regional State Administration selected newly registered no-name companies and individual entrepreneurs for defense procurement. Moreover, the owners of these companies do not resemble successful businessmen and businesswomen - they have dozens of court cases, from theft of whiskey to domestic violence against their husband and mother, some of them were deprived of parental rights and had enforcement proceedings for loans from banks,” says the head of the Anti-Corruption Center “Between”.

That is, the OVA enters into “direct contracts for timber for fortifications with companies whose “owners” do not even know that they earn millions.”

“Secret” avatars of the Kharkov OVA

Boguslavets notes that the scheme began with individual entrepreneur Chaus Igor Olegovich. Three months after registration, the OVA department enters into direct contracts with him for the supply of wood worth millions of hryvnia.

We continued the “successful businesswomen” scheme. Both are from the city of Kamenskoye, Dnepropetrovsk region.

They earned more than 100 million hryvnia from the Kharkov OVA. This is Victoria Smolyak, owner of Hertz Industry LLC and Natalya Koval from Satisbud LLC.

Hertz Industry LLC was registered in June 2023, and within a few months Smolyak began earning millions from timber. Again, under direct contracts. In less than a year, the company changes four managers, which is also a sign of fictitiousness, explains the chairman of the Mezha Anti-Corruption Center.

More than 52 million are processed through Satisbud LLC.

Both companies have the same director - Dmitry Knorozov. From November 2023 to January 2024, the HOVA Department awarded Hertz 20 contracts for timber worth more than 57 million hryvnia.

Other LLCs that received millions in funds

Through “ATT BUD” and “WOOD PRODUCING INDUSTRY SUNRISE” the housing and communal services department of the Kharkov Regional State Administration sells millions, notes Boguslavets, and their owners and managers are related to more than 30 more recently created companies.

“According to this scheme, you can see with the naked eye how someone, being a member of the government, mercilessly registers new companies, using people who, due to circumstances, may not be aware of this. And this someone continues to make money from blood. Ideally, this would become useful information for law enforcement agencies and further exposure of fictitious companies that are stealing millions from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. After all, most of these dozens of companies are now dormant and are probably “ripe” for further participation in schemes to withdraw funds into the shadows and evade taxes,” summarizes Boguslavets.

Fortifications in the Kharkov region

Earlier, the head of the city military administration, Tamaz Gambarashvili, said that fortifications had been built in Volchansk, but due to constant Russian shelling, “it was not easy” to build them. Everything was built, but perhaps “not so tightly.”

Before that, the commander of the reconnaissance unit of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Denis Yaroslavsky, said that on the Ukrainian border in the Kharkov region there should have been concrete fortifications of minus 3 floors, but there were not even mines.