Expenses for purchasing workwear for metro employees have become the basis for investigations and fines
This is reported by Kyiv24
During 2020–2021, the municipal enterprise “Kyiv Metro” conducted six tenders for the procurement of uniforms and workwear with a total expected value of about 10 million hryvnias. Among the participants in the procurements were the limited liability company “99 Production” and an individual entrepreneur.
Competition Violations and Fines
In September of this year, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine established that “99 Production” and the individual entrepreneur acted in coordination during the procurement process, leading to the elimination of competition and a violation of the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Economic Competition.” For these actions, both companies were fined 1 million 371 thousand 64 hryvnias.
“In 2020–2021, the municipal enterprise ‘Kyiv Metro’ conducted six procurements for uniforms and workwear with an expected value of nearly 10 million hryvnias, in which, among others, the limited liability company ’99 Production’ and an individual entrepreneur participated.”
According to law enforcement sources, the former head of the capital’s metro, Viktor Braginsky, is under investigation and has left Ukraine. The date of his disappearance is noted in the search database of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine – June 20, 2024. This is the last day he was seen in Kyiv.
Braginsky resigned at his own request on March 20, 2024. After that, he relinquished his deputy powers in the Kyiv City Council, and the “UDAR” faction has yet to comment on his escape.
Schemes and Contractors: New Details of Financial Operations
A journalistic investigation has highlighted schemes related to large-sum tenders in the “Kyiv Metro” under Braginsky’s leadership. In particular, accountant Svitlana Ilyina, who worked for Braginsky’s sister and in his company, won tenders for supplying workwear for the enterprise worth 17 million hryvnias as an individual entrepreneur.
The tender process also involved the LLC “99 Production,” owned by Braginsky’s long-time business partner Kirill Kryvets. For some time, the director was Braginsky’s cousin, Hanna Fenina. Overall, this company received 18 million hryvnias for supplying clothing to metro employees.
Kryvets, through “99 Production,” became the main beneficiary of LLC “Enerhodarbudmekhanizatsiya” at the beginning of 2022, which has been signing direct contracts with the metro since 2017. In 2021, this company received a contract for over 270 million hryvnias for the construction of new metro stations, but, according to metro representatives, only 74 million hryvnias were utilized. In 2022–2023, “Enerhodarbudmekhanizatsiya” received additional contracts for over 82 million hryvnias, while Braginsky’s partner received over 37 million for repairs on the red line of the metro.
Another contractor since 2017 is LLC “KB ‘Teploenergoavtomatyka,'” which acted as a subcontractor for “Enerhodarbudmekhanizatsiya.” In 2019, this company received over 360 million hryvnias for work on the green line of the metro in Vynogradar. In 2020, the owner of the company became Tetiana Beletskaya, and the director – Oleksandr Stetsenko. According to the investigation, Beletskaya is Kryvets’ mother-in-law, and Stetsenko is a former business manager of Kryvets and Braginsky’s joint affairs.
At the end of 2022, the metro paid “Teploenergoavtomatyka” nearly half a billion hryvnias for the capital repair of tunnels on the red line. In 2023, the company received nearly another half a billion hryvnias, and the total amount of payments exceeded 1.5 billion hryvnias under a contract that was made non-public.