Law enforcement agencies have uncovered a large-scale scheme involving the misuse of budget funds in Kyiv. According to the investigation, former officials of the municipal enterprise ‘Pleso’ financed the development of the waterfront with city funds instead of the private developer, allowing the developer to save tens of millions of hryvnias.
This is reported by Kyiv24
How the waterfront financing scheme worked
According to the terms of the investment agreement, the developer of one of the capital’s residential complexes was supposed to create the waterfront and perform bank protection in the 50-meter coastal zone at their own expense. However, officials from KP ‘Pleso’ unjustifiably included this project in the Economic and Social Development Program of Kyiv. As a result, from 2018 to 2020, the works were financed from the city budget, totaling 130 million hryvnias.
The reconstruction project involved the Rusanivska waterfront. The main developer of the ‘Rusanivska Havan’ residential complex is the ‘Kovalska’ company, although not all buildings in this area are constructed by this firm. In particular, buildings No. 28, No. 31, and No. 26 (the latter still under construction) are being built by the ‘Miskbudinvest’ company.
Benefits for the developer and suspicions for officials
In 2018, ‘Miskbudinvest’ won the tender from KP ‘Pleso’ for the construction of bank protection structures and a recreation area along the Rusanivska canal in the Dniprovskyi district of the capital. Thus, the developer received ready-made infrastructure for their residential complex without spending their own funds, and instead received financing from the city budget. According to investigators, the company effectively earned tens of millions of hryvnias from this.
“However, officials from the municipal enterprise ‘Pleso’ unjustifiably included this project in the Economic and Social Development Program of Kyiv and initiated financing for the works from the city budget from 2018 to 2020, reports the Office of the Prosecutor General.”
Currently, former leaders of KP ‘Pleso’ have been notified of suspicion. Similar cases, where municipal resources are used in the interests of private companies, are not isolated in the capital.