Law enforcement investigates new embezzlement in the "Kyiv Metro": Klychko’s "underground cartel"
KP “Kyiv Metro” continues to collect criminal cases regarding “budget misappropriation.” Recently, as part of one such case, the director of LLC “Enerhodarbudmekhanizatsiya,” which was engaged in the major repair of the drainage system of the Syretsko-Pecherska line subway, received suspicion from law enforcement agencies.
Investigators preliminarily established that the official embezzled 1.3 million hryvnias by selling network pumps to “Kyiv Metro” at almost double the price. Interestingly, a corresponding contract dated June 10, 2022, under which the contractor was transferred 32.3 million hryvnias, was not even published. The owner of “Enerhodarbudmekhanizatsiya” is Kyrylo Kryvets – an acquaintance and business partner of the notorious former head of the metro, Viktor Brahinskyi (pictured left in the collage). The latter, let us remind you, is currently under suspicion in another investigation and is wanted.
This is reported by KyivVlada.
As journalists have learned, law enforcement agencies are currently investigating possible embezzlement of budget funds during works commissioned by SE “Kyiv Metro.”
The relevant facts are being investigated by the police department in the metro under the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv as part of criminal proceedings No. 12024100000000932 from August 21, 2024. Recently, the first suspicion in this case was handed to the director of LLC “Enerhodarbudmekhanizatsiya,” which was the contractor for the capital’s underground. This official is officially accused of committing a crime under part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code (CC) of Ukraine – embezzlement of funds in particularly large amounts, committed under martial law. The sanctions of this article provide for punishment of up to 12 years of imprisonment with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions and confiscation of property.
What investigators found
On June 10, 2022, a contract was concluded between KP “Kyiv Metro” and LLC “Enerhodarbudmekhanizatsiya” to carry out a major repair of the building part of the main drainage installation of the Syretsko-Pecherska metro line. This agreement was not published in the electronic trading system Prozorro, and therefore its total cost is unknown – such information is not even provided by the National Police.
However, the overall “contours” of the planned financing of these works can still be established. Thus, in February 2021, a contract was already concluded between the “underground” and the same company for the performance of similar works for 67.2 million hryvnias. But in May 2022, this agreement was terminated – as noted, it was done at the initiative of the contractor. For the implementation of this contract, “Enerhodarbudmekhanizatsiya” received a little more than 4.4 million hryvnias.
At the same time, within the framework of the 2022 contract works, this company received much more money – on July 28 of that year, LLC “Enerhodarbudmekhanizatsiya” received funds from the mentioned SE in the amount of 32.3 million hryvnias “for the purchase of materials, products, structures, equipment, and works.”
During the investigation, law enforcement officers established that false information was included in the acts of completed works under the mentioned agreement. According to investigators, the contractor overestimated the cost of three network pumps with electric motor G=120m3/h, H=147m, (Zeox-FIRST V 12002-75-2) “Wilo.” As of September-December 2023, the cost of this equipment was 685.8 thousand hryvnias per unit, while LLC “Enerhodarbudmekhanizatsiya” indicated their cost as 1.1 million hryvnias per unit. As a result, according to the investigation, damage was caused to “Kyiv Metro” in the amount of 1.3 million hryvnias, confirmed by the results of a forensic economic examination.
Screenshot of the court ruling in this case from November 12, 2024
According to law enforcement authorities, it was the director of LLC “Enerhodarbudmekhanizatsiya” who embezzled these funds, as he indicated the cost of these pumps in the equipment cost statement, which is an appendix to the act of completed works. Because of this, on November 6, 2024, he was notified of suspicion in committing the crime specified in the aforementioned part 4 of Article 191 of the CC of Ukraine.
On November 12, the Podilskyi District Court of Kyiv, at the request of law enforcement agencies, applied a preventive measure to the suspect in the form of bail amounting to 454.2 thousand hryvnias. Meanwhile, by the respective court ruling, it was stipulated that if the bail was posted, obligations would be imposed on the director of the contractor company until January 6, 2025, not to leave Kyiv and Kyiv region without permission from the investigator, prosecutor, or court, to notify these agencies of any change in his residence or place of work, to hand over his passport for storage to the relevant authorities, etc. Subsequently, on January 3, 2025, the same court extended the term of fulfilling these obligations until February 6 of the current year.
About the figures
According to the analytical system Youcontrol, LLC “Enerhodarbudmekhanizatsiya” was registered in the now-occupied city of Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhya region in June 2001, but in June 2022, it changed its “residence” to the capital. Subsequently, in October 2024, the company was re-registered in the city of Kropyvnytskyi. Its director is specified as Yevhen Kot (it seems he is the one who received the suspicion since he has held this position since January 2022), with the founders being LLC “99 Production” and LLC “Enigma-Service”, and the ultimate beneficiary is Kyrylo Kryvets from Kyiv.
According to the public procurement analytics database Clarity Project, “Enerhodarbudmekhanizatsiya” is an active participant in tenders conducted by various state and municipal structures in Ukraine – it has 32 contracts totaling 138 million hryvnias. The most “lucrative” agreements were concluded specifically with SE “Kyiv Metro” – 2 contracts totaling 91.9 million hryvnias, but this does not include the aforementioned agreement, which, let us remind you, was not published. In addition, 4 more contracts for 33.8 million were signed with SE “Kyivpastrans.” Also, the founder of “Enerhodarbudmekhanizatsiya” – LLC “99 Production,” collaborates with the capital’s underground: this company, owned by the same Kyrylo Kryvets, concluded 22 agreements with “Kyiv Metro” for 17.9 million hryvnias.
According to Bihus.Info, Kyrylo Kryvets has long been acquainted and a business partner of the now former head of KP “Kyiv Metro” Viktor Brahinskyi (it was during his “tenure” at the capital’s underground that the aforementioned contract was concluded, under which 32.3 million hryvnias were paid. – Media). In particular, journalists reported that in the mid-2000s these men worked simultaneously in “Naftogaz” structures, and later, in 2007-2012, they engaged in business together. According to “Bihus.Info”, after Brahinskyi headed the Kyiv metro in 2014, Kryvets became “the owner of several contractor companies that supplied goods and performed works for the metro.”
Meanwhile, the mother-in-law of Kryvets – ballerina and People’s Artist of Ukraine Tetyana Beletska – is listed as the owner of LLC “KB ‘Teploenergoavtomatyka’”, with which KP “Kyiv Metro,” in particular, concluded a contract in 2022 for the major repair of the tunnels of the Svyatoshynsko-Brovarska underground line (this company also has 42 more contracts with the capital’s underground for 220.5 million hryvnias. – Media).
By the way, this same media outlet, following the analysis of Viktor Brahinskyi’s declarations and data on the property of his family, reported that his mother, a retiree, buys expensive apartments, his sister buys land, and his former wife builds a cottage in Kozyn, while individuals associated with the former head of the capital’s underground gain contracts from the metro. In total, journalists discovered undeclared assets worth 52 million hryvnias with Brahinskyi.
It was precisely after the publication of the facts regarding these connections with the Kryvets-Beletska family and information about the property status of SE “Kyiv Metro” head Viktor Brahinskyi that the latter, in March 2024, wrote a statement of resignation at his own request. This was preceded by a short-term (lasting one day) suspension from his position initiated by Vitaliy Klychko.
As journalists have repeatedly reported, the activities of SE “Kyiv Metro” and its contractors are accompanied by regular scandals, which often attract the attention of law enforcement agencies.
For example, the first deputy head of this company, Valeriy Havrylenko, is currently under investigation for official negligence that caused grave consequences. According to law enforcement officers, it was through him that the capital’s underground in 2014 overpaid 421.8 thousand euros (13.1 million hryvnias) for the purchase of metro trains from Russian JSC “Metrovagonmash.” These funds, provided under loan agreements with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), were effectively lost because the Russians violated the 2011 contract terms regarding delivery times. Recently, the court imposed a preventive measure in the form of a personal obligation on the suspect but refused to remove him from his post.
Interestingly, similar violations were also previously imputed to the chief accountant of “Kyiv Metro” Lyudmyla Panasyuk. In 2020, however, the judiciary closed the case against her due to the expiration of the statute of limitations allowed for the investigation.
Also, since 2021, law enforcement officers have been investigating possible appropriation of budget funds during the construction of the first stage of the subway to the Vynohradar residential area. The National Police initially established that about 241 million hryvnias received by the general contractor of these works (PJSC “Kyivmetrobud”) were withdrawn through a “chain” to companies with signs of fictitiousness and later converted to cash and divided among the participants of the “scheme.”
Investigators believe that such improper benefits could have been received by officials of SE “Kyiv Metro.” In the meantime, investigators found that someone previously helped the “beneficiaries” lobby for an important decision in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which allowed the general contractor to receive a larger advance than provided for by the contract. Notably, this last fact has already been studied by the SSU as part of another criminal proceeding, but law enforcement officers were either unable or unwilling to bring this investigation to a conclusion.
Moreover, the Kyiv National Police is currently continuing to investigate the causes of flooding on the Obolonsko-Teremkivska metro line, which occurred in December 2023. Law enforcement officers officially reported suspicions to several officials of SE “Kyiv Metro,” who, according to the investigation, allowed official negligence in their work, which led to this emergency situation. Among them are the chief engineer of this company and the then acting head of the company, Viktor Vyhivskyi, and the aforementioned Viktor Brahinskyi. The latter is currently wanted for this case because law enforcement officers cannot establish his whereabouts.
Thus, investigators believe that Vyhivskyi and other suspects failed to take all measures prescribed by their official instructions regarding the maintenance of metro facilities, and as a result, “Kyiv Metro” and SE “Kyivpastrans” suffered losses totaling 164.4 million hryvnias. This concerns the money that the “underground” missed out on due to the closure of 6 stations and the expenses incurred for operating “duplication” bus and trolleybus routes. The city authorities, let us recall, reject all accusations and continue to insist that this incident happened because of “predecessors” who built the metro incorrectly.
Note that the aforementioned Viktor Vyhivskyi has headed SE “Kyiv Metro” since March 17, 2024. As for Viktor Brahinskyi, who was also a deputy of the current IX convocation of the Kyiv City Council (faction “UDAR”), he managed this enterprise from July 17, 2014. This KP is subordinate to the Department of Transport Infrastructure of the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA), which has been headed by Ruslan Kandybor since September 1, 2021. The activities of this structure have been personally controlled by the head of the capital Vitaliy Klychko since November 9, 2021.
Author: Ivan Kulyk
09 January 2025 г., 13:33
