SBI exposes scheme to embezzle over 6 million hryvnias on "humanitarian" demining of Kherson region

SBI exposes scheme to embezzle over 6 million hryvnias on "humanitarian" demining of Kherson region

DBR reported on the exposure of a scheme for embezzling funds allocated for humanitarian demining. It concerns over 6 million UAH received for work that was not actually carried out.

According to the investigation, in May 2025, a private company won tenders and signed two contracts for demining about 122 hectares of agricultural land in the Kherson region. These plots had already been cleared of explosive devices in 2023–2024 and were being used by farmers. Despite this, the contractor carried out «demining» at public expense.

The scheme worked as follows: sappers went to the fields, created the appearance of work – they dug up the soil, planted objects resembling ammunition, and «discovered» them during the inspection. After that, they prepared acts with false data. In a conversation between the suspects, which was published by the Attorney General, it says:

«These sheep still don’t understand what we’re doing... the main thing is to create the appearance».

For the «appearance», the customer received confirmation of the completed work, and the contractor – the money.

The company’s director and the head of the sapper group were notified of suspicion of misappropriating funds on a particularly large scale and official forgery. They face up to 12 years in prison.

Episodes in the Mykolaiv and Chernihiv regions are also currently being checked, involving over 600 hectares and potential damages exceeding 53 million UAH.

The DBR’s statement mentioned two tenders in Kherson region for demining 122 hectares worth 6 million UAH, in which the contractor won in May last year. The court registry contains data on the DBR case regarding the demining of land plots of such an area in Kherson region. The court decision contains references to two tenders won by LLC «International Demining Service» for demining 121 hectares for 6 million UAH. The work was to be carried out for PE Kvytka Serhiy and PE Kvytka Viktor.

The registry contains a sentence regarding one of these PEs, who entered into an agreement with the prosecutor’s office, where the tenders with «International Demining Service» are also mentioned. He admitted guilt and received 2 years of imprisonment with a ban on working in the demining sector for one year and a fine of 8.5 thousand UAH.

«Our Money» compared the cost of services of the «International Service» in the Kherson contracts with contracts of various companies from the same period. It turned out that manual/mechanized demining and ammunition disposal in Kherson was the most expensive.

The company wrote on its website about one of the contracts. They say that the work is being carried out in compliance with all international anti-mine activity standards. They also declare professionalism, responsibility, and humanity, up to acts of mercy.

 LLC «International Demining Service» from Kyiv was registered in September 2024. The company was founded by another LLC «Capital Management Holding», owned by Ter-Nyhohosyan Klym. Since April 2025, the director has been Vitaliy Karavayev.

Karavaev worked as the chief specialist of the department for checkpoints across the state border at the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Ukraine’s Infrastructure, and before that held the position of director in the Department of Territorial Development of the Kherson Regional State Administration.

Ter-Nyhohosyan Klym Hryhorovych is also the owner of LLC «Ukrainian Demining School» and LLC «Smart Demining Systems», an PE engaged in specialized medical practice and a share in LLC «Aesthetic Medicine Clinic «Figura». He is a plastic surgeon who specializes in mammoplasty, abdominoplasty, body lift, blepharoplasty. Around the time his «International Demining Service» was receiving contracts, he was talking about differences in implant textures.

The company started participating in tenders in 2025 and has already secured 8 contracts worth 42.85 million UAH during this time.

Author: Oksana Tsokur, «Our Money»