From the Ministry of Defence to the business world via public tenders: how former head of procurement Volodymyr Hulevych is making millions from military contracts

From the Ministry of Defence to the business world via public tenders: how former head of procurement Volodymyr Hulevych is making millions from military contracts

Colonel on outsourcing: How Volodymyr Hulevych turned defence procurements into his personal business.

Volodymyr Hulevych’s case — this is not a story about «former» officials. It’s about a system where work in the Ministry of Defence turns into a platform for further enrichment at the expense of the same state funds.

From 2015 to 2020, Hulevych headed the department of state procurements and supplies of the Ministry of Defence. All key army contracts went through him. In 2017, he found himself at the center of a corruption scandal along with Deputy Minister Ihor Pavlovskyi — the case concerned a scheme with fuel, where prices were inflated after auctions through additional agreements. The damages amounted to about 58 million hryvnias. The court imposed house arrest on Hulevych, then lifted the restrictions. The trial is still ongoing in the High Anti-Corruption Court.

After leaving in 2020, he did not disappear from the circle — on the contrary, he integrated into it from the other side. Hulevych opened an individual entrepreneur (IE) and began consulting firms that win tenders from the Ministry of Defence. Over three years, he earned about 9 million hryvnias. The main income came from four related companies, which during the full-scale war supplied the army with goods, including deals with Belarusian businessman Dmytro Shershan.

Then the consultations grew into joint business. In 2025, Hulevych, together with the owner of «Coltrey» Yuliya Kikot and the director of «Prologservice» Oleksandr Kucher, establishes a sewing enterprise. «Coltrey» signs contracts with the Ministry of Defence worth over 18 million hryvnias — for unloading belts and polo shirts. Production is carried out by a firm associated with Hulevych. A month after the order, he withdraws from the founders.

Parallel to this, a family scheme is involved. Daughter Halyna opens an IE immediately after her father’s appointment to the Ministry of Defence. In 2016–2017, she receives over 6 million hryvnias from «Italtex Merino», which in the same period fulfills 34 contracts for the Ministry of Defence. Officially — independent business. In essence — coincidences in timing and partners.

Another point — property. Hulevych’s ex-wife Inna, a rear service militarywoman with an income of about 230 thousand UAH over two years, in 2022 buys a house near Kyiv with an area of almost 229 m² for 5 million UAH. The market value of similar houses is twice as high. Two months before the purchase, the couple officially divorces, but lives together, shares joint photos, and celebrates family events.

Against the backdrop of the pending criminal case, this looks like a typical scheme for withdrawing assets from confiscation.

The entire structure fits into the revolving door model — «revolving doors». An official who distributes defense billions, after retirement, monetizes connections, knowledge, and understanding of the system on the same contractors. In Europe, such transitions are limited in time due to conflicts of interest. In Ukraine — no barriers.

In the end, an incentive appears: decisions are made not only for the sake of the army, but also with an eye on post-office income. Hulevych’s case is not an exception, but an example of the system at work.