The Department for Civil Protection of the Kherson City Council ordered gabions from the former husband of a local businesswoman who is suspected of embezzling public funds.
As stated on Prozorro, the department ordered 145 three-section gabions for a total amount of UAH 1,149,850.
The gabions were ordered from LLC “Smart Builder”, which is registered on Filatova Street in Kherson. The company was established just two months ago.
According to the business analytics system YouControl, both the owner and the director of “Smart Builder” is Oleksandr Andriievskyi from the village of Stepanivka near Kherson.
Since 2023 Andriievskyi has also been registered as an FOP with the KVED “Rental of construction machinery and equipment”. Since then he has regularly received contracts in the Kherson region. In particular, in 2024 he regularly signed contracts with the Housing Maintenance Department of the city of Kherson.
It should be noted that when registering as an FOP, Oleksandr Andriievskyi indicated that he lives in Stepanivka at 11 Kvitkova Street. At the same address another entrepreneur – Marina Andriievska – is registered.
Earlier MOST reported that in July last year Marina Andriievska, without competition received a contract worth UAH 4.8 million to supply anti-drone nets for the Department of Civil Protection and Defense Work of the Kherson Regional State Administration.
After that she became the subject of a criminal proceeding under Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misappropriation, embezzlement of property or taking possession of it through abuse of official position, committed in large amounts or by an organized group).
According to investigators, Andriievska was one of the front FOPs through which the regional administration purchased nets at inflated prices.
That Marina Andriievska and Oleksandr Andriievskyi were closely connected is also evidenced by a ruling of the Kherson City Court, which states that they were married since 2011 and decided to divorce in August last year.
Such connections may indicate the existence of a corruption scheme, in which the Department for Civil Protection of the Kherson City Council uses “convenient” business acquaintances.
This publication was created as part of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) project “Strengthening Public Oversight” with financial support from Norway.