Prosecutors of the Chernivtsi Regional Prosecutor's Office, under the procedural guidance of the Office of the General Prosecutor, reported suspicion against the former director of one of the departments of the State Customs Service of Ukraine. This concerns the reconstruction of the "Krasnoilsk" automobile checkpoint on the border with Romania — a facility that was closed in 2010 and reopened only in autumn 2022.
What happened at the tender
In 2021, the State Customs Service announced open bidding for the reconstruction of the checkpoint with an expected cost of over 107 million hryvnias. According to the investigation, the official, while heading the tender committee, facilitated the victory of the Kyiv company LLC "Agro Construction" with a proposal of almost 105 million hryvnias — despite the presence of two more economically advantageous proposals from other participants.
According to the ProZorro public procurement system, the contract with "Agro Construction" was signed in July 2021. This company, registered in Kyiv with a charter capital of 10 thousand hryvnias, has been systematically receiving contracts since 2017, predominantly in customs structures.
"According to the investigation, while heading the tender committee, the customs official facilitated the selection of a Kyiv company as the winner with a proposal of almost 105 million hryvnias, despite the presence of two other, more economically advantageous, proposals."
Office of the General Prosecutor
How losses were recorded
After the completion of construction in 2022, the same official accepted the facility and signed acts of completed work — without proper verification of the calculations provided by the contractor. Construction expertise established that the cost of some building materials in the acts was inflated by 3.2 million hryvnias.
Thus, the scheme closed in one person's hands: the same official selected the tender winner — and he also signed the acts without verification. Formally two independent control stages, in fact — one point of vulnerability.
Context: "Agro Construction" and the customs
"Krasnoilsk" is not the only facility of this company. According to the publication "Our Money," from 2017 to 2021, LLC "Agro Construction" received government contracts worth over 300 million hryvnias, a significant portion — precisely in customs structures. Among the facilities are the Yahodyn checkpoint in Volyn, the development of a control point in Uzhhorod, and repair work at "Mamaliga" in the same Chernivtsi region.
- Krasnoilsk checkpoint — reconstruction for ~105 million hryvnias (2021–2022)
- Yahodyn checkpoint — major repair for ~80.5 million hryvnias (2021)
- Uzhhorod checkpoint — development for ~156 million hryvnias (2021)
Separately: in the case of the Mamaliga checkpoint, the investigation considered a suspicion against the head of the subcontractor's laboratory — he allegedly issued documents about concrete class that did not correspond to actual tests.
What's next
Suspicion is a procedural beginning, not a verdict. The identity of the suspect is not officially disclosed. The article on embezzlement of property through abuse of official position (Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) provides for 7 to 12 years imprisonment with confiscation of property.
If the investigation proves in court that both decisions — both the selection of the tender winner and the signing of the acts — were deliberate rather than a procedural error, a question will arise for the entire control chain in the State Customs Service: why did a system exist where one person could block two independent filters?
