29.04.2025 Arbitrariness of judges

How frontline Mykolaiv suffers from the inaction of the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military District Administration – Kim’s Servant Digest of the arbitrariness of judges of the Oktyabrsky District Court of Poltava

Corruption in Ukraine is rampant not only because of the greed of officials and oligarchs, but also because of the arbitrariness of judges who systematically block investigations into high-profile cases. From the embezzlement of billions in the construction of a water intake in Mykolaiv to the fictitious bankruptcy of the Borivazh port and the multibillion-dollar VAT fraud by the Chinese agricultural holding COFCO, all these schemes go unpunished because of the decisions of judges who refuse to allow investigations to proceed.

The Oktyabrsky District Court of Poltava has become a real “shelter” for corrupt officials, allowing high-ranking officials and international corporations to rob Ukraine, leaving citizens without water and infrastructure and the state without a budget to meet the country’s needs.

Read more about each case below.

Mykolaiv residents without water and officials with billions: embezzlement of budget funds under the guise of “urgent” construction of a water intake

Mykolaiv has been suffering from a shortage of drinking water for two years after the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. Residents have been forced to buy water in stores or rely on humanitarian aid, but instead of finding a quick fix, the government and local authorities seem to have found a way to capitalize on the problem. The project to build a water intake from the Pivdennyi Buh River and a main water pipeline that was supposed to supply the city with water has turned into a corruption scheme with billions of dollars in budgets, questionable tenders, and companies with a dark past.

As a result, the Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service in Mykolaiv region announced a project worth UAH 7.44 billion, dividing it into three sections. In July 2024, Vitaliy Kim claimed that he had managed to “optimize” the project’s cost estimate, reducing it to UAH 3 billion. However, in September, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced a new amount of UAH 8.8 billion. In two months, the estimate has almost tripled, and no real work has been done.

Tenders for the construction of the water pipeline were distributed among three companies: Ukrtransmost LLC, which is involved in criminal proceedings for embezzlement of budget funds allocated for the development of Kyiv’s road network, Rostdorstroy LLC, which is associated with Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov, and Avtomagistral-Pivden LLC, a favorite of Velykyi Stroitel and Ukravtodor. Each of them received contracts worth between UAH 2.3 and 2.6 billion.

At the same time, the procurement was conducted under a closed procedure, and an analysis of the estimates shows that the prices for materials and works are overstated by several times.

Despite the obvious collusion of top representatives of the regional authorities, the Service for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure in Mykolaiv Oblast, and the State Agency for Reconstruction, the cases are not being investigated.

In addition, the decision of the investigating judge of the Oktyabrskyi District Court of Poltava, Holnyk L.V., refused to oblige the Territorial Department of the BES in Poltava Oblast to initiate a pre-trial investigation in the case (No. 554/14085/24). This indicates a well-established system of covering up corrupt activities with the assistance of high-ranking officials.

Fictitious bankruptcy of the Borivazh port: how Gennadiy Boholyubov influences the judiciary

The Borivazh port in Dnipro region is one of Ukraine’s key logistics assets. Oligarch Gennadiy Boholyubov, known for his involvement in fraud around PrivatBank, has stepped up his efforts to gain control of the facility through fictitious bankruptcy proceedings against its owner, Agroterminal Logistic LLC.

Boholyubov’s interest in the port of Borivazh is explained by the strategic value of the asset: the port generates significant profits from grain exports, and its importance has only increased in the war. Control over Borivazh would allow Boholyubov not only to gain access to a stable cash flow but also to increase his influence on the Ukrainian logistics market. Despite the fact that the oligarch himself has been out of Ukraine for a long time, he continues to actively influence business processes through his proxies.

On August 21, 2024, Terminal Borivazh LLC filed a petition with the Commercial Court of Dnipropetrovs’k Region to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against Agroterminal Logistic LLC (case No. 904/3717/24). The application is based on Agroterminal Logistic’s alleged debts to Terminal Borivazh. However, in fact, the debts are artificially created: they arose as a result of questionable financial transactions between companies controlled by the same group of persons.Проте, фактично, борги є штучно створеними: вони виникли внаслідок сумнівних фінансових операцій між компаніями, які контролюються однією групою осіб.

Interestingly, the case was initially assigned to Judge Yuriy Pervushin. But the very next day, on August 22, Terminal Borivazh unexpectedly withdrew its application. Judge Pervushin returned the withdrawn application, and just an hour later, Terminal Borivazh filed a new, identical one, which this time was assigned to Judge Andriy Sukhovarov (case No. 904/3747/24). Both documents were signed by the same lawyer, Kirill Ryabokon. Such actions are a classic example of manipulation with the automatic distribution of cases.

Despite the obvious violations, the investigating judge of the Oktyabrskyi District Court of Poltava, Oksiavrska O.I., refused to oblige the TU BES in Poltava region to enter information into the URPTI (case No. 554/1325/25).

Rigging schemes from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and agro-giants

According to sources, the Chinese agricultural holding COFCO is using a complex scheme of so-called VAT fraud to withdraw billions of hryvnias from Ukraine, circumventing tax laws.

A “twist” is an illegal scheme to manipulate the VAT tax credit, which allows for fictitious tax refunds and cash withdrawal from official circulation. In Ukraine, such schemes have become popular in the agricultural sector, where large volumes of cash transactions with grain create ideal conditions for fraud.

Fraudulent firms usually have signs of fictitiousness: no real offices, minimal staff, and registration of fictitious persons. According to the State Tax Service, in 2024, more than 3,000 such companies were identified in Ukraine, which were involved in VAT schemes worth more than UAH 50 billion.

A grain trader (in this case, linked to COFCO) buys grain on the domestic market for cash. Farmers who sell grain for cash often do not provide tax documents, so this grain does not appear in official records. As a result, the grain trader has a real product, but without a VAT tax credit, which makes it difficult to export it.

In order to “legalize” this grain, the grain trader turns to a “fraudulent” company. The company fictitiously “sells” the trader grain that is actually a non-existent product. In the documents, it looks like the grain trader bought the grain with VAT and was entitled to a tax refund.

At the last stage, the grain trader exports the grain, partly real and partly fictitious. For example, out of 1000 tons of grain, 500 tons are real, while the rest exists only on paper. COFCO, according to sources, sells this grain with a minimal markup – sometimes even at cost. This allows the company to dump prices on the European market, where Ukrainian grain competes with local producers.

At the same time, COFCO applies for a VAT refund for the exported grain. Since the tax office sees “legal” documents from the fraudulent company, the state refunds the VAT to the trader. To withdraw funds, COFCO uses companies registered in Hong Kong, Cyprus, and Switzerland. These companies receive money as payment for “consulting services” or “trading operations,” after which the funds are legalized abroad.

Despite the detailed scheme of COFCO’s activities, the investigating judge of the Oktyabrsky District Court of Poltava, Holnyk L.V., refused to oblige the Poltava Regional Prosecutor’s Office to launch a detailed investigation of the case (No. 554/11584/24).

Did you witness a crime?

Let us know about it. We will help protect the violated rights!

Share the post:

Last news

ALL NEWS ALL ARTICLES