11.03.2025 Corruption Money laundering

How to avoid mobilization: schemes of the Ministry of Youth and Sports

Male athletes do not return after competing abroad. This situation has repeatedly occurred with representatives of Ukrainian national teams. This has become a field for manipulation by the Ministry of Youth and Sports aimed at evading mobilization by those liable for military service.

Despite the fact that the state of sports in our country is not at the best level, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, headed by Minister Matviy Bidnyi, seems unwilling to change the situation. They hand out millions of dollars in tenders to companies they control, support the creation of fake charitable initiatives that end up in their pockets, and keep silent about the misappropriation of budget funds that should be spent on youth development in frontline cities.

But first things first.

How Minister Bidnyi distributes the budget to his own entourage

The vast majority of tenders for photography and video filming conducted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and its subordinate structures are won by a single entrepreneur, Serhiy Cherskoy, who has already received contracts worth over UAH 13 million.

Most of these tenders are for small procurements worth several thousand or tens of thousands of hryvnias. However, one cannot help but pay attention to the more serious amounts that appeared after Matviy Bidnyi became the head of the Ministry.

In July 2024, Cherskoy received a contract for UAH 1.67 million, and in January 2025, another for UAH 2.77 million. Both of these contracts relate to the maintenance of an electronic communication system to make the process of awarding sports titles public.

What is wrong with tenders?

Lack of competition. Most of the tenders won by Cherskoy had no competitors, even though he offers absolutely standard services. And if there was competition, it often took the form of fictitious rivals.

Fake competitors. Sometimes Cherskyi’s only competitor was a sole proprietor, Serhii Anatoliiovych Krot, a person who worked for STIB, a company owned by the same Cherskyi.

Relations with high-ranking officials. The digitalization processes at the Ministry of Youth and Sports are overseen by Vitaliy Lavrov, a man with longstanding ties to Cherskyi. Lavrov, who is now a deputy minister, previously worked as an adviser and deputy to the previous leadership, which was also accused of corruption.

The Equestrian Federation and charity fundraisers for Ukrainian equestrians

On the first day of the full-scale invasion, Mykhailo Parkhomchuk, the general secretary of the Ukrainian Equestrian Federation (UEF), traveled abroad on his Belgian passport. A few days later, he registered the Ukrainian Equestrian Charity Foundation to help Ukrainian equestrians, but in Belgium.

By mid-2024, more than €1.5 million had been transferred to the foundation’s accounts from international donors.

In particular, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) provided charitable assistance in the amount of 1 million Swiss francs (more than 900 thousand euros), and other donations ranged from 30,000 to 40,000 euros.

Interestingly, after journalists sent inquiries, it turned out that the Ukrainian Equestrian Federation did not authorize Parkhomchuk to set up a charitable foundation. Accordingly, the federation has no access to his financial accounts and documentation.

At the same time, Parkhomchuk, as the general secretary of the Ukrainian Equestrian Federation, has repeatedly appealed to international federations to help Ukrainian equestrians, while actively promoting his Belgian foundation. But how can a foundation that has no legal ties to the Ukrainian Equestrian Federation receive such support?

There are no reports on the funds spent by Parkhomchuk’s foundation. Thus, we have a wide range of reasons to doubt Parkhomchuk’s integrity.

Ananchenko and Mezentseva’s coalition to destroy sports in frontline Kharkiv

In 2023, more than 50 million hryvnias were allocated for sports training camps in Kharkiv region. However, as is often the case in such situations, these funds were not used for real training or infrastructure development, but were withdrawn through fictitious tenders and contracts with contractors closely associated with the head of the Department for Youth and Sports of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration, Ananchenko and his team.

Naturally, the participants of the training, which never took place, remained on paper, and the “necessary” bills for fictitious services were paid from the budget. According to the documents, these funds were supposed to be spent on renting halls, food and other services.

Despite the fact that the funds were allocated for real training, even basic training sessions were not held. For two years, no real information about the expenditures was provided either to the public or to the relevant authorities. Interestingly, to justify the absence of real events and training, officials of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration constantly referred to the dangerous security situation in the region.

Responsibility for the tenders, which were held only to organize the flow of funds into their own pockets, lies directly with Ananchenko and his deputy Bayramov. Their management allowed them to create a fictitious picture of active sports activities, although no real training or sports events were held.

At the same time, MP from the Servant of the People party Maria Mezentseva ensured the functioning of the scheme on her part, slowing down the consideration of the case by law enforcement and regulatory authorities.

For example, based on our materials, the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office registered a pre-trial investigation under Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine under the number 42025220000000016 on January 16, 2025. Then the pre-trial investigation was entrusted to the Kharkiv Regional Police Department No. 1, where the case was forgotten.

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