22.07.2024 Corruption Kharkiv

Who will be punished for the murder of Ukrainians and the loss of territories? How Synegubov was afraid of responsibility and found a scapegoat

Now it is final. Bankova Street has agreed on the name of the person who will be responsible for the thefts at the Kharkiv fortifications. The official who will be blamed for all possible crimes committed in the region over the past 3 years. 

Mykhailo Kharnam, one of the deputies of Oleh Synegubov, the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, will be responsible for corruption in Kharkiv region, the poor condition of the defensive structures, or rather their complete absence.  

It was obvious that the latter would not be held responsible for his own failure, as he had a good amount of contacts and connections in the person of Roman Yarovyi and Ihor Abramovych’s OPFL. Therefore, the decision was made to find a scapegoat.

Fortune turned the other way around for Kharnam. The official received a phone call from Abramovych, a former MP from the OPFL, who told him that he had to resign because it was in their common interest.

Abramovich, who is still Arakhamia’s friend (they are members of the Monakivtsi organized crime group that controls and directs corruption schemes in the tax service) and has a significant influence on the processes of Kharkiv region, including the authorities, explained to his protege Mykhailo Kharnam that this time it was he who was the victim of political games. 

Why Kharnam? After all, Yevhen Ivanov, another of Sinegubov’s deputies, is also responsible for fortification and reconstruction. Can there be only one scapegoat?

The suspicion is almost ready and is going through one of the last stages – approval by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. The next step is to hand it over to Harnam and create the appearance of an “objective investigation,” where all the sins – embezzlement, selling humanitarian aid, Shlyakh, and free firewood – will be the result of the actions of Sinegubov’s deputy. And the chief himself will again avoid responsibility, because it is the deputies who have full authority and coordinate absolutely all decisions, right?

But no one will ever be punished. After the resonance dies down, Harnam will simply be excused. And everyone will forget about the civilian lives that were put at risk and the kilometers of territory that were lost.   

I wonder how the partners whose funds were stolen from the fortifications by the group of Syniehubov and his deputies, together with Abramovych and their cover-up from the Servant of the People party, Arakhamia, will react to this news? Given that formal detentions and releases will not in any way return the funds that were stolen and the lives of people who were taken as a result of criminal acts.

It is ridiculous that the sanction for theft in the legislation is 5 years in prison, which Ukrainians actually receive, while no one is punished for the billions stolen from the fortifications.

Here are some of the most high-profile cases that have been successfully forgotten.

Reconstruction of Kharkiv region and the leakage of budget billions

The largest amount of orders for the reconstruction of Kharkiv region – more than UAH 200 million – was received by the private enterprise Construction Firm Promtex. This Kharkiv-based company was founded in 1996.

In 2020, Promtex Construction Firm became one of the founders of the Building Group construction consortium. This consortium has ties to the Avantazh group of construction companies owned by Party of Regions MP Anatoliy Denysenko. 

Promtex Construction Firm indicated in its documents on Prozorro that it rents equipment from two companies: Rexon LLC and Blaze Invest LLC from the same group of companies. One of the beneficiaries of both is the same Anatoliy Denysenko.

Promtex Construction Firm likes to inflate prices in contracts, including those related to the reconstruction of the affected regions. For example, in 2023, Promtex signed an agreement with the Department of Capital Construction of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration to restore the village council building in Ruska Lozova worth UAH 82.2 million.

The items in the estimate are significantly overpriced compared to the market value. For example, it was planned to install metal-plastic door blocks worth more than UAH 11,000 per square meter, while the market price is UAH 8,000.

In addition, the contractor plans to buy CR66 mortar at UAH 113.28 per kg, although the manufacturer’s website shows the price at UAH 86.5.

Analyzing the estimate for the reconstruction of the village council in Ruska Lozova, which suffered as a result of Russia’s armed aggression, it can be noted that the tender contains overpayments totaling millions of hryvnias. Not very effective when there is a war in the country and a lack of funds. However, Harnam, who was directly involved in the procurement, obviously does not care. 

This is just one tender and one company, and it is already millions of hryvnias of overpayment, which could have been used to rebuild several residential buildings.

Promtex’s contracts were also checked by law enforcement. For example, according to our materials, the decision of the Kyiv District Court of Kharkiv dated June 27, 2024 (case No. 953/5631/24) obliged the Kharkiv Oblast Police to launch a pre-trial investigation. However, we have not yet received an extract on the registration of information in the URPTI.

Fortifications from the construction market leader Zhiltlobud-1

Out of the total number of contracts concluded for the construction of defense structures, the majority of them worth UAH 993.8 million were signed with Oleksandr Kharchenko’s Trust Zhytlobud-1 LLC. 

The firm has long been a favorite of the Kharkiv authorities, so it is not surprising that Kharkiv DMA chose this contractor to strengthen Ukraine’s border.

All contracts were concluded under a direct procedure, without holding tenders, as well as without uploading estimates and with no statements of work.

With complete inactivity of law enforcement, regulatory and tax authorities, the company continues to squander more than 40% of the budget received. At the same time, it neglects the quality of the fortifications, and thus the country’s defense and protection of the population from the enemy’s offensive. 

In addition, in 2023, the Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service in Kharkiv Oblast signed a UAH 1.73 billion contract with Trust Zhytlobud-1 to reconstruct the facility with the construction of a fortification and installation of equipment.

On March 23, 2023, we sent materials on the above facts to the relevant law enforcement and regulatory authorities. As a result, the Kharkiv Region Main Department of the National Police registered the criminal offenses in the URPTI under No. 42023220000000073 under Part 4 of Art. 191 of the Criminal Code. But is this a manifestation of a real fight against budget misappropriation, if the structures of Zhytlobud continue to receive millions? Are law enforcement and the Kharkiv Regional State Administration and its officials successfully facilitating this?

To the list of dirty deeds of Harnam, Ivanov, and Syniehubov, we can easily add the corrupt system of issuing “Shlyakh” passes for traveling abroad, as well as special permits for farmers, which were in place in the first days after the de-occupation of the region. Watch the video to learn more about the profiteering from the occupation of Kharkiv region.

Free firewood and humanitarian aid from the government and partners were also stolen with the assistance of Kharkiv Regional Military Administration officials. However, apart from formal searches, no one has been punished.

 For almost 3 years now, we have been writing about the connections and crimes of Abramovich, Sinegubov, Harnam and other officials of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration, filming video investigations with detailed descriptions of the schemes, sending materials to law enforcement agencies, receiving extracts from the URPTI and satisfactory rulings from judges. But the top leadership of the state obviously does not care about fraud and schemes, because there is a circular system of bailouts. And as long as such actions are profitable, they will continue. But will Arakhamia’s cover-up bring back thousands of Ukrainian lives, destroyed homes and destinies?  

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