One of the Most Expensive Bridges in History: UAH 150 Million in Embezzlement Uncovered During Construction of Podilskyi Bridge

Prosecutors report suspicion against the management of a municipal utility company, the general contractor and subcontractors

Some UAH 150 million was embezzled during construction of the Podilskyi Bridge. Prosecutors report suspicion against the management of a municipal utility company, the general contractor and subcontractors, according to the Facebook Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office.

What the Investigation Led To

New suspicion notices were served to the first deputy head of the municipal enterprise “Directorate for Construction of Road and Transport Facilities of the City of Kyiv” and to the head of the general contracting organization. Notices of suspicion were also served to two heads of subcontracting organizations under Part 5 of Article 191 and Part 2 of Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The investigation established that in April 2017, the Directorate for Construction of Road and Transport Facilities and the general contractor signed a general contract for the construction of the bridge.

Under this contract, in November 2019, the general contractor engaged subcontracting organizations for purported services involving the rental of non-standard equipment with operators (machinists and support staff), including the movement of heavy loads and other additional services.

Subsequently, during 2020, funds totaling about UAH 148 million were transferred from the budget on the basis of signed acceptance certificates for completed work.

However, according to a comprehensive forensic construction-technical examination, work in the above amount is neither documented nor confirmed in fact.

In addition, during August–November 2020, the construction customer, the general contractor and the subcontractors drew up and signed acceptance certificates for completed work on anti-corrosion protection of the metal elements of the load-bearing structures of the bridge span.

At the same time, according to expert conclusions, the volumes and cost of the completed work do not correspond to the information stated in the documents. The overstatement amounts to about UAH 1.8 million.

In connection with the above, the first deputy head of the municipal enterprise “Directorate for Construction of Road and Transport Facilities of the City of Kyiv” and the head of the general contracting organization were notified of new suspicions over newly established episodes under Part 2 of Article 367 and Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, respectively.

In addition, notices of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine were served on two heads of subcontracting organizations, which were in fact engaged to perform work at inflated prices and to cash out funds.

Also, on August 16, 2021, the above-mentioned head of the municipal enterprise and the general contractor were notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 367 and Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, respectively, due to the inflated cost of painting the span slabs of the Podilskyi Bridge, amounting to more than UAH 4.5 million.

The pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings is ongoing.

What Preceded It

Two days earlier, law enforcement officers carried out an inspection at the Podilskyi Bridge construction site with the involvement of experts and divers.

On October 7, 2021, based on a court ruling, an inspection of the site was carried out as part of the investigation, with the help of special services and divers, to verify the volumes and quality of the work performed, including underwater work, and its actual cost.