ESBU analysts in the Kyiv region prevent risky UAH 5 million electricity procurement

 Analysts of the Territorial Office of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine in the Kyiv region have identified violations during an electricity procurement tender. The customer had declared a company as the winner that had previously been held liable for violating tender requirements.

Thanks to a timely response, the misuse of nearly UAH 5 million from the local budget of the Cherkasy community was successfully prevented.

During the monitoring of public procurement, ESBU analysts detected the violations specifically at the tender stage. Despite the customer having already selected the winner and concluded a supply contract, the Bureau's intervention halted the process.

However, an information and analytical review revealed that just a few days before the contract was signed, the selected supplier had been officially blacklisted by the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine for anti-competitive concerted actions and bid rigging.

Under current legislation, a customer is required to reject a bidder's proposal if the bidder has been held liable for such violations within the last three years. Ignoring this regulation creates risks of inefficient and unlawful use of budget funds.

To prevent the inefficient use of funds, the Territorial Office of the ESBU provided the customer and state financial control authorities with relevant recommendations, specifically regarding the feasibility of further cooperation with such a supplier.

As a result of reviewing these recommendations, the electricity supply contract was terminated. The total amount of prevented budget losses is nearly UAH 5 million.

Given the electricity deficit and its critical importance under martial law, the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine will continue to focus on analyzing and monitoring public procurement in the energy sector to prevent abuses and the inefficient use of budget funds.