uAH 160 million in the sand: money laundering scheme exposed during construction of Podilskyi Bridge
18 August 2025 20:46
The Prosecutor General’s Office has uncovered a scheme to launder more than UAH 160 million in the construction of the Podil Bridge in Kyiv. Two company executives have been served with suspicion notices, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to the investigation, in January 2023, a construction subcontractor transferred more than UAH 160 million to the accounts of a number of companies. Formally, the funds were used to strengthen the soils under the bridge piers and eliminate sand washes, but in fact, these works were not performed.
Law enforcement officers found that the recipient companies had no real business activity and were used to legalize the funds and withdraw them.
The directors of these companies were served a notice of suspicion of laundering the proceeds of crime in a particularly large amount (Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The sanction of the article provides for up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
Searches were conducted at the suspects’ places of residence, financial documents and means of communication were seized. Investigators are also checking the involvement of officials of the utility company, the contracting authority and budgetary funds manager.
The criminal activity was documented by prosecutors jointly with the National Police investigators and under the operational support of the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police.
Construction status of the Podilsko-Voskresenskyi Bridge
- The bridge connects Podil with the left-bank part of Kyiv, in particular Troyeschyna.
- Reinforced concrete piles, retaining walls, pavement, and tram tracks are being installed.
Financial and legal problems
- A scheme to launder more than UAH 160 million was uncovered: in January 2023, a subcontractor transferred funds to companies for work that was not actually performed (for example, “soil reinforcement”) – the companies did not conduct any real activities.
- The prosecutor’s office is demanding that the contract for the construction of the bridge section be invalidated due to anticompetitive actions of the bidders. The price of the works increased from UAH 1.7 billion to UAH 3.5 billion, and more than 90 additional agreements were concluded.
- The total cost of the project as of October 2021 is UAH 19.9 billion, and funding continues to grow.
Project history
- The project was approved in 1993, construction began in 1996, but was repeatedly suspended due to lack of funding.
- The bridge was partially opened in 2022 for special vehicles and bus route #111.
- In 2022, the Kyiv City Council allocated UAH 183 million for the completion of the bridge.
