A former prosecutor with the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office revealed details of the NABU case involving a possible bribe related to a Volkswagen Touareg at the Recovery Agency
22 June 15:51
Stanislav Bronevitsky , a former prosecutor with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, has disclosed details of a criminal investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) into the possible provision of improper benefits to officials of the Agency for Recovery by Avtomagistral-Pivden LLC, reports "Komersant Ukrainian", citing information from Bronevitsky’s Telegram channel “Bronik.”
The case concerns events in 2024, when the Agency for the Restoration and Development of Ukraine’s Infrastructure was headed by Mustafa Nayem.
According to Bronetskyi, the NABU case centered on a scheme involving the purchase of a 2024 Volkswagen Touareg, which, according to investigators, may have been used as a disguised form of an improper benefit for an official.
“According to the investigation, officials of Avtomagistral-Pivden LLC intended to provide Andriy Ivko, the first deputy chairman of the Agency for Recovery, with an illicit benefit in the form of a 2024 Volkswagen Touareg valued at 3,178,100 UAH,” he said.
The former prosecutor then outlines a chronology of events, which, he claims, was established during the investigation:
“On June 7, 2024, a representative of the company informed a car dealership in Odesa of the need to purchase a Volkswagen Touareg for cash and to register it not in the name of the actual recipient, but in the name of another person.
On June 13, the car, priced at 3,178,100 UAH, was formally purchased by Andriy Ivko’s sister, Olena Vernidub.
On June 18, Andriy Ivko was dismissed from his position as First Deputy Head of the Recovery Agency.
On June 21, three days after his dismissal, the car was registered in Olena Vernidub’s name.
And no later than June 22, she handed over the registration certificate and the car keys to her brother,” Bronevitsky noted.
He added separately that, according to available information, the car may have actually been used by the official:
“Also, according to available information, A. Ivko drove this Volkswagen Touareg into Ukraine and was stopped by police officers. During his conversation with them, he confirmed that it was his car,” the former prosecutor clarified.
And despite the fact that these circumstances have already been established by the investigation, no procedural decisions have been made in the case.
“All of the circumstances described were established during the investigation of this case. However, NABU has been investigating it for almost two years without any results. Where is the suspicion here? What is preventing them from issuing a notice of suspicion?
Is the problem that the very notification of suspicion will once again confirm that corruption existed at the Recovery Agency in 2024? It’s somewhat awkward when anti-corruption officials go after other anti-corruption officials,” Bronevitsky commented.
NABU has not publicly commented on the former prosecutor’s statements.
About Avtomagistral-Pivden LLC
This is a Ukrainian construction company specializing in the construction and reconstruction of highways, bridges, and other engineering structures; airport complexes; hydraulic structures; protective facilities; and highway maintenance.
“Avtomagistral-Pivden” was founded in 2004.
- Since 2023: “Avtomagistral-Pivden” has entered the Romanian market, where it has already completed its first projects. The company has won several major contracts, scheduled for completion in 2027.
- 2026: A program to rehabilitate key highways in Ukraine in separate sections begins, and “Avtomagistral-Pivden” “once again takes the lead, having completed 25% of the total volume of work nationwide,” according to the company’s website.
According to YouControl, the company’s owner is listed as Oleksandr Boiko. According to its 2024 financial results, the company’s revenue exceeded 14.9 billion UAH (8.2 billion UAH in 2023), with net profit of nearly 1.4 billion UAH.
Related
The State Agency for Infrastructure Restoration and Development of Ukraine was established by a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated January 13, 2023, through the renaming of the State Agency of Motorways of Ukraine to the State Agency for Infrastructure Restoration and Development of Ukraine (the Restoration Agency) and the reorganization of the State Agency for Infrastructure Projects by merging it into the Restoration Agency, which became the legal successor to its assets, rights, and obligations
The first head of the Agency for Restoration in 2023–2024 was Mustafa Nayem, who was dismissed by the government in June 2024.
On September 27, 2024, Serhiy Sukhomlyn was appointed head of the State Agency for Recovery and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine.
