Police are investigating the use of funds at the Ukrainian Gymnastics Championships
7 January 2025 14:34
The National Police is conducting an investigation into the Ukrainian Gymnastics Championships, which took place at the end of September 2024 at the Kyiv Sports Palace. The case was opened after a journalistic investigation revealed that Olympic champion Stella Zakharova and a mysterious saleswoman from the Sea of Beer had embezzled UAH 6.6 million, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The investigation is still ongoing, so details are not yet disclosed. However, there are already first results: on December 17, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv revealed an important fact: the documents for the championship could not have been physically signed by 23-year-old Valeria Gutorka, the owner of Kyiv Media Production.
During the investigation, it turned out that although her signature was on the documents, Gutorka herself was abroad at the time. According to the Arkan system, she left Ukraine on August 13, 2024, and did not return to the country until the end of October. Thus, she could not personally sign any document on the organization of the competition.
The court was also interested in some points that in practice could indicate corruption in the use of funds. In particular, even the amount of carpet and double-sided tape required to equip the competition venue could differ from the actual amount.
“… services were provided for the installation, operation and dismantling of carpet on double-sided fabric-based tape… in the amount of 3000 square meters… the inspection will provide an opportunity to establish the actual dimensional characteristics of the site, and to refute or confirm the fact of the rationality of obtaining this particular size of services provided…”
– the court ruling reads.
Based on these facts, the court allowed the police to conduct the necessary investigative actions at the Sports Palace.
At the same time, in late November, UkrSportsSupply stated that all contracts and services were fully legal. The government agency conducted an inspection and found nothing suspicious.
“The championship was organized in accordance with all the necessary regulations and orders of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine… All contracts with service providers were concluded in accordance with the current legislation, and the costs were in line with the approved budget… The audit confirmed that the service providers fulfilled their obligations in full, as evidenced by the acceptance certificates,”
– ukrSportSecurity reported.
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The Stella Zakharova Championship
The Ukrainian Gymnastics Championships held in Kyiv in late September 2024 became the most expensive sporting event in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion, with a budget of over UAH 8.5 million. At the same time, leading Ukrainian gymnasts, including Olympic medalist Ilya Kovtun, did not participate in the competition.
The state institution UkrSportSecurity paid over 6.6 million hryvnias to organize the tournament to a little-known company called Kyiv Media Production, owned by 23-year-old blogger Valeria Gutorka. Interestingly, at the time of signing the documents on September 25, Gutorka had been abroad for more than a month – in Belgium and the Netherlands.
A journalistic investigation revealed that some of the paid-for equipment, including 30 tablets and four projectors worth 440,000 hryvnias, was not used at the championship at all. The direct organizer of the competition, Olympic champion Stella Zakharova, refused to comment on her relationship with the contractor, and UkrSportsSupply could not explain how the contractor was chosen and who actually signed the documents.
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