Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The Dnipro City Council operates the municipal enterprise “Motor Transport Enterprise of Sanitary Transport.” Few people hear about or know of its activities even within Dnipro itself, but this municipal enterprise leases ambulances to the city’s hospitals.
In Valeriya Ivanova’s investigation of Dnipro’s “shadow mayor’s office,” we noticed that representatives of the municipal enterprise “Motor Transport Enterprise of Sanitary Transport” of the Dnipro City Council travel to so-called “meetings” in the Amsterdam residential complex with the friend of Dnipro’s mayor Boris Filatov, Hennadiy Korban.
So we decided to find out how this municipal enterprise operates, and here’s what we learned.
The “Motor Transport Enterprise of Sanitary Transport” is essentially a motor depot that holds medical transport used by medical institutions. Not for free. They lease it for substantial sums.
For example, one of the largest clients of this municipal motor depot is the Regional Center for Disaster Medicine. In just 2019 year the medical institution paid the municipal enterprise more than 110 million UAH for the use of 22 ambulances. In total, the enterprise services 35 healthcare and preventive institutions in the city and region.
Most of the fleet of the Motor Transport Enterprise of Sanitary Transport consists of old VAZ and GAZ vehicles. Incidentally, over the past three years the Dnipro City Council purchased only 15 brand-new ambulances. In 2017 year — five, in 2018 — ten, in 2019 — none. Traditionally, this is justified by an alleged huge shortage of budget funds. At least that’s what the city administration claims. Supposedly, there is simply no money to renew the ambulance fleet. So the only option left is to constantly repair the old vehicles.
However, after analyzing the municipal enterprise’s purchases of ambulance spare parts through the Prozorro system, we found that repairs of medical transport are not only a forced necessity due to a lack of budget funds, but also someone’s specific profit.
In the past year alone the municipal enterprise purchased various parts for repairing ambulances for more than 30 million UAH. Most of the winners are related sole proprietors (FOPs) who have so far absorbed tens of millions of budgetary hryvnias.
For example, 54-year-old Vladyslav Udovychenko sold parts for vehicle repairs last year worth 1 909 056 UAH. In tenders he competed with 33-year-old Dmytro Lysak and 52-year-old Kostyantyn Fonich.
The three men list shared phone numbers and identical email addresses in the documents.
Another Dnipro resident, 47-year-old Oleh Muzalov, over 2019 year handled 2 584 499 UAH of budgetary funds. He competed in a tender for selling spare parts for ambulance repairs with the aforementioned Vladyslav Udovychenko. The man also lists the same phone number and email address.
Also, Kostyantyn Fonich, Oleh Muzalov, and Vladyslav Udovychenko identify Dmytro Lysak as their manager in tender documentation. In addition, the young men often upload documents with similar designs.
Note that Vladyslav Udovychenko is married to Iryna Muzalova — a relative of Oleh Muzalov. Husband and wife are also co-founders of three firms that specialize in wholesale trade and the sale of automotive accessories.
Besides the fact that these connected FOPs only create the appearance of competition and play out tenders among themselves, the entrepreneurs sell ambulance parts to the city administration at roughly double market prices.
For example, the municipal enterprise purchased the part “Main gear 2217” for 9267 UAH per unit.
The average market cost of such a part with identical specifications ranges from 1958 to 3500 UAH.
Another part, “Main gear 3302,” cost the Dnipro city administration 8069 UAH apiece.
The military unit in Odesa purchased the same part for 4250 UAH.
A “12V battery disconnect switch,” which the municipal enterprise bought for 1315 UAH, is found online on average for 550 UAH per unit.
A military unit in Sloviansk purchased similar switches for 949 UAH apiece.
A “rear axle housing” cost the Dnipro budget 18 259 UAH per unit. More than 73 000 UAH for four.
In Cherkasy the exact same parts were purchased for 6 875 UAH.
And these situations are not accidental. We analyzed most of the tenders won by the above-mentioned FOPs. In almost all cases we noticed price markups on products of double, even triple, the market rate.
Another Dnipro resident who sold parts to the Motor Transport Enterprise of Sanitary Transport for 2 467 999 UAH is 32-year-old Dnipro native Oleksiy Yefimov.
In tenders the young man competed with 40-year-old Halyna Kabyto va. Oleksiy Yefimov and Halyna Kabyto va are friends on Facebook, actively promote and repost the same page, “Auto Service on Kalynova.”
Oleksiy Yefimov and Halyna’s husband, Artem Kabyto v, also invite everyone on their pages to use the services of this service station and post prices for auto services.
Besides the overt acquaintance and even possible joint business, the FOPs also sell parts for repairing ambulances with substantial markups.
For example, the city administration purchased a “left mirror” for 5198 UAH per unit.
The market price for the exact same mirror is from 2000 UAH to 3000 UAH.
Another part, the “side door lock,” which the city administration bought for 10 394 UAH, is found online at an approximate price from 3000 UAH to 6800 UAH.
“Clutch pedals,” incidentally for repairs of newer ambulances, were purchased for 6420 UAH, and “steering column switches” for 9239 UAH.
The market price of pedals with identical specifications ranges from 2700 UAH to 3529 UAH. Similar switches are found on average for 4231 UAH.
A “rear left caliper” cost the municipal enterprise 7507 UAH.
On the internet we did not find prices higher than 3005 UAH per unit. “Auto Service on Kalynova” offers similar parts priced from 390 UAH to 3309 UAH.
This trend of inflated product prices is also not surprising. Here’s why. Oleksiy’s brother, Oleksandr Yefimov, is the owner of LLC “TPK Alfa LTD.” During 2017 and 2018 years this company sold spare parts for ambulance repairs to the municipal enterprise Motor Transport Enterprise of Sanitary Transport. But in November 2018 law enforcement opened a criminal case, within which they established that representatives of LLC “TPK Alfa LTD” and a number of other firms, in prior collusion with the municipal workers, sold parts for vehicle repairs at inflated prices by 40–60% above the actual market rate.
What might this mean? That while the investigation continues, a number of other controlled sole proprietors have simply been introduced into the flow of budget funds, and they continue to “absorb” Dnipro’s budget money.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "У Дніпрі деталі до “швидких” продають по завищеній ціні пов’язані ФОПи". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Bihus.Info.