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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
From Fire Shows to State Drone Contracts: How Vyrij Industry Owner Babenko More Than Doubled the Price of FPV Cable for FPV
How did 24-year-old Oleksii Babenko, who previously did fire shows, become the owner of LLC “Vyrij Industry” (EDRPOU code 45186404) in just a few years and enter the market for producing FPV drones for state needs? Not long ago—performances with fire, and today—defense business, state contracts, and multimillion-dollar component deals.
In a short time #ВИРІЙІНДАСТРІ has become a company through which purchases of components for unmanned aerial vehicles pass. But the biggest questions are not Babenko’s rapid rise, but the mechanism for forming the cost of products that the state pays for.
Special attention is paid to the fiber-optic cable for FPV drones. It is imported into Ukraine at an invoice price of 7,5–8 dollars per kilometer, with the first importation benefiting from exemptions on customs duties and/or VAT. After the goods are placed in the customs warehouse of LLC “AVTOTRANSLOGISTICS,” the original buyer declines the goods, and MARKET LEADER S.R.O. and OGNIS TRADING LLC enter the chain. Physically the cable remains in Ukraine—it is not exported and reimported—but sequential purchase-sale transactions occur on paper.
After that, “VYRIJ INDUSTRY” purchases the same cable already at 17,5–18 dollars per kilometer. Thus, a difference of 9,5–10 dollars per kilometer arises between the initial invoice price and VYRIJ INDUSTRY’s purchase price. The product itself does not change: its quantity does not increase, its specifications do not change, and there is no actual movement outside Ukraine. Only the documentarily established value increases, which is then included in the company’s expenses and the cost of the drones.
The scheme also involves LLC “Agency for Asset Sales” (EDRPOU code 43950035), LLC “VICTORYSERVICE” (45882973), LLC “USDP” (45219008) and LLC “MUNVEL MARKET” (45632756). Through these companies pass operations for purchasing, supplying, and forming the cost of drone components, with settlements conducted through VYRIJ INDUSTRY’s bank accounts. Payments from VYRIJ INDUSTRY to MARKET LEADER S.R.O. and OGNIS TRADING LLC are being analyzed separately—with a request to establish the dates, amounts, currency, purpose, and grounds.
Why nearly double the cost of a component? Because after purchase VYRIJ INDUSTRY uses this cable in drone production, and its cost is included in the finished product’s cost. Thus, a cable that costs 7,5–8 dollars as part of the drone’s cost becomes a component priced at 17,5–18 dollars, raising the manufacturer’s expenses and the final price of the product. Finished unmanned aerial vehicles are, among other things, supplied under state contracts, so artificially increasing the cost of a component directly affects the amount that can be built into the price of such products.
By the way, we have been covering Babenko’s activities for several months. It was after our inquiries to him that searches were conducted, but the case appears to have been “swept under the rug” again. Now we have filed a new complaint regarding the import of fiber-optic cable for FPV drones with clear demands: to inspect “AVTOTRANSLOGISTICS” (EDRPOU code 38089771), the transactions with MARKET LEADER S.R.O. and OGNIS TRADING LLC, establish the actual location of the cable at each stage, verify LLC “VYRIJ INDUSTRY”’s (EDRPOU code 45186404) purchase of cable at the price of 17,5–18 USD per 1 km after initial import at 7,5–8 USD per 1 km, clarify the reasons and grounds for the price increase of 9,5–10 USD per 1 km, check the application of customs duty and VAT exemptions during import, establish the volume and total value of the purchased cable, and verify its inclusion in the UAVs’ cost accounting.
The cable enters Ukraine at one price, is not physically moved, but after a series of operations its price for the end buyer more than doubles—and the difference is built into the drones’ cost. In other words, the paper route of the goods changes its price, even though the cable remains the same. If such a model is used systematically, then every subsequent kilometer of cable becomes another component of the cost of products paid for by the state budget. Where does the real cost of components end and the price the budget is forced to pay begin?
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Від фаєр-шоу до держконтрактів на дрони: як власник «Вирій Індастрі» Бабенко наростив ціну кабелю для FPV більш ніж удвічі". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ANTIKOR.
