2,31 billion hryvnias for Dnipropetrovsk roads: who is Pavlo Chukhno and what does the FBI have to do with it

2,31 billion hryvnias for Dnipropetrovsk roads: who is Pavlo Chukhno and what does the FBI have to do with it

From March to October 2022, the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration paid road contractors 2,31 billion UAH. Of that, 1,5 billion UAH, or 65% of the total, went to a single company — Budinvest Engineering LLC.

In spring 2021, 49% of the company belonged to fitness trainer Yana Khlanta, whom journalists call a close associate of the then ODA head Valentyn Reznichenko, and to Dnipro entrepreneur Pavlo Chukhno.

Chukhno is vice president of the Prometey basketball club, which he founded in 2018 with Volodymyr Dubynskyi. The investigative outlet Schemes calls Chukhno a business partner of Dubynskyi, and Forbes describes him as a “manager and partner” of the Dubynskyi brothers.

Connections to the Dubynskyi brothers and the FBI investigation

Volodymyr and Leonid Dubynskyi are wanted by the FBI. 14 September 2012, a federal court in Sacramento issued arrest warrants for them on charges of mail fraud. According to the FBI, the brothers recruited relatives and acquaintances as straw buyers of houses in California. The court has not adjudicated the brothers’ guilt. As Ukrainian citizens, they are not subject to extradition.

What is known about the road repair case

9 November 2022. A week after the SAP opened the case, Yana Khlanta left the list of owners of Budinvest Engineering, and Pavlo Chukhno became the principal owner, Censor.NET reported.

26 December 2022. NABU conducted searches, including at the company’s office and at Chukhno’s office, Schemes reported.

12 September 2024. The SAP reported suspicions against five people, including the company director. According to investigators, road repairs were recorded as “operational maintenance,” expenses were increased to 1,5 billion UAH, and the contractor inflated material prices.

12 August 2026. The indictment was sent to court against Reznichenko, his deputy, the head of the roads department, and the head of the business entity. Investigators estimate the amount misappropriated at more than 392 million UAH.

There are no public records of any suspicion being announced against Pavlo Chukhno himself. His procedural status in the case is unknown.

Who owns Budinvest Engineering now

According to the state registry, 100% of Budinvest Engineering now belongs to Lithuanian citizen Laurinas Grambis, and the company’s director is Kyrylo Sklyar. From publicly available data, it is not clear when and for how much Chukhno sold his share.

Olena Chukhno, whom the media name as a relative of Pavlo, was a co-owner of asphalt concrete plants that supplied materials to Budinvest.

In January 2025, NABU detained Leonid Dubynskyi in a separate case concerning 129 million UAH allocated for a water main in the Kamianske district. In October 2026 that case was sent to court.

Pavlo Chukhno refused to comment to Schemes about the company’s funds and ties to Dubynskyi.

All persons mentioned are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. Schemes note that they are ready to give each of them an opportunity to speak.