Billion-dollar contracts, embezzlement in shelters and fortifications: the criminal file of Ivan Fedorov’s circle

Recently an announcement of trouble for the head of the Recovery Agency, Ivan Fedorov, circulated on anonymous Telegram channels.

This was reported by Nashi Hroshi (Our Money).

They say that during his tenure as head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, he and his team made many mistakes, so law enforcement are opening cases against him despite his status as one of Zelenskyy’s favorites. It was precisely because of that status that Ivan Fedorov this summer was able to bypass Mariupol mayor Vadym Boychenko in the behind-the-scenes contest for the State Recovery Agency.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy favored him, albeit not on the first try, but without difficulty. Perhaps a role was played by Serhiy Minko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada law enforcement committee from Servant of the People. He is an old friend of Fedorov’s from their time jointly leading Melitopol, when it was not yet occupied.

The National Association of Road Workers of Ukraine issued a statement saying that Fedorov is fighting against market monopolization. Nashi Hroshi have for years observed various methods of contract-grabbing in this sector. And the current story is not unique.

But this clash nevertheless highlighted a very important fact. The background of Ivan Fedorov and his team is indeed described in criminal investigations. Different law enforcement agencies have opened so many cases during the invasion that they can be used to paint a portrait of contemporary corrupt Ukraine.

Thus, on 4 September Ivan Fedorov was appointed head of the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine. Within a few weeks Nashi Hroshi noticed that Fedorov’s personnel rise gave a financial boost to one of the most successful contractors in the Zaporizhzhia region — LLC Budivelna Kompaniya Kalmius.

The firm received contracts worth 2,1 billion UAH, of which 1,1 billion came from the Zaporizhzhia service for installing anti-drone protection. For comparison: Kalmius’s largest contract with a Zaporizhzhia client previously did not exceed 70,3 million UAH.

Recently RBC-Ukraine published a piece about a number of firms from Fedorov’s circle and their billion-hryvnia successes. Nashi Hroshi checked not only procurements but also court materials involving companies linked to the head of the State Recovery Agency’s circle.

Construction of school shelters

Specialists from the main detective unit of the State Bureau of Economic Security are investigating proceedings under articles concerning embezzlement on a particularly large scale, tax evasion, and document forgery for firm registration.

One of the rulings contains contract numbers indicating that the case concerns 11 shelters in schools, where the customer was the state enterprise Local Roads. Among them are Gymnasium No. 107, School No. 88, “Sichovyi Kollegium,” Lyceum “Leader,” “Logos,” and others. The contractors are LLC Kompaniya Pozityv, LLC Melsiti, and LLC Adonia Kompani.

Nashi Hroshi had flagged some of the repairs mentioned in the proceedings back in June 2024 because of concealed cost estimates and lack of competition.

Investigators suspect that officials of the state enterprise, in collusion with contractors, “misappropriated budget funds” through false acceptance certificates and inflated prices for concrete and rebar — overall about 27,6 million UAH. According to the investigation, the money was later cashed out through firms showing signs of being fictitious.

From the materials: the official owner of one such supplier told investigators that she had re-registered the company in her name “in exchange for a benefit,” and handed over stamps and keys to “other participants in the crime.”

In addition, the case documents record markup on the rental cost of a crawler crane by a factor of 2,4: the subcontractor took the crane for 965 thousand UAH, while the state enterprise was invoiced for 2,35 million UAH. The case is at the stage of expert examinations and study of seized evidence.

Fortifications: beer sellers, taxi drivers, and repentance in court

Another set of firms “close” to Fedorov appear in a separate Bureau of Economic Security investigation into misappropriation/theft of property during the construction of defensive positions under contracts between the Melitopol district military administration and LLC PBK Akvi-Bud and LLC Melsiti.

The investigation found inflated prices for metal posts, dragon’s teeth and fencing, with losses exceeding 5,4 million UAH. Moreover, according to investigators, both firms, together with suppliers Morena SK, Alyans Som and Fundament-L, “are controlled by one person.” The nominal director of Melsiti, according to the ruling, is engaged in selling groceries and beer beverages, while the director of Akvi-Bud provides taxi services.

In January 2026 the materials concerning one of the managers were separated into a distinct proceeding. Prosecutors changed the charge from theft of property to official negligence. The accused pleaded guilty, fully reimbursed the damage and transferred 2 million UAH to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The court therefore relieved him of liability due to effective repentance.

Millions from the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU)

Among the freshest cases is a proceeding of the Main Investigative Department of the National Police under the article on embezzlement of funds on a particularly large scale. It involves LLC Ukrmedgroup, which received 703,22 million UAH from the National Health Service of Ukraine as payment for medical services, the actuality of which is currently being established. About 247 million UAH of those funds, according to investigators, were transferred to accounts of high-risk firms.

During the investigation a number of searches were carried out and copies of orders by the head of the regional military administration for the years 2024–2025 were seized, which show that at least two firms involved in the case — LLC Ukrmedgroup and LLC Liky+ — were recognized as critically important.

Additionally, investigators gained access to databases to “establish the circle of ‘patients’ to whom services were allegedly provided.”

Ukrmedgroup is a company that was registered at the address of the St. Nicholas Clinics in Zaporizhzhia. Its founders are the clinic’s medical director, Kostyantyn Mylytsia, and former Zaporizhzhia city council deputy Mykola Bilyi. According to Nashi Hroshi, Bilyi is Ivan Fedorov’s godfather. He also heads the Zaporizhzhia Regional Football Federation.

Contractors and their connections

Nashi Hroshi checked all procurements by Zaporizhzhia region clients for the years 2024–2026 with a value of at least 1 million UAH.

The largest customer is the state enterprise Local Roads of the Zaporizhzhia Region. This enterprise is subordinate to the regional military administration, and since May 2024 its head has been Viktoriia Repashevska, the former head of Melitopol’s Department of Capital Construction and a former adviser to Fedorov. The lion’s share of this state enterprise’s contracts went to the companies mentioned above.

LLC BK Kalmius was established in March 2025, its director and owner is Danylo Sandyriyev. Nashi Hroshi reported that three days after registration the firm became a subcontractor to Kompaniya Pozityv, and this experience allowed it to obtain its first contracts worth over half a billion. The company now has contracts totaling 5,6 billion UAH. The most in the Zaporizhzhia region.

LLC Kompaniya Pozityv is owned by Maksym Haidai, and previously belonged to former official and ex-deputy of the Zaporizhzhia city council Mykola Bilyi — co-owner of LLC UkrMedGroup, LLC Liky+ and founder of the charitable organization BF Clinic of St. Nicholas. Pozityv is blacklisted by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine for bid-rigging. The firm tendered for 1,13 billion UAH.

LLC Melsiti is owned by Volodymyr Novoseltsev. As Bihus.info journalists found, the firm, together with Akvi-Bud, bought construction materials from Fundament-L, a company owned by Melitopol ex-deputy Serhiy Bilovol. Ivan Fedorov and Serhiy Bilovol ran for Melitopol city council at the same time from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc. Ivan Fedorov told Bihus.info that he is acquainted with Bilovol, but that Akvi-Bud and Melsiti did not receive contracts because of that. The firm’s contract portfolio amounts to 1,74 billion UAH.