Mykolaiv prosecutor asks city council members to stop giving advice on whom to question and what to do

Mykolaiv Region Prosecutor Ihor Domushchei responds to claims by MP Fedir Panchenko. Collage: NikVesti

The head of the Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, Ihor Domushchei, asked members of the city council to refrain from giving public advice to law enforcement officers in the case of an investment tender for the construction of a waste sorting line.

He said this during a briefing on 29 August, according to the correspondent of NikVesti.

It is worth noting that during a Zoom discussion of the issue of determining the waste sorting entity on 27 August, MP Fedir Panchenko said that the prosecutor's office could not find the office of the company «Waste to Energy Niko».

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At today's meeting with the head of the prosecutor's office, Vitalii Mekheda, director of the municipal TV channel «MART», asked why law enforcement officers failed to find and search the office of «Waste To Energy Niko».

«On Wednesday, when the project was publicly discussed for the second time with the participation of deputies and the director, it turned out that the executive bodies had been searched, but the director had not been found. Has he been found now, because he doesn't seem to be hiding? And if they haven't found him, isn't this some kind of bias?» Vitalii Mekheda asked the prosecutor.

In response, the prosecutor stressed that investigators and prosecutors determine the tactics and strategy of the investigation independently.

«The investigator and the prosecutor independently determine the tactics and strategy of the investigation in this criminal proceeding. I understand that some members of the city council provide recommendations on what to do and whom to interrogate. But we have enough knowledge and professional experience to do it ourselves. It is unacceptable to discuss every criminal proceeding in a public format,» said Ihor Domushchei.

He also added that even if these actions prevented illegal spending of budget funds, this is already a result. However, he acknowledged that it is difficult to prove the elements of a crime in this case, as the contract with the company was never signed.

«Even if we prevented the illegal spending of budget funds and possible embezzlement, this is also a very good result. Yes, it is difficult for us to prove a criminal offence in this case. Especially since the contract was not signed, and the financing did not take place. But the situation that is developing is that we see a business entity starting the process of conducting this activity for these purposes and for the intended purpose two years in advance. And that there are only two land plots near the landfill that are allocated by the business entity. This is the direct company LLC «Waste To Energy Niko» and another company that have the same owner, the same ultimate beneficiary. We have many questions that we will deal with in the course of the investigation,» said Ihor Domushchei.

«But you haven't got to the director yet,» Vitalii Mekheda stressed.

«Well, I have answered this question, let us figure out who to reach and how. If you want to take part in the investigation, apply for a position as a prosecutor,» the prosecutor replied.

As you know, on 21 August, the building of Mykolaiv City Council was searched. The next day, the head of Mykolaiv Regional State Administration Vitalii Kim said that the tender to select a company to build a sorting line in Mykolaiv was conducted improperly and its terms were unfavourable to the community. He also added that Mykolaiv needs to build a modern sorting line, but not on the terms that are currently being proposed for approval by the city council.

Speaking to journalists, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych called the searches of the city council far-fetched and not constituting a crime. The departmentinterpreted the mayor's statementas an attempt to divert attention from real violations and to question the legality of the investigative actions.

Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko also reacted to this statement. He called these statements attempts by the managers to justify themselves.

Landfill near Mykolaiv

Back in 2020, in a commentary to NikVesti, the mayor of Mykolaiv said that the city's existing landfill would last for another 10 years, i.e. until 2030.

It is located on the territory of Vesnianske village council in Mykolaiv district. The landfill was put into operation in 1972 with a 50-year lifespan, i.e. until 2022. It is designed to dispose of 50 million cubic metres of waste.

The report on the strategic environmental assessment of the draft master plan for Mykolaiv, published in 2018, stated that the city's landfill capacity was 98% exhausted. Therefore, they added, it is imperative to build new modern waste sorting and recycling facilities, introduce separate waste collection, and increase the use of recycled materials.

On 20 May 2024, Mykolaiv selected a company to build a sorting line for solid waste processing. The winner of the tender was «Waste To Energy Niko».

In September 2024, the procedure for the operation of the household waste sorting line and the terms of the tender were agreed upon. It was reported that the sorting line will be able to process up to 70% of waste, and the remaining 30% will be buried. The project stipulates that the company that wins the tender will transfer at least 10% of its profits to the maintenance of the landfill.

The terms of the agreement include a 25-year period of cooperation. There were warnings in the city council that this was too long and could limit the community's flexibility. At the initiative of the chairman of the planning and budgetary commission of the city council, Fedir Panchenko, an alternative draft decision has already been developed — to refuse the agreement with «West Tu Energy Niko» for waste sorting. Earlier, in a commentary to NikVesti, «West Tu Energy Nico», which won the investment competition held by the city council, assured that such a system would not only reduce the load on the city's landfill, but would also allow the city to save money, create new jobs and gain access to international «green» financing.