Recently, media reports have surfaced regarding a large-scale embezzlement scheme involving Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn and his associates, who are accused of misappropriating local budget funds allocated for the reconstruction of the affected community. In particular, this concerns his main contractor, Serhiy Rostalnyi.
According to data from the YouControl system, Serhii Rostalnyi was an aide to Member of Parliament from the Party of Regions, Nestor Shufrych.
On September 3, former regional politician Nestor Shufrych received a new charge while in pre-trial detention: he is accused of financing the Russian Guard in the Crimea. The investigation claims that Shufrych paid money to the Russians for paramilitary security of his elite properties on the peninsula. In the three months of 2016, his company paid the occupiers over 500,000 Russian rubles.
In the summer of 2024, the publication “Nezlamni.City” released an article titled “525 million from the budget for the mayor’s friends and how to receive 170,000 UAH with a salary of 6,000: life hacks from IMR,” while the publication “Rezonans” published an article titled “The entourage of Irpin Mayor Markushyn received 525 million from the budget for post-war reconstruction.”
The articles state that LLC “Build Company Bih Bud Invest” and individual entrepreneur Serhii Rostalnyi became the main contractors for the reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure in Irpin. After the de-occupation of Kyiv region, they received over half a billion UAH from local budgets and, curiously, were awarded exclusive contracts from the Government of Lithuania.
Following a series of media publications, Markushyn’s main and favored contractor, Serhii Rostalnyi, has not been seen in Irpin. Among local entrepreneurs, there is information that he is either preparing to leave Ukraine or has already left.
Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn has yet to comment on the information regarding the withdrawal of half a billion UAH to Serhiy Rostalny. Markushin is also silent about why Serhii Rostalnyi “coincidentally” became a contractor for the Lithuanian Government in the construction of the “Ruta” kindergarten in Irpin.
Considering Serhii Rostalni’s close ties to Nestor Shufrych, the funds allocated for the reconstruction of Irpin could have been used to finance pro-Russian subversive activities in Ukraine. Some of these funds may have been taken with him to Europe for such purposes.