The former MP’s company sued the state for 1 million hryvnias for participating in the auction
Commercial court of the city of Kyiv passed the decision to charge from the state budget of Ukraine in favor of the International Institute of Management Problems and Financial Risks LLC (“MIPUFR”) the sum of 1 million hryvnias for participating in the auction for the sale of a special permit for the use of subsoil. The owner of the company is former People’s Deputy Volodymyr Skubenko.
At the end of 2023, the State Geology and Subsoil Service of Ukraine announced an auction scheduled for January 4, 2024 through the Prozorro.Prodazhi system. It was about the sale of a special permit for the extraction of peat from the Mak deposit, located in the Volodymyretskyi (now Varaskei) district of the Rivne region.
On January 2, 2024, “MIPUFR” submitted an application for participation, paying 1 million hryvnias as a guarantee fee to the auction operator — Smarttender LLC. LLC “Ukrtorf” won the auction, but later it was disqualified, recognizing “MIPUFR” as the winner.
However, in August 2024, the Commercial Court of Kyiv recognized the results of the electronic auction as invalid. After that, “MIPUFR” appealed to the court with a demand to return the paid guarantee fee. “Smarttender” stated that the funds have already been transferred to the state budget, so the return is possible only through a state body.
In response, “MIPUFR” filed a lawsuit with the State Geology with a demand for compensation. The court supported the company’s position, noting that there are no legal grounds for the guarantee contribution to remain in the state budget, since the auction itself was declared invalid. Therefore, the money is subject to return.
