House in Bali for rotten vegetables for soldiers: how Busk cannery grew new Hrynkevych
A golden carriage, a sand quarry, expensive apartments and luxury brands. This is what made the Hrynkevych family famous, the family that failed to deliver supplies to the Ministry of Defence. Two years have passed...
Apartments in Bali, a BMW X6 M for $56,500, a Mazda CX-5 for $23,800, and designer clothing from Louis Vuitton and Dior worth several million hryvnias. The SBI announced that it suspects the head of the food service department of one of the Armed Forces brigades of illegal enrichment.
During the investigation, a large-scale corruption scheme was uncovered in the supply of food to the Armed Forces in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The head of the food service signed fictitious invoices to the food supplier and received 50% of the profits from the scheme in return. At least one million hryvnias were stolen per week.
The media has already learned that the person in question is Major Kostiantyn Svyrydov. The major worked with the same factory that was an intermediary for the Hrynkevychs.
Investigators have established that in 2024, Major Svyrydov purchased a luxury apartment on the island of Bali worth $190,000. In addition, he spent almost 2.5 million hryvnias on clothes in just one of Dnipro's brand-name stores.
In the recordings made by investigators, Svyrydov boasts to his girlfriends that he spent $10,000 on new clothes at the "Symbol" store and shows off the stacks of dollars he earned. He adds that "you won't see anything more exciting today." The 31-year-old Svyrydov is looking for a wife, showing how easily he earns and spends money. He brags to his friends about how he parties at corporate events and uses drugs.
At the same time, in a conversation with his son, Svyrydov's father boasts about how women pay attention to the colour of his new Mazda and is proud that his son has "created a syndicate for himself".
Unlike thousands of Ukrainian soldiers who have not had normal rotations for years, Svyrydov travelled abroad three times a year for holidays. His list of trips includes the Maldives, Japan, Antarctica and a personal tour of America.
The suspect is currently in the brig. But in reality, there could be dozens of such suspects.
In addition, law enforcement agencies usually do not even suspect company owners. The exception was the suspicion of Tetiana Hlyniana by NABU last year, but at that time, the scandalous supplier of "eggs for 17" had already been living happily in Croatia for several years.
For example, in 2023, the State Bureau of Investigation exposed the head of the flight technical canteen of one of the military units, who, with the help of several other military personnel, appropriated the property of the Ministry of Defence.
First, the head instructed the cook to"deliver 30% less food to the canteen than the amount specified in the primary accounting documents," and then they switched to a scheme with fictitious invoices. None of the management of the company "Active Company" was ever imprisoned for this.
Moreover, Hlyniana's group supplies food to the military. Just under the new name "Mit Prom." Similarly, the Busk Canning Plant remains a supplier. Although it constantly receives complaints about the quality of its products.
In particular, in early 2025, the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO) received a response to a request from the "State Logistics Operator" that the Busk Canning Plant had the highest number of complaints about product quality.
"In 2024, a total of 4,293 complaints were received regarding the unsatisfactory work of food suppliers. The largest share of complaints falls on Busk Canning Plant LLC," the response to the request stated.
Why are we talking about "Busk Canning Plant" LLC?
Because, according to information that Censor.NET received from its own sources, the figures involved in the case are the head of the food service of the 25th saab, Svyrydov Kostiantyn Hryhorovych,
the unit's clerk, Tetiana Za*m,
the commander of the logistics battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Serhii Koze**tskyi,
deputy commander Colonel Hryhorii M**kh of the 25th saab,
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and commercial director of the Busk Canning Plant, Mykhailo Mar**nenko.
The "Busk Canning Plant" has been supplying goods to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for years. And it has long enjoyed a specific reputation. In particular, for the quality of its canned meat.
At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Busk was only a contractor for the notorious "Trade Lines Retail". This is a company belonging to the Hrynkevych group. Moreover, when the Hrynkevychs' property was threatened with seizure, his wife transferred four apartments belonging to the family in Kyiv and Lviv as collateral for loan agreements, which made it impossible to seize them, according to an investigation by hromadske.
She transferred them to Lapshin, the owner of "BZK". In 2024, the Busk Canning Plant returned to the list of suppliers of the "State Logistics Operator".
The Busk Canning Plant returned to the list of suppliers against the backdrop of the war between Arsen Zhumadilov and the old "food mafia," who were dissatisfied with the tender criteria and withdrew from the bidding. Direct contracts had to be concluded.
The Busk Canning Plant was among the "rescue" companies. And the State Logistics Operator then directly stated that it had to contract a company associated with the Hrynkevychs.
At first, the company received direct contracts worth 1.4 billion hryvnias, then in May-June it won three more lots worth 1.17 billion hryvnias. And then, at the end of the year, it contracted for 4.3 billion for deliveries in the first half of 2025. In the summer of 2025, the company contracted with the state-owned enterprise "SLO" for another 3.5 billion hryvnias for the second half of the year.
In 2026, it is to supply products worth 4.7 billion hryvnias, and separately, it will supply 6 million hryvnias worth of canned meat. In total, the company has signed contracts worth more than 15 billion hryvnias.
Under one of its latest contracts, BKZ was to continue supplying products to the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions. At the same time, during the auction for this contract, the company reduced the initial price by more than 1 billion hryvnia.
Apparently, the profits from supplying food to the army are still so high that companies can simply write off a billion.
So that they can then make money on rotten vegetables and non-delivery of goods.
Interestingly, the first contracts for 2024 include an anti-corruption clause.
It reads as follows:
"1. By entering into this Agreement, the SUPPLIER guarantees:
(i) that it has not been held liable for committing a criminal offence of corruption;
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(ii) that its affiliates, employees, intermediaries, and representatives have not been notified of any suspicion, that no indictment has been drawn up (approved, submitted to court) against them, that they have not been convicted of committing a criminal offence of corruption, fraud, other criminal offences committed for mercenary motives, against property, national security, state secrets, official activities, for committing offences involving child labour or any form of human trafficking;
(iii) that its affiliates, employees, intermediaries, representatives have not been held liable for committing an offence related to corruption or other violation of the Law of Ukraine "On Prevention of Corruption";
(iv) that in the event of the above circumstances, it will immediately notify the CUSTOMER in writing in accordance with the procedure set out in this section of the Agreement.
11.2. In performing their obligations under this Agreement, the Parties, their affiliates, employees, representatives or intermediaries shall not pay, offer to pay or allow the payment of any funds or transfer of valuables, directly or indirectly, to any persons in order to influence the actions or decisions of such persons for the purpose of obtaining unlawful advantages or for other unlawful purposes".
Another clause of the agreement stipulates that if such circumstances are discovered, the customer may terminate the agreement unilaterally.
Last year, as a result of a violation by the State Bureau of Investigation in a similar case, the "State Logistics Operator" announced the termination of a contract with another company.
It is currently unknown whether DPA will terminate its contract with Buskyi.
In mid-January and February, DPA announced new tenders for 3.6 billion and 1.2 billion hryvnias. The first ones concern purchases in the so-called pilot model. What the second lot covers is unknown.
However, two weeks ago, DPA also announced a framework tender for 54 billion hryvnias. This is done in order to quickly change suppliers in case of delivery disruptions. But currently, the "framework" is 12 billion hryvnias more expensive than the previous tender.
Why is the DPA taking this step? Because more than a month ago, problems with food supplies began in the Vinnytsia region. This region is supplied by the company CHMK. The company's position is that it does not receive advance payments and that the resolution under which payments are made needs to be changed. However, when entering the tender, companies demonstrate their financial capacity at 30% of the contract amount. Therefore, they should ensure supplies at their own expense.
Meanwhile, in recent documents, the DPA has somewhat relaxed its requirements in this regard, as it allows participants to confirm their compliance by providing financial statements for 2024 or 2025 or the last interim period of 2025 with confirmation of the submission of financial statements to state authorities. Previously, reports for the previous year were required.
In addition, judging by the registers of court decisions, supplier companies are returning to the old game they mastered last year – knocking out competitors through the courts, resulting in the redistribution of lots and increased costs of supply for the state.
In other words, as was the case three and two years ago, the food supply sector remains one of the most corruption-prone due to supplier schemes.
Some of this can be eliminated by reporting personnel attendance. Because it is very convenient to steal food from people who are currently elsewhere and eating from a different contract.
Tetiana Nikolaienko, Censor.NET
