The HACC found the former head of the Dnipro District branch of Derzhhidrohrafiia guilty. At the time of the events, this position was held by Oleksandr Tyshchenko.

The State Institution Derzhhidrohrafiia (State Hydrography) falls within the remit of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine and is classified among the assets of strategic importance for the state's economy and security. Its structure includes separate subdivisions, in particular the Dnipro District branch of Derzhhidrohrafiia.

In 2018, Oleksandr Shchyptsov took charge of the State Institution Derzhhidrohrafiia. According to the investigation, immediately after his appointment he set out to enrich himself at the institution's expense. To carry out this plan, Shchyptsov brought in an acquaintance of his, whom he appointed to key positions in the institution, in particular as head of the tender committee. The accomplices planned to “make money” on the repair of three vessels — the Maiak, the Shliakhovyi-151, and the Shliakhovyi-152 — for which over UAH 24 million had been allocated in the institution's financial plan.

The plan was for “friendly” companies to win the tenders, after which part of the budget funds received would be distributed among the participants in the scheme. To this end, the scheme also drew in the director of a company who had connections in the ship-repair sector and controlled a number of enterprises, as well as businessman Andrii Svystun. His firm, Simplex-S LLC, was merely a “front”: formally it met the requirements for bidders, but in reality it had no resources to carry out the work.

To guarantee Simplex-S's victory, the institution's management put pressure on the tender committee. And when some of its members refused to admit the company on account of its non-compliance with the requirements, the committee's composition was changed to a more compliant one. As a result, Simplex-S LLC was admitted to the bidding without obstruction and declared the winner of three tenders.

In September and October 2018, three contracts for the repair of the vessels were signed with the company, worth over UAH 24.6 million in total. The institution's branch then transferred over UAH 19 million to its accounts.

In reality, however, as the investigation established, the work was actually carried out by Kyiv Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Plant LLC. This confirmed that Simplex-S LLC's participation in the bidding was purely a formality, and that part of the funds the company received was siphoned off through controlled enterprises bearing signs of fictitiousness and converted into cash.

The participants in the scheme divided this money among themselves and passed part of it to the institution's officials as bribes. In reality, the volumes of work did not match the reports: experts found that the prices had been significantly inflated and that part of the repairs had not been carried out at all. Ultimately, the state lost over UAH 13.8 million.

The role of the former branch head of the State Institution Derzhhidrohrafiia was to secure the contracts for a predetermined contractor. Acting in collusion with the other defendants, he signed the vessel-repair contracts with Simplex-S LLC on behalf of the state institution. This effectively guaranteed the firm's victory and legalized the results of the rigged tenders.

The official subsequently arranged for the work to be paid for (including advance payments), despite the fact that the work had not actually been performed. He also concluded supplementary agreements, changing the payment terms and completion deadlines in the contractor's favor in order to make it as easy as possible to obtain the funds and to remove the restrictions set out in the contract.

The HACC approved the plea agreement and found the head of the Dnipro District branch of the State Institution Derzhhidrohrafiia — this likely refers to Oleksandr Tyshchenko — guilty under Article 364(2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, with a ban on holding certain positions for one year and six months, and a fine of UAH 17,000. Under the terms of the agreement, the defendant was released from serving the main sentence, with a one-year probationary period.

The court continues to hear the case with respect to the other defendants.