Police open case over violations of children's nutrition in Mykolaiv schools

Porridge for Mykolaiv schoolchildren was cooked outside in the rain. Collage by NikVesti

The Main Department of the National Police in Mykolaiv region has opened a criminal investigation into violations of the rules for preparing food for city schoolchildren.

The head of the Mykolaiv regional police department, Vitalii Kim, told NikVesti.

According to the data entered in the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations, on 9 December, the police received a letter from the head of the regional education authority regarding «flagrant violations of the rules for cooking food for students of educational institutions in Mykolaiv», which is a violation of the rules established to prevent infectious diseases and poisoning.

Extract from the URPI NikVesti provided by Vitalii Kim

The proceedings were opened under Part 1 of Article 325 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — violation of the rules and regulations established to prevent epidemic and infectious diseases.

The investigation is being carried out by investigators of the Police Department No. 1 of the Mykolaiv District Department of the National Police in Mykolaiv Region. The Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor's Office is providing procedural guidance.

Earlier, NikVesti showed the process of providing some of the city's schools with food prepared by a private company that received a catering contract from a municipal enterprise. The children's parents said that the children did not receive breakfast on Monday, and the food was delivered only in the afternoon.

It should be noted that in August Mykolaiv received 25.5 million hryvnias in state subventions for meals for pupils in grades 1-11, as well as 3.6 million hryvnias from the UN to improve the diet of younger pupils. Another 3.6 million hryvnias of subvention was received in September. In October, it became known that the Mykolaiv community would receive an additional 61.3 million hryvnias from the state to organise school meals.

As you know, following a public outcry over the quality of school meals in Mykolaiv, the city hall decided to engage a private contractor. At the end of November, the municipal enterprise MPE-C chose the company «Prosecco 8», which will deliver food to some of the city's schools in December. During the open tender «PROSSECCO 8» became the only participant and winner of the tender for catering services. The price of the services was 14 million 279 thousand 658 hryvnias.

Who is the company that received ₴14 million for school meals associated with?

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According to the YouControl system, the company «Prosecco 8», which was selected as a subcontractor, was registered in Mykolaiv in 2023 and has a registered capital of one thousand hryvnias. The company's activities are multifaceted: it provides mobile catering services, rents goods for sports and recreation, operates sports facilities, provides services to hairdressers and beauty salons, and more. The company is owned by Irina Stoieva.

NikVesti found out that Iryna Stoieva is also associated with another organisation — LLC «BBV 2021». The Register of Court Decisions contains a court ruling of 2023 on bringing her to administrative responsibility for violating the statutory procedure for making payments in the field of trade, catering and services. Iryna Stoieva is listed in the document as the manager of LLC «BBV 2021». The case concerned an unaccounted-for excess of alcohol and cigarettes in a cafe in the Zavodskyi district of Mykolaiv.

The YouControl system indicates that the head of this Mykolaiv-based limited liability company «BBV 2021» is Borys Berestnev, who is the son of the head of the «Proposal» faction in the Mykolaiv City Council and the head of the Inhulskyi District Administration, Hanna Remennikova.

It should be noted that Hanna Remennikova's family owns two popular restaurants in Mykolaiv: «Daily» and «Daily Sport». One of them, as the editorial team of NikVesti found out, employs Iryna Stoieva.

The decision to involve a private company in the organisation of meals for children in schools was previously commented on by the mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych. In his telegram channel, the mayor said that within a month the city authorities would check the effectiveness of catering.