State Biotechnological University under the control of a bribe-taker: schemes, clone firms, and millions from the budget. Part 1
Kyiv • UNN
Under the guise of optimization, schemes of MP-bribe-taker Andriy Odarchenko were implemented at SBTU. The dealers profited from everything - from creating the university's website to writing off fuel. Details - in the UNN investigation.
Under the guise of educational reform and martial law, a large-scale corruption scheme was launched at the State Biotechnological University. Its architect was the bribe-taking People's Deputy Andriy Odarchenko, who, despite a guilty verdict, is still the rector of the university. Through controlled persons and fictitious firms, he allegedly siphoned millions of hryvnias of budget funds from the university. More details in the first part of the UNN investigation.
The State Biotechnological University was established in 2021 at the initiative of the fugitive People's Deputy Andriy Odarchenko, whom the court found guilty of bribery. At that time, under the pretext of optimizing the network of domestic higher education institutions, the Kharkiv National Technical University of Agriculture named after Petro Vasylenko, Kharkiv National Agrarian University named after V.V. Dokuchaev, Kharkiv State Zoo-Veterinary Academy, and Kharkiv State University of Food Technology and Trade were merged.
Through falsifications and the use of administrative resources, contrary to Ukrainian legislation, People's Deputy Andriy Odarchenko was elected rector of the SBU. The law prohibits deputies from holding multiple positions. In order to avoid questions from the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, the Ministry of Education and Science temporarily suspended Odarchenko's contract, but did not terminate it, although, by law, it should have.
Even after the court's guilty verdict, which entered into force and sentenced the People's Deputy to 8 years in prison, Odarchenko continues to be the rector and influence management processes at the university.
Evacuation of funds to Zakarpattia
Since the university's establishment, it has been managed by acting rectors, and candidates for this position were selected and lobbied by Odarchenko himself. Initially, it was Ruslan Tikhonchenko, and later Andriy Kudryashov - both completely controlled by Odarchenko and became direct implementers of his schemes.
At the SBU itself, legends are already circulating about the corruption of the bribe-taking People's Deputy and his team. People close to the university's leadership say that the People's Deputy and his acting rector are trying to profit from everything.
In particular, the State Biotechnological University is the only Kharkiv university that was evacuated to Zakarpattia after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For this purpose, premises of educational institutions in Uzhhorod and Mukachevo were transferred to its disposal. At the same time, the main part of the SBU staff was not transferred to Zakarpattia. Only about 40-50 employees moved - mostly administrative staff who are on business trips in the Zakarpattia region. Students also did not move, as studies were conducted remotely.
Despite the fact that in 2022 educational services were provided remotely, and the staff and students of the institution were actually scattered throughout Ukraine and beyond, Ruslan Tikhonchenko, who at that time was acting rector of the SBU, obviously on the instructions of Andriy Odarchenko, directed a significant amount of funds from the general and special funds of the university to form the so-called "evacuation fund." By the end of 2022, the amount was about 70 million UAH.
Creation of controlled LLCs
Later, in March 2023, when Andriy Kudryashov was already acting rector, the State Biotechnological University, according to data in the Prozorro system, concluded an agreement for the creation of the educational institution's website worth 600,000 hryvnias with LLC "INSTITUTE OF CYBERSPECTR SOLUTION."
The head, founder, and ultimate beneficiary of this enterprise, according to the analytical platform Opendatabot, was Serhiy Viktorovych Stepanets at that time.
Stepanets, according to the analytical platform YouControl, is also the head, and in some cases the founder, of a number of other enterprises, including LLC "CYBERSPECTR SOLUTION", LLC "INSTITUTE OF THERAPEUTIC AND VETERINARY MEDICINE", LLC "INSTITUTE OF CYBERSECURITY AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES CYBERPORT" and other firms.
Another LLC, "Biotechnological University," whose name is consonant with the name of the university, attracts attention. The director of this company is Kateryna Spodar, who, according to media reports, is a co-author of scientific works with Andriy Odarchenko. In addition, she worked in the department with Odarchenko's brother and father.
It should be noted that Serhiy Stepanets was previously an employee of the Kharkiv National Technical University of Agriculture, which became part of the SBU. Therefore, at the time of concluding the agreement, Stepanets was an employee of the State Biotechnological University.
As already mentioned, he was also the founder of LLC "Institute of Therapeutic and Veterinary Medicine." The director of this firm is Lesya Busol, who is also listed as a lecturer at the State Biotechnological University.
Therefore, it can be safely assumed that Odarchenko, together with Kudryashov, were already working on creating an extensive network of controlled companies to siphon off state funds.
It should be noted that after exposing publications in the media in 2024, LLC "INSTITUTE OF CYBERSPECTR SOLUTION" changed its name to LLC "LOGISTIC CLUB 2025", and Mykhailo Kishchenko, a student of the Educational and Scientific Institute "CYBERPORT" of the SBU, became the head of the company after rebranding.
At the same time, the "INSTITUTE OF THERAPEUTIC AND VETERINARY MEDICINE" was also renamed. After rebranding - LLC "EASTERN HUB", under the leadership of the already mentioned Mykhailo Kishchenko.
What's wrong with the SBU website creation agreement
Thus, the conclusion of an agreement for UAH 600,000 with an organization belonging to a related person who is in labor relations with the buyer (in our case, with the SBU) was carried out contrary to the requirements of the Law of Ukraine "On Public Procurement" and creates appropriate corruption risks, as well as being an obvious misuse of budget funds.
The cost of the agreement also attracts attention, which is obviously significantly inflated from the average market price for similar services. In particular, the allocation of UAH 120,000 for the preparation of only the technical task raises doubts. At the same time, the cost of a full range of services for creating websites for universities averaged UAH 40-60,000 at that time.
It is possible that Odarchenko's team was thus siphoning budget funds from the university to controlled companies while everyone's attention was focused on the war.
And this is not the only case related to inflated amounts during tender procurements. For example, the story of Odarchenko's team's attempt to profit from the repair of a section of the road between the SBU buildings, damaged by Russian shelling, was indicative. In August 2023, a tender was announced for the repair of 300 meters of road surface for more than UAH 7 million. However, after a scandal in the media, this tender was canceled.
In addition, UNN sources at the SBU say that the management also replaced windows at inflated prices and systematically wrote off fuel and lubricants on the direct instructions of Andriy Kudryashov. Only in 2023, according to sources, about UAH 200,000 was siphoned from the budget on the fuel scheme and about UAH 10 million on window replacement.
Thus, the history of the creation and activities of the State Biotechnological University is a striking example of how the noble idea of optimizing the educational network turned into a tool for the personal enrichment of a bribe-taking People's Deputy and his people. Under the guise of educational reform and martial law, Andriy Odarchenko's team built an extensive system of controlled structures, through which, presumably, tens of millions of hryvnias of budget funds were siphoned off.
Fictitious tenders, "clone" firms, inflated prices for repair work and services, transfer of funds to the "evacuation fund" - all this indicates the systematic and well-thought-out nature of the schemes that operated under the guise of a state university. Despite the court's verdict, which found Odarchenko guilty of bribery, he continues to influence the management of the SBU through controlled persons and evades justice by being abroad.
The investigation shows that this is not just about isolated facts of abuse, but about a holistic corruption model in which the educational institution has become a private business project of one deputy.
The continuation of the investigation will be published soon in the second part of the material.