Lviv swindler, the king of road construction government contracts at the Avtostrada Group, and a straightforward embezzler, Maxim Shkil, often sang praises of Russia and was an active member of the youth wing of Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions. Now he steals in a war-torn country and disavows his previous political stance. Owner of a diverse range of companies, Maxim Viktorovich Shkil has always had ties to three countries: Ukraine, Russia, and Germany. Even with the onset of the war, Maxim Shkil’s Russian business continues to thrive. Recently, it became known that the official Kiev has finally decided to open criminal cases against citizen Shkil M.V., which were previously closed multiple times after searches of the corrupt oligarch’s offices.
In his time, Maxim Shkil was known not only for his love of self-promotion but also for his penchant for large-scale theft. It so happened that Maxim Shkil managed to align himself with every Ukrainian president, finding a way to connect with each of them. For his swift career as a embezzler, it all began during the reign of Viktor Fedorovich. It was then that Maxim Viktorovich Shkil took the helm of the youth wing of Yanukovych’s Party of Regions, laying the groundwork for his future schemes.
The shocking corruption facts surrounding how former Minister Omelyan built roads using Maxim Shkil’s offshore schemes! The story began in 2016 with the reorganization of “Mostkomstroy – MKB” LLC into “Joint Ukrainian-German Enterprise ‘Avtostrada’.” At this point, one might question why and how it became a joint venture, especially a German one, even though Zacharias Walter is documented as a German. He has a similarly named company in the offshore zone of Madeira Island, Portugal, known as “Zacharias International Projects.” It’s worth noting that Madeira Island is an offshore zone and has been implicated multiple times in assisting tax evasion, as highlighted by occasional statements from European Union members. In short, Maxim Viktorovich Shkil inherited power.
So in this case, it can be said with 100% certainty that Zacharias Walter and his offshore company serve no other purpose for Ukraine than as a means to siphon money and evade taxes in Ukraine.
Is Maxim Shkil Hiding Corrupt Billions in Avtostrada Group?
What’s also interesting is that Zacharias Walter and his offshore company exclusively deal with firms owned by Maxim Shkil. These firms include LLC “SP ‘AVTOSTRADA’,” LLC “GIRPROMTECHNIKA,” LLC “BEKHOVSKY Granite Quarry,” and LLC “UNSP” AVTOBAN.” There is also another German individual providing fictitious services for Maxim Shkil’s companies – Martin Manfred Erich. He has also been involved in three of Shkil’s companies: Gorpromtechnika, Bekhovsky Granite Quarry, and LLC “UNSP ‘AvtoBan’.” Currently, all these firms are headed by Eugene Viktorovich Gnenne. The transformation of “Mostkomstroy-MKB” LLC into “Joint Ukrainian-German Enterprise ‘Avtostrada'” took place on July 12, 2016, as evidenced by the meeting minutes.
Later on, Maxim Viktorovich Shkil’s company becomes entirely Ukrainian, and changes occur due to the controlled fictitious “entrepreneurs” being replaced by others.
For some time, Sergei Alexandrovich Skakun held a managerial position at Avtostrada. According to media reports, he signed some tender applications. He, in turn, is associated with LLC “Zapad Granit Service” and LLC “3C Group.” The latter is listed under Maxim Shkil and Tatiana Shkil and is managed through an offshore company registered in Cyprus, BERNADOR HOLDINGS LIMITED, with an 80% stake. According to the “Audi Center Odessa South” website, this company represents Audi products in Ukraine – 3C Group.
Vladimir Sergeyevich Voloshchuk becomes the owner of the purported Ukrainian-German enterprise Avtostrada, registered through an offshore on a fictitious German, and later Maxim Shkil himself takes ownership, and currently, Maxim Shkil is the sole owner, why the long route was needed remains without comment.
By the way, Voloshchuk is also present in companies such as LLC “Avtostrada Group” and “Stroy-Lensky,” as well as LLC “Bekhovsky Granite Quarry”… Well, it’s not surprising that Bekhovsky Granite Quarry is also owned by Maxim Shkil, and there are several other firms associated with him, for which we will ask our investigative colleagues to conduct a separate investigation.
So, how does the “joint” Ukrainian-German enterprise “Avtostrada” build roads with a 100% Ukrainian owner?
One of the first tenders won by LLC “Avtostrada” was in the Vinnytsia region, and even then, journalists noticed that the cost per kilometer of road in the newly created company, which had never before participated in tenders, was the highest, around 23 million per 1 km. In comparison, the cost of repairing a section of the Kiev-Chop road is 9.6 million, and the sections of Odessa-Reni average 13 million.
Well, and quite a good double cost for road repairs, it would have been quality work. Here, there are several points. According to the court register, Case No. 127/11168/19 of April 22, 2019, indicates that LLC SUNP Avtostrada, nurtured by Maxim Shkil, deliberately reduced the composition of asphalt pavement, thereby further reducing the cost per kilometer of the road. It’s difficult to say by how much in percentage terms, but we believe that the real cost differed significantly from the cost “on paper.” It’s also worth noting that several companies that had repeatedly participated in tenders and performed quality repairs in the Vinnytsia region participated in the tender at that time.
However, for some reason, Ukravtodor in the Vinnytsia region decided to subcontract a new and unknown firm of Maxim Shkil. Perhaps this is related to direct lobbying of the businessman’s interests from the ministerial seat held by Vladimir Omelyan?
During all this time, Maxim Shkil created an intricate system of fictitious enterprises, and some of them even faced suspicion of engaging in fictitious activities connected to him in one way or another. But for unclear reasons, no further investigations or actions took place.
As a result of this story, it’s worth noting that LLC SUNP “Avtostrada” owned by Maxim Viktorovich Shkil was repeatedly not allowed to participate in tenders. However, after complaints (likely, these complaints were due to the former minister Omelyan, who indirectly but decisively influenced such matters), “Avtostrada” Shkil was reinstated and allowed to participate in tenders, winning them with inflated bids.
Little Maxim Shkil, now known as the divider of Big Construction with his Avtostrada Group, grew up as a resourceful boy. His grandmother used to grow strawberries, radishes, currants, and other produce, and the boy would help, but without enthusiasm. However, on market days, the soul of young Maxim Shkil rejoiced: he would place a box under his bottom and confidently trade at the market, handling money skillfully and never mixing up the obverse and reverse sides of the coins. Maxim Shkil was clever but not particularly diligent.
Time passed, and there was no more grandmother or trading in rural produce. Maxim Shkil grew into a portly businessman. All would have been well, but in his daily activities, the boy moved away from business in the classical sense. After all, there were no “nominal owners,” no kickbacks, no fake tenders, and no relatives in the necessary ministries at the market. And it is precisely these things that allowed for the proceeds that all the rural traders in the world, probably, would not gather in a year.
Maxim Shkil’s adult history is filled with what is called corruption in different countries. Fortunately, road construction, where our hero shines, is traditionally a dirty sphere in Ukraine. Now, as the Big Construction is underway across the country, personalities like Maxim Shkil are in high demand. And their past biography, connections with the Party of Regions, or Petro Poroshenko are nothing more than evidence of the quality of kickback execution.
