Renovated for 32 million Zoria swimming pool hides income and issues fake receipts

Volodymyr Kosse, director of the «Central City Stadium» CU, which includes the Zoria swimming pool. NikVesti illustration

In Mykolaiv city swimming pool Zoria, when buying season tickets in cash, citizens are given pre-printed receipts from other customers. In these checks, the date, time of payment, as well as other specific marks of fiscal checks do not match, which may indicate uncontrolled circulation of cash in the utility institution.

This was the conclusion reached by NikVesti journalists, who carried out control purchases on August 27 and September 5 of this year.

On August 27, an editorial employee purchased a season ticket for 12 visits to the swimming pool worth 1,600 hryvnias, paying it in cash.

After the purchase, the administrator did not provide a receipt to confirm payment. When asked whether it is possible to receive a check, the administrator replied that it is issued only in case of payment through the terminal.

«Will you give me a check?»

«Not for cash, only for the terminal.»

«We just have a recovery from the organization, we need to report to the accounting department.»

«Here, 1,600,» the administrator finds a check with the required amount.

The administrator provided a pre-printed check, in which the amount of payment for the service is the same, but the time of purchase and the method of payment are different: contactless, although the payment was in cash.

What's wrong with the receipts in the communal pool Zoria. Image NikVesti

To exclude the possibility that this situation happened by chance, we repeated the purchase on September 5. Another employee of the editorial office bought another season ticket in cash for 1,600 hryvnias.

«Is it possible in cash?»

«As you wish.»

«And do you issue a check?»

«We don't give it out, but now... We will... I'll look at the payments we had.»

As a result, the administrator provided a check dated the day before, September 4. As before, the check indicated a non-cash payment method.

The director hides the pool's income

Earlier, in the article «How the communal swimming pool Zoria works after repair», the journalist of NikVesti tried to find out how much the pool earns from the sale of season tickets. However, Volodymyr Kosse, director of the communal institution on whose balance sheet the pool is located, refused to name any amounts.

«Let's not talk about money. Look, today we need a positive that the swimming pool opened during the war. That, roughly speaking, the city government is doing everything for the people today, and it even flew here 4 times. There was a flight right into the roof of the pool. The rocket flew in and got stuck,» said Volodymyr Kosse.

To the journalist's clarification, the information about the swimming pool's earnings cannot be closed, as the sports complex on the basis of which the swimming pool operates is the municipal property of the city, and the swimming pool was renovated at the expense of the city and state budgets, which today allows to make a profit from the sale of season tickets to the residents of Mykolaiv, he replied as follows:

«Well, if it (information about the pool's earnings, note) is open, then take it where it is open. Look: where it is open, take it where it is open,» Volodymyr Kosse repeated several times.

Volodymyr Kosse is the director of the communal institution on whose balance sheet the swimming pool is located. Photo NikVesti

It should be noted that thanks to the rules of martial law, Volodymyr Kosse declared his income and assets for the last time in 2021. At that time, he indicated an annual income of 270 thousand hryvnias, which is an average of 22.5 thousand hryvnias per month. At the beginning of the full-scale war, the Verkhovna Rada suspended the process of mandatory declaration of property by officials, allowing them to submit data on their wealth already after martial law was lifted. At the same time, NACP left the possibility for voluntary submission of the declaration.

Screenshot from the register of declarations

However, as of October 12, 2023, a decision was made to restore mandatory declaration. The adopted Law of Ukraine «On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Determining the Procedure for Submitting Declarations by Persons Authorized to Perform the Functions of the State or Local Self-Government in the Conditions of Martial Law» stated that declarants who did not submit declarations in 2022-2023 must submit them no later than January 31, 2024.

The renovation of the swimming pool cost ₴32 million

In May 2023, the first swim in the renovated pool took place in the Zoria, archival photo of NikVesti

Sports complex Zoria in Mykolaiv was previously owned by the state enterprise «NVKG Zoria-Mashproekt». It was built back in 1973 and needed repair.

In August 2018, the process of transferring the sports complex to the balance sheet of the city began. However, this process was completed only in March 2020. Then the state-owned Ukroboronprom provided the city with compensation in the amount of 5 million hryvnias for the repair of the complex.

In 2021, People's Deputy Oleksandr Haidu helped direct 25 million hryvnias of state subsidies for the reconstruction of the pool. In general, according to the calculations of the city capital construction department, the complete reconstruction of the pool cost 94 million hryvnias.

Due to the start of a full-scale war in February 2022, work had to be stopped.

Already in 2023, the pool was rebuilt. About 32 million hryvnias were spent on its repair, of which 25 million hryvnias came from the state budget, and another 7 million hryvnias came from the city budget of Mykolaiv to repair the pool bowl.

Before the opening, in May 2023, the mayor of Mykolaiv Oleksandr Sienkevych inspected the pool. He drew attention to the fact that visitors do not have the opportunity to pay for the subscription by card.

As you can see, the management of the sports complex corrected the situation. Now pool visitors can use cashless payment. At the same time, the option to buy a season ticket for cash remains, but this is not fixed by a fiscal check.

Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych inspected the pool before its opening in 2023. Archive photo of NikVesti

What does the State Tax Department think?

Online media NikVesti turned to the Main Department of the State Tax Service in the Mykolaiv region for a comment on the issuance of invalid checks by enterprises that work with the cash form of payment.

«Business entities that carry out transactions in cash when providing services are obliged to conduct settlement operations for the full amount of the purchase through registered registrars of settlement transactions (terminals or software that performs the functions of terminals, — note). They are also obliged to provide the person with a settlement document (cheque, — note) of the prescribed form and content,» the press service of the Department of Internal Affairs and Communications in the Mykolaiv region reported.

The department's press service added that the fiscal check must contain mandatory details, including the date, time and form of payment. «If the document lacks at least one of the mandatory details, such a document is not accepted as settlement.» When carrying out settlement transactions in cash, entrepreneurs must keep records of cash transactions in the national currency.

Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych inspected the pool before its opening in 2023. Archive photo of NikVesti

If the buyer was given a check that does not match the date, time or payment method, we suggest contacting the State Tax Service of Ukraine, the Bureau of Economic Security or the National Police of Ukraine, the DPS of the region reported.

«In the case of confirmation of information about possible violations of the settlement procedure, punitive (financial) sanctions will be applied to economic entities,» says the response of the Department of Internal Affairs and Communications in the Mykolaiv region.

Ukrainian legislation, namely Cabinet of Ministers Resolution №1336, provides that in some cases, entrepreneurs are not required to keep cash registers with the participation of registrars. This applies to a number of goods, for example: religious, retail trade in the territory of villages and towns, retail trade in markets and fairs, sale of goods by post offices in villages, sale of tickets and coupons in public transport. However, pool visit services are not included in the list approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

Transparency and integrity of Mykolaiv City Hall

Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych inspected the pool before its opening in 2023. Archive photo of NikVesti

At the end of last year, the mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, said that he considers Mykolaiv to be an «model example of transparency.» In an interview with LIGA.net at the end of last year, the mayor of Mykolaiv, answering the question «Do you consider Mykolaiv the most open city?» answered in the affirmative.

«The police checked us, everyone checked us — and everyone was very pleased and surprised that we had such a level of training,» Oleksandr Sienkevych said then.

Then he stated that he believes that other cities of Ukraine should follow the example of Mykolaiv.

A year ago, in September 2024, the consulting company Deloitte conducted an audit of proper management and integrity at KP Mykolaivvodokanal. At that time, the mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych said that in the future other communal enterprises and institutions will also undergo such an inspection.

«We want our anti-corruption department to work more efficiently. We have enterprises that use budget funds, they must also go through these procedures,» Oleksandr Sienkevych said.

The mayor of Mykolaiv considers the transparent work of all departments in the management structure of the city hall to be the main condition for support from international partners.

«Mykolaiv wants to become an example for other cities in the direction of transparency of processes and use of budget funds,» he said.

Is the journalistic control purchase, which revealed the facts of possible frauds with checks for cash in the communal institution «Central City Stadium», as well as the refusal of the director Volodymyr Kosse to disclose information about the income of the institution, a valid reason for conducting an inspection, if not by an auditor, then at least by an anti-corruption a department that exists in the structure of Mykolaiv City Hall? The answer to this question will be an indication of the extent to which the city's leadership is able to respond to possible mistakes, correct them and change in order to meet the goal of becoming an «model example of transparency.»

Olena Kozubovska, NikVesti

The work on this material became possible thanks to the Fight for Facts project, which is implemented with the financial support of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany.