Embezzlement of 50 million in the restoration of Trypillia TPP: the case involves "ZTEP", "Inventum Ukraine", and Andriy Teslenko

At least 50 million UAH could have been stolen during the repair of the Trypilska TPP, which was damaged after an attack by the Russian Federation, the Office of the Prosecutor General stated a few days ago. Contractors purchased materials from affiliated companies with an average markup of 30%, and the difference was withdrawn in cash. During searches of the suspects, over 19 million UAH in cash was seized.

Neither the names of the companies nor the identities of the entrepreneurs were disclosed by law enforcement. "Telegraf" analyzed dozens of court rulings and found out who law enforcement suspects of embezzling tens of millions. It turned out that Trypilska TPP is far from the only client of these dubious companies.

Who could have stolen tens of millions during the TPP restoration

Trypilska TPP is the largest supplier of electricity to Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Zhytomyr regions. After a Russian missile hit the TPP in 2024, "Centrenergo" announced that the station was completely destroyed. The government allocated over 1.5 billion UAH for the restoration of Trypilska TPP. According to law enforcement, at least part of this amount was stolen.

"Between 2023 and 2025, companies won tenders and signed contracts for the execution of state orders for the reconstruction of Trypilska TPP for a total amount of over 500 million UAH," the SSU reported.

Both the SSU and the Office of the Prosecutor General mentioned nearly 19 million UAH found during searches. "Telegraf" managed to find out which specific searches were referred to. In particular, on January 14, 2026, searches were conducted at a house located on a plot with the cadastral number 3222481200:04:002:0448.

Information about the land plot

Since October 2025, this plot and the almost 300 sq. m house on it have been owned by Andriy Teslenko.

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House on the plot

Andriy Teslenko is the deputy director of LLC "Inventum Ukraine," and, according to pre-trial investigation materials, he likely actually controls "ZTEP," "DEMZ-Engineering," and LLC "DEMZ." The court seized nearly 3 million UAH and 100,000 USD in cash found at Andriy Teslenko’s home. Another 120,000 USD and 115,000 EUR were returned, as the lawyers stated that these funds belonged to his cohabitant, who lives with him.

Cash. Photo by SSU

Teslenko is from Zaporizhzhya and is 59 years old. He has no prior convictions. Currently, he officially owns three companies: "EC “Oil and Gas Technologies”,’" "DEMZ," and "Hamster Club International." None of these firms earn from state contracts.

In contrast, LLC "ZTEP," which Teslenko allegedly controls, received contracts worth 488.3 million UAH from Trypilska TPP. Law enforcement claims that at least some of these tenders were conducted with violations, and the prices were significantly inflated.

LLC "ZTEP" is officially owned by Zaporizhzhya residents Hennadiy Bilous (who is also the director) and Yevheniya Leontyeva. At the same time, the director of the company is a public official. He is listed as a suspect in the criminal case.

This company has already been mentioned in media publications. In 2024, "Nashi Hroshi" wrote that "ZTEP" was contracted for the reconstruction of a school in Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk region, for 130 million UAH. Journalists analyzed the documents and found that the prices for some materials were significantly inflated. For example, in the final resource statement, the largest amount, 6.73 million UAH, was allocated for EPDM rubber granulate 1-4 mm at 450 UAH/kg (prices and amounts are indicated with VAT). Just before that, the same department ordered another company to build a shelter for Gymnasium No. 12 with granulate at 105 UAH/kg, which is four times cheaper.

LLC "Inventum Ukraine," which, according to the investigation, is also linked to Teslenko, is officially owned by two residents of Sumy region (Viktoriya Minenko and Oleksandr Hnapovskyi) and Zhanna Talats from Kyiv. The largest tender from Trypilska TPP was won by this LLC in April 2025 – over 160 million UAH for the repair of surfaces of block No. 2. The investigative department of the National Police inspected the work and found that in some cases, the stated cost of materials was inflated by 50%.

"According to the criminal plan developed by Person_4, the above-mentioned acts indicated artificially inflated costs of materials used by the contractor and the volume of work performed, which is confirmed by comparing primary accounting documentation, technical documentation, and the results of an economic study," the case materials state.

Person_4 in the document refers to the former director of "Inventum Ukraine" – Zhanna Talats. A judge of the Sviatoshyn District Court placed her under 24-hour house arrest (with the possibility of going to a shelter during air raid alerts). Currently, Yuriy Malyuk is listed as the director of the company.

Both "Inventum Ukraine" and "ZTEP" operated in Kyiv in the same office – at 3-A Leipzyhska Street, where searches were also conducted, and part of the cash was found and seized.

Office where the companies operated. Photo: domik

Interestingly, judging by the court rulings, the investigation believes that the officials of Trypilska TPP itself were unaware of the abuses by their contractors. Either there are issues with control over the contractors’ work at Trypilska TPP (and the responsible official should be held accountable for this), or law enforcement should more closely investigate possible connections between the suspects and senior employees of the energy company.

Who else used the services of the companies involved in the scandal

LLC "ZTEP" has been earning from state tenders for many years. At the same time, Trypilska TPP is far from its only source of income. The company received tenders worth about 511 million UAH from LLC "Euro-Reconstruction." "Euro-Reconstruction" is the owner of Darnytsia TPP, which, like Trypilska, suffered significant damage as a result of a Russian attack. This does not mean that law enforcement can find abuses in the implementation of agreements with "Euro-Reconstruction." It should also be noted that, unlike Trypilska TPP, "Euro-Reconstruction" is privately owned.

By the way, the State Customs Service also plans to order services from the company that the police accuse of stealing funds. "ZTEP" won a tender for the development of a project to create infrastructure for a scanning system. For the project alone (i.e., the developed document), the LLC expects to sign a contract for 6.3 million UAH.

LLC "Inventum Ukraine," during the tenure of the director who is currently under house arrest, won contracts worth 1 billion UAH from "Kyivteploenergo." Thus, the company, created by residents of Sumy, is among the top three largest service providers for "Kyivteploenergo."

For example, last year, the company received 33.2 million UAH from "Kyivteploenergo" for construction work on the "reconstruction of the smoke exhaust tract of the Berezivska boiler house."

As a reminder, "Kyivteploenergo" is a communal enterprise under the care of the Kyiv City State Administration.