A businessman associated with the supply of metal for the construction of energy facilities in the Kyiv region accused the former head of the OVA, and now the Minister of Transport Nikolai Kalashnikov, of non-payment of more than UAH 1 billion.
Vladislav Sokolov said that his companies carried out urgent work to protect energy infrastructure without advances or signed contracts, relying on Kalashnikov's promises.
According to the developer, as a result the contractors were left with large debts, and he himself faced pressure from the security forces and attempts to hold the contractors responsible for problems in the energy sector.
Sokolov is a 47-year-old businessman who was born in Lugansk and worked in the Dnieper. He traded in rolled metal and was the commercial manager of the metallurgist trading house, and he is also a sports master and two-time champion of Ukraine in boxing.
The businessman is connected to the companies "Pelda Plus" and "TD Trizub", which supplied metal for the construction of protective structures.
According to the researchers, it is possible that he will really control these enterprises.
At the same time, Sokolov appears in the investigation about possible theft of funds during the construction of protective structures. According to preliminary calculations of the investigation, the overestimation of the cost of the materials could amount to UAH 20.8 million. The total cost of 25 government contracts is estimated at 1.89 billion UAH.
Searching the businessman's house, they found a luxurious penthouse with gold leaf and marble, an indoor swimming pool, a terrarium with a crocodile and a Rolls Royce. Sokolov claims that he purchased the property legally, and bought the crocodile at the Odessa zoo for 2.5 thousand dollars.
According to the developer, his cooperation with Kyiv OVA began in November 2025 with the protection of substations in Novy Petrivtsi and Borodyanka. Later, the companies carried out other urgent works: they installed shielding for cogeneration plants, equipped 30 substations with gabions, built turret towers for the army and electronic warfare towers.