Businessman Maksym Shkil's links to Russia's road sector and state contracts

«Я створив усе, що маю, з нуля» ("I built everything I have from scratch"), Maksym Shkil emphasises. However, an analysis of open registers in three countries paints a different picture. His success story is closely intertwined with the names of influential businessmen and officials, as well as with the Russian state sector.

German investor and Russian roads

At the start of Shkil's career, he had two key assistants. The first was Ihor Popadiuk, the entrepreneur's godfather and one of the founders of the Bukovel resort, who provided financing for the development of granite quarries in Zhytomyr region. The second appeared in 2006–2007: German road specialist Walter Zacharias.

According to Shkil himself, Zacharias purchased the Bekhivskyi quarry «щоб забезпечувати свої підприємства в Росії щебеневою продукцією» ("to supply his enterprises in Russia with crushed stone products"). Initially, Shkil managed the facility without owning a share, later becoming a co-owner of the business.

However, the actual scale of his partner's activities in Russia is much broader than the export of building materials: it involves state subcontracts during the years of war. Since 2004, Zacharias has owned 51% of the Moscow-based LLC "SP Avtoban". The main client of this company is "Tsentraavtomagistral" (a structure of "Rosavtodor"). In total, 103 contracts worth 57.9 billion rubles have been signed. In December 2023 alone, "Avtoban" received an order for the repair of a section of the M-10 highway worth 1.33 billion rubles.

Zacharias was also a co-owner of the Azerbaijani company AzVirt, where 25% belonged to Elnur Aliyev.

Contradictions in the official version

Shkil's account diverges from official documents at least three times. For example, he claims that Zacharias purchased Wirtgen Group. In reality, this company was acquired by Deere & Company in 2017 for 4.475 billion euros.

The business structures that Shkil describes as «просте СП 50 на 50» ("a simple 50/50 joint venture") actually went through offshore entities in Madeira. The company Manmar was established three weeks before the registration of the future "Avtostrada". Later, Zacharias International Projects received a nominee director.

Links in Vinnytsia region

Particular attention is drawn to Vinnytsia region. Until 28 October 2015, Anatoliy Vakar headed the department of the Regional State Administration responsible, among other things, for the region's road industry. On 1 December 2015, a company was registered that later became "Avtostrada", and Vakar took the position of its director.

Shkil explains Vakar's arrival by stating that he came from the bankrupt "Pivdenzakhidshlyakhbud". Meanwhile, the general director of that enterprise in the 2000s was Volodymyr Vakar. The kinship of the two Vakars has not been confirmed.

According to Shkil's own estimate, during Volodymyr Hroysman's premiership, "Avtostrada" «60% бюджету освоювала» ("utilised 60% of the budget") specifically in Vinnytsia region. The Vinnytsia Road Service is the company's largest client: the total value of contracts reaches 38.5 billion hryvnia.

In 2020, "Lihha Antytrastu" ("Anti-Trust League") filed a complaint with the Antimonopoly Committee regarding a possible collusion between "Avtostrada" and the state enterprise "Vinnytskyi Oblavtodor". It concerned 25 auctions worth almost 2.5 billion hryvnia. The Antimonopoly Committee's decision in this case was not found.