Labeled by the Ukrainian press the most scandalous product supplier for Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, Tetiana Hlyniana purchased several hotels in Croatia during Russia’s full-scale invasion, with journalists uncovering them and Ukrainian online newspaper Censor.NET revealing details of how this scheme became possible.
Hlyniana reportedly made excess profits throughout 2022 and 2023 by inflating prices on food items. For instance, with the actual market price of around 6 UAH ($0.16), Hlyniana’s company charged the extraordinary price of 17 UAH ($0.45) per egg supplied to the Armed Forces through catalog pricing schemes in 2023. After journalists discovered the inflated prices, the Ministry of Defense revised some prices in the catalog.
Hlyniana’s companies of the so-called Bila Tserkva group have been making money by supplying food to the army for almost 30 years.
The Censor.NET’s article suggests there may have been corruption or special preferences that enabled Hlyniana’s company to dominate military food supply contracts over many years.
Hlyniana channeled enormous profits abroad to fund hotel purchases across the Croatian coast. The discovery of this sparked outrage, given the wartime context. Journalists of NV Business revealed that four Croatia-based legal entities linked to Hlyniana own one private residence in the country and four hotels:
- The Mirari boutique hotel has 18 rooms, a restaurant, and a rooftop pool.
- The 4-star Ora Hotel has 24 rooms, a restaurant, and a conference center for 50 people.
- The 4-star Luxe boutique hotel has 30 rooms, a restaurant, a spa, and a conference room for eight people.
- The 5-star Posh Hotel has six apartments, a rooftop pool, and a spa.
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