Detectives from the Bureau of Economic Security (BEB), under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General’s Office, are conducting an investigation into the financial and business operations of companies linked to the «HERTZ» group, owned by Odesa businessman Kostiantyn Tkach. Law enforcement officers executed search warrants at the group’s legal address in Odesa and froze its corporate bank accounts. The firm, which for years collected commissions on utility payments and public services totaling over 2 billion UAH, is suspected of tax evasion and financial fraud.
Kostiantyn Tkach, a doctor of economics, established a financial structure comprising three interrelated legal entities: PII LLC «Avers,» LLC «HERTZ,» and LLC «FC «HERTZ,» all registered at a single address in Odesa (2A Yevreiska Street). Tkach leveraged long-standing connections with former Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov to build a virtual monopoly in the utility payment collection market.
Under agreements signed with municipal utility providers, payments from residents for gas, water, heating, and electricity were funneled into FC «HERTZ» accounts. Aggregating these payments allowed the company to deduct a commission of 2–2.4%, significantly higher than standard bank acquiring rates. Beyond Odesa, where this scheme generated between 20 and 30 million UAH monthly, the group expanded into other regions and state-run service channels.
Major public sector entities partnered with the financial group include:
KP «Kyivteploenerho» — contracts valued at 456.8 million UAH;
PrAT «AK «Kyivvodokanal» — 150 million UAH;
KP «Kyivpastrans» — 1 million UAH;
SE «Infotech» (Ministry of Internal Affairs) — payment processing via the unified citizen portal.
Since 2020, Tkach’s group has collected approximately 2.05 billion UAH, including 781 million UAH through direct public procurement contracts. The business also generated additional revenue by processing traffic fine payments for the Patrol Police and fees for the State Migration Service.
The financial group’s monopoly has previously drawn public scrutiny. In 2022, «HERTZ» gained exclusive access to processing payments within the «Naftogaz of Ukraine» user portal with a 2% commission fee, netting Tkach’s firm up to 6 million UAH per month. Following public backlash, Naftogaz terminated the arrangement on November 8, 2022, replacing the intermediary with state-owned banks PrivatBank and Oschadbank at a reduced 1% fee.
The group’s position faced further disruption on June 30, when the Ministry of Internal Affairs launched its own centralized payment hub, stripping «HERTZ» of its private monopoly over police fines and ministry service payments.
Law enforcement agencies have transitioned to active investigative measures. July searches at 2A Yevreiska Street were carried out under criminal proceeding No. 22026000000000643 (Part 2, Article 212 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — intentional tax evasion).
The case registry number indicates that the proceeding was originally initiated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) before being transferred to the BEB.
Investigators established that executives of «Yuhtrans-Terminal»—a company associated with the group and founded by Tkach’s parent entity, LLC «Avers»—conducted suspicious financial transactions with LLC «Prombud Stroy.» The BEB suspects the entities inflated value-added tax (VAT) credits to artificially lower their corporate tax liabilities.
«Investigators believe that the scheme to inflate VAT tax credits was systematic in nature and involved a network of business entities controlled by the same group of individuals,» states the analytical report from the BEB.
As part of the pre-trial investigation, the court issued freezing orders on the group’s accounts held at Oschadbank and Ukrgasbank. The investigation remains ongoing.