Heorhii Birkadze

Heorhii Avtandilovych Birkadze (; ; born in Kareli, Georgian SSR) is a Ukrainian politician of Georgian descent. He is a former head of the Brovary Raion State Administration (2020–2021) and currently serves as an advisor to the Office of the President of Ukraine. He has also been accused of receiving bribes of $100,000 per month to protect illegal activities. In 2011, he founded and headed the Stroy Garant Invest group of companies, specializing in the design and construction of engineering networks in Kyiv and the Kyiv Oblast. Companies from this group repeatedly secured contracts for sewerage repairs at major sites in Kyiv.

Birkadze also led BRK Holding Group LLC, which provided construction services.

Between 2017 and 2021, four companies linked to Birkadze (Nateko Energo Montage, Stroy Garant Group, BRK Thermotechnology, and BRK Hydrosystems) secured contracts totaling UAH 942.65 million. These and other contract executions repeatedly drew the attention of law enforcement agencies. In particular, in 2020, the National Police of Ukraine investigated suspicions that de facto owners of Nateko were involved in corrupt dealings with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine to inflate the actual scope and cost of reconstruction work on a sports hall at the Olympic NSC Koncha-Zaspa. The total value of these works exceeded UAH 156 million.

Political career

In 2020, Birkadze was appointed head of the Brovary Raion State Administration of Kyiv Oblast, with journalistic investigations alleging his involvement in protecting the sand mining mafia in the Brovary Raion. In March 2021, he was dismissed from the position.

In early 2022, he co-hosted the program Presumption of Guilt on the Dom TV channel.

Collaboration with public institutions

After his tenure in district administration, Birkadze continued his involvement in public administration and advisory activity, including cooperation with government structures on issues related to local development, infrastructure and policy implementation. In particular, an investigation by the information portal My Kyiv Region suggested that his appointment could have been lobbied for the organization and cover-up of the “sand mafia” in the Brovary Raion. Yarema previously had a long career in law enforcement, including positions in the department for combating organized crime and as head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Kyiv. joint involvement in tenders for the Great Construction program, and the National Military Memorial Cemetery.

Alleged leaks from Anti-Corruption Bureau

In 2024, Birkadze became the subject of a journalistic investigation for allegedly transferring confidential information from National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine to Holyk. During the search of Birkadze’s apartment, investigators seized an iPad Pro reportedly belonging to his daughter. The device was sent for forensic examination at the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Examinations.

Participation in the National Military Memorial Cemetery tender

In August 2024, Ukraine held a tender for the first phase of the National Military Memorial Cemetery, valued at ₴1.75 billion.

One member of the consortium was Evroelitbud, based in Odesa, co-owned by Nataliya Poberezhets, who also owns the company Budvizhn (formerly BRK Transaliance), previously controlled by Sviatoslav Puzniak, a former head of a company founded by Birkadze. Other consortium members included a construction firm from Dnipro and a road construction company from Brovary. Business-Censor points out the ties between the winning companies and the business partners of Birkadze The Human Rights Center ZMINA emphasizes the trips abroad taken by the participants of the tender’s winning companies before the tender was held.

Incidents

Controversial statement about “stolen” funds

In 2024, Heorhii Birkadze was involved in a scandal during a broadcast of the United News telethon. He was invited to comment on the second tranche of macro-financial aid to Ukraine from the EU and the allocation of funds for fortification works. During the discussion, Birkadze made a slip of the tongue, stating: