"UA: First" denied coverage of youth Olympics in favor of Serhiy Bubka's friend – "Skhemy"

The National Olympic Committee did not permit the National TV company of Ukraine ("UA:First") to participate in the bidding for coverage of the Second Winter Youth Olympics in Lilyhammer, Norway. The contract for production of reports about preparation, actual games, and see-off events worth 382.5 thousand hryvnias was awarded to Individual Entrepreneur Hanna Afanasenko. This was uncovered by journalists of the investigation program "Skhemy", the joint project of "Radio Liberty" and "UA:First", Radio Liberty reports. The person that won the tender, Afanasenko, recently graduated from the Institute of Journalism and had no experience of such level of coverage. Yet, she is the daughter of Oleh Afanasenko, whose enterprise often was winning the biddings of the National Olympic Committee. Afanasenko herself admitted that she was an acquaintance of Serhiy Bibka, the committee member, for over a year, yet it was the first time she won the bidding of such level.