What matters is getting there first. Ivan’s boss constantly reminds his team at his funeral home in Ukraine, when someone dies, you have to arrive before the competition. “We hunt for bodies,” the 39-year-old Ukrainian, seated in a café in Odesa, told Le Monde, using a different name. “It’s like animals in the jungle. The lion gets the best share, the hyenas have to settle for what’s left.”

Ivan has spent 16 years working for Anubis, a leading Ukrainian funeral home company headquartered in Odesa but operating nationwide. Whenever a bombing occurs, he rushes to the scene to offer his services to grieving families. “I give them my card and tell them I can help if they want.” Sometimes agents from different funeral companies, arriving at the same time, get into fights. “Some badmouth us in front of people, saying we’re too expensive, and offer the same thing for a cut-rate price. But we remain the leader in Odesa,” Ivan said, with his beard and black sweatshirt hoodie.

The competition is fierce. To get there first, “we have informal agreements with the police, hospitals and morgues, who tip us off first when a death occurs, in exchange for a financial reward,” the employee said. “All the companies do this – otherwise, how would they survive?” “It’s not corruption, it’s called buying information,” he insisted. “It’s a chaotic market where everyone grabs what they can. If I don’t go along with these methods, my plate will be empty. The funeral home business is like prostitution, drug trafficking or gambling, but nobody talks about it openly.” His company Anubis did not respond to Le Monde‘s request for comment.

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