Former MP Orlov, with the assistance of Kolomoisky’s associates, pushed Kropachov out of the coal beneficiation market

Former MP Orlov, with the assistance of Kolomoisky’s associates, pushed Kropachov out of the coal beneficiation market

Former MP from the Party of Regions Andriy Orlov, with the support of Ihor Kolomoisky, forced coal businessman Vitaliy Kropachov out of the beneficiation market for state-owned mines.

This became known from the tender of the state enterprise Mirnogradvuhillia on ProZorro.

Specifically, at the long-neglected state mine enterprise Mirnogradvuhillia 24 in January they announced their intention to sign a coal beneficiation contract worth 101,3 million hryvnias with Promyslova Kompaniia “Zbahachuvach” LLC. The company “Zbahachuvach” is registered in Kyiv and is formally owned by Anatolii Pidopryhora, a former representative of Enerhoimpeks LLC.

Both companies are within the sphere of influence of former MP from the Party of Regions Andriy Orlov, who also owns the Selidivska coal preparation plant (CPP) and the Shcherbynivska branch in Toretska (Donintervuhillia LLC). It is at the Selidivska CPP and Donintervuhillia that Mirnogradvuhillia’s coal will be beneficiated.

Andriy Orlov’s return to the Ukrainian coal market was greatly aided by the change in power — already by the end of that year his structures began receiving the first state contracts. Prior to that, since 2016 he had been experiencing serious problems. The SBU went after Orlov’s structures, accusing them of siphoning off budget funds, and state contracts began to go to firms belonging to Vitaliy Kropachov, a protégé of then First Deputy Head of the BPP faction in the Verkhovna Rada and trusted associate of Petro Poroshenko, Ihor Kononenko.

In particular, thanks to Kononenko, who controlled the energy sector in Ukraine, Kropachov received beneficiation plants belonging to the son of fugitive ex-president Viktor Yanukovych — the Ukraina CPP, Rosia CPP and Myrnohradska CPP — and by creating an artificial monopoly he won tenders of state mine enterprises, while raising the cost of coal beneficiation at his plants by one and a half times. By the spring of 2019 the cost of beneficiation at Kropachov’s plants had already reached 145 hryvnias per ton.

However, after Poroshenko’s defeat in the elections in 2019 the Ukrainian energy sector came under the control of Ihor Kolomoisky, who had his own favorite — native of Donetsk Vitaliy Belyakov. During Viktor Yanukovych’s presidency Belyakov ran the main coal assets of Yanukovych’s elder son, and in 2019, thanks to Ihor Kolomoisky, he became the unofficial overseer of the state energy sector.

After that, Kropachov’s ally, Centrenergo’s chairman of the board Oleg Kozemko, was replaced by Volodymyr Potapenko, close to Kolomoisky, and Kropachov himself, due to a conflict with Kolomoisky and Centrenergo’s management, demanded in court payment of 1,4 billion hryvnias for coal delivered to Centrenergo and stopped his plants Ukraina CPP, Rosia CPP and Myrnohradska CPP — bringing to decline the state enterprises directly dependent on their operation: Mirnogradvuhillia and Selidivvuhillia.

Now, instead of Kropachov’s enterprises, Andriy Orlov’s plants — which had been idle since 2016 — are entering the coal beneficiation market, which nevertheless does not prevent tenders from being played out according to the old schemes. By forming tender requirements so that Orlov’s structures would face no competition, Mirnogradvuhillia initially announced two tenders that attracted no bidders, and now, through a negotiated procedure without competition, they are purchasing coal beneficiation services from Promyslova Kompaniia “Zbahachuvach” LLC. At the same time, the price of beneficiation was raised at the last moment to 135 hryvnias per ton.