Back
Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
According to the first episode, four people were identified as suspects.
NABU and SAP announced the exposure of a large-scale scheme to appropriate petroleum products of PJSC Ukrnafta and to launder the proceeds from their sale. According to the investigation, the suspects appropriated 100 000 tons of petroleum products worth 2,88 billion hryvnias. The petroleum products were sold in 2017-2018 years, but the suspects pretended to keep them in storage until 2022 year.
According to the first episode, four people were charged. The organizer, the investigation believes, is one of the leaders of a well-known business group that effectively controlled the oil sector of Ukraine’s economy, the anticorruption bureau said in its press service.
The organizer at the lower level is a shareholder of several companies controlled by the business group, responsible for coordinating the performers’ actions and concealing criminal activity. Also charged were the chairman of the board and the deputy chairman of the board for commercial matters of joint-stock companies controlled by the business group.
“Regarding one more person – the former vice president of PJSC Ukrnafta (the state holds the controlling stake), who is a foreigner – a written notice of suspicion has been prepared. Documents have been sent abroad for service within the framework of international cooperation,” NABU said.
The suspects’ actions have been qualified under part 5 of art. 191 (appropriation, embezzlement or seizure of property by abuse of office), part 3 of art. 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Legalization (laundering) of property obtained by criminal means).
How the scheme worked
Petroleum products were transferred to a controlled company under commission agreements. After that, a portion was redirected to other related firms for retail and wholesale sale through a network of filling stations. Funds were transferred to the benefit of the controlled companies, including abroad. To conceal the ultimate beneficial owners, participants of the business group used a complex offshore network in Cyprus, Belize, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the British Virgin Islands.
“The volume of petroleum products that the participants in the scheme misappropriated accounted for almost 20% of all fuel volumes sold at Ukrnafta’s network of filling stations during the implementation of the scheme. The investigation also examines the circumstances of property misappropriation of Ukrnafta in subsequent periods, including after the introduction of martial law in Ukraine,” the statement said.
The Bureau added that the pre-trial investigation in the criminal case was conducted with operational support from the SBU. At a certain stage of the investigation, NABU detectives uncovered leaks of information that constituted a preliminary inquiry secrecy. In particular, information about planned investigative and procedural actions was transmitted to a trusted person of the organizers of the crime. According to the investigation, a service employee of the SBU of the leadership level, whose unit supervised the criminal case, may be involved in the disclosure.
Ukrnafta was nationalized in November 2022. Before that, its co-owner was Ihor Kolomoyskyi. It is the largest Ukrainian oil-producing company.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "НАБУ та САП викрили схему заволодіння 100 000 тонн нафтопродуктів ПАТ Укрнафта. Підозрюють одного з лідерів бізнес-групи". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: LB.ua.
