More than 700 million hryvnias in damages and 10 billion hryvnias laundered: the case of former SSF head Sennichenko has reached court

More than 700 million hryvnias in damages and 10 billion hryvnias laundered: the case of former SSF head Sennichenko has reached court

An example of an absolutely brilliant public alibi is the legacy of former State Property Fund head Dmytro Sennichenko. While the official, under camera flashes, demonstratively handed over the latest losers caught with suitcases of five million dollars to NABU detectives, building an image of an unwavering fighter for clean state enterprises, a very different economy raged behind the scenes. Controlled shell companies continuously siphoned hundreds of millions from the Odesa Port Plant and titanium deposits, converting Ukrainian fertilizers into luxurious villas on the French Riviera, floors of skyscrapers in Dubai, and pristine yachts, all reliably covered by links to handlers from the Pechersk hills.

This was reported by “VAKS vyrishyv.”

NABU-SAP accuse former SSF head Dmytro Sennichenko and nine other persons of embezzling more than 700 million hryvnias from the Odesa Port Plant and the United Mining and Chemical Company, as well as of laundering over 10 billion hryvnias.

The essence of the scheme and the role of the former SSF head

According to the prosecution, former SSF head Dmytro Sennichenko, together with other persons, was involved in organizing a criminal organization and in embezzling more than 700 million hryvnias of state enterprise funds in 2019–2021 years. Members of the criminal organization are also accused of laundering assets totaling more than 10 billion hryvnias.

Episode one: Odesa Port Plant

The first episode concerns the Odesa Port Plant, 99,56% of whose shares are state-owned. According to the investigation, at the beginning of 2020 year Sennichenko facilitated the election of supervisory board members loyal to him at OPP. Later these individuals agreed to appoint a director controlled by Sennichenko. In particular, this may refer to Mykola Synytsia, who headed OPP in 2020.

However, the main mechanism of the crime at OPP was to establish control over procurement and the processing of tolling raw materials. OPP’s exclusive partner was a company controlled by Sennichenko, Avto Gaz Trading (AGT), which supplied the plant with gas in exchange for finished products—ammonia and urea. The company sold the fertilizers on the market, keeping all the revenue, while OPP received only a fixed fee for manufacturing services.

According to the investigation materials, members of the criminal organization repeatedly unlawfully extended addendum agreements with AGT. This allowed them to maintain understated tariffs for processing tolling raw materials. But to avoid undue attention from law enforcement due to constant baseless prolongations, the organizers decided to simulate and announce a tender for a new supplier.

When the plan failed and the “own” company did not win, the tender results were illegally annulled. In particular, Sennichenko allegedly negotiated with the actual winner of the tender—the company Ukrnaftoburinnia linked to Ihor Kolomoyskyi—to cancel the tender. The tender was blocked a second time as well, and major networks such as OKKO and Socar were refused.

As a result, from May 2020 to October 2021, due to the schemes, OPP lost more than 600 million hryvnias.

Odesa Port Plant. Photo: latifundist.com

Episode two: United Mining and Chemical Company

The second episode concerned the United Mining and Chemical Company, 100% of which is state-owned via the SSF. According to NABU-SAP, in October 2020 Sennichenko secured, as in the previous case, the appointment of a loyal acting director of UMC. That person in 2020–2021 signed four contracts for the sale of titanium-bearing raw materials. The counterparty was a Czech company controlled by Sennichenko’s adviser. Such raw materials were sold at undervalued prices, causing the state budget losses of over 111 million hryvnias.

Subsequently, funds from the corruption schemes were transferred to foreign accounts. The investigation also alleges that members of the criminal organization illegally laundered assets totaling more than 10 billion hryvnias.

UMC. Photo: State Property Fund

Case participants and characterization of their actions

The main figure in the scheme is Dmytro Sennichenko — head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, whom investigators also consider the organizer and leader of the criminal organization. Sennichenko is charged under part 1 of article 255, part 3 of article 209 and part 5 of article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In November 2023 NABU updated suspicions against the defendants — money laundering of illicitly obtained funds was added.

Interesting fact: in 2020 Dmytro Sennichenko presented himself as a corruption whistleblower, having refused multimillion-dollar bribes. For example, he appealed to NABU with a statement about an offer of a $5 million hryvnia bribe for appointing a controlled head of the Odesa Port Plant — at the same time the criminal scheme now exposed was operating. As NABU later claimed, the ex-official did this to create a corresponding image and to remove supplier competitors within the criminal scheme.

Also among the defendants:

co-organizer of the crime and close associate of the SSF head Andrii Hmyrin, who served as advisor to the SSF head until 2017;

advisor to the SSF head Yurii Lypka;

two former acting directors of the Odesa Port Plant Mykola Parsentiev and Mykola Synytsia;

acting head of UMC Artur Somov;

two owners of the firm “Agro Gaz Trading” Volodymyr Kolot and Oleksandr Horbunenko;

banker Pavlo Prysyazhnuk — money was funneled through companies linked to him, EPI Group and Belanto;

Serhii Bayrak, a private individual, who selected and coordinated key personnel at OPP — he struck a plea deal, which VAKS approved in December 2024;

executive vice president for corporate strategy and development of PJSC Ukrnafta Denys Kudin, 26 May 2021 was appointed first deputy head of the SSF.

Also mentioned in the case was co-owner of the Czech company Belanto trade s.r.o. Vladyslav Klishchar. Materials concerning him were separated into a separate case due to a trial in absentia.

Andrii Hmyrin. Photo: Censor.net

Mykola Parsentiev. Photo: OPP press service

Mykola Synytsia. Photo: usm.media

Oleksandr Horbunenko. Photo: expro.com.ua

Artur Somov. Photo: UNIAN

Pavlo Prysyazhnuk

Denys Kudin. Photo: State Property Fund

Photo: NABU

Episode on laundering 300 million hryvnias

On 19 February 2026 NABU-SAP reported new suspicions in the case against four more persons. According to NABU’s website, these are:

Zoya and Anatolii Hmyrini — parents of Andrii Hmyrin;

Olena Kolot (Hmyrina) — sister of Andrii Hmyrin and wife of Volodymyr Kolot;

Yuliia Menshun (Klishchar) — an accountant.

To launder corrupt proceeds, defendants staying in the United Arab Emirates set up foreign companies to buy elite real estate, including entire floors in residential complexes, premium cars, and plots of land in Croatia. Overall, more than 300 million hryvnias were “laundered” through the UAE scheme. More on this episode at the link.

According to the Bihus.Info editorial office, Andrii Hmyrin’s family has at least three companies in the UAE. Through their firms the ex-adviser’s family acquired at least a villa and five land plots on the French Riviera for 5 million euros, as well as a Cranchi Settantotto yacht 78 for 5,5 million euros. In addition, six companies in Croatia registered in the names of Andrii Hmyrin’s parents specialize in real estate. Financial statements of these firms recorded movements of millions of euros, the origin of which may be connected with the schemes at OPP and UMC.

Photo: Bihus.Info

First plea deals with the investigation

One of the defendants, Serhii Bayrak, entered a plea agreement. Although Bayrak did not hold official positions at OPP, the investigation established that he was an active participant in the criminal organization. His role, assigned by SSF head Dmytro Sennichenko, with whom Bayrak had been friends since university, was to select and coordinate key staff within the Fund and OPP management to implement the corruption schemes.

By court decision Bayrak received a suspended sentence of 5 years with a probation period of 1 year and a fine of 8,5 thousand hryvnias. In addition, he agreed to reimburse the state 100 thousand hryvnias in damages. At the same time, on 12 March 2025 the Appeals Chamber of VAKS dismissed a complaint by another defendant seeking to challenge the mention of his data in Bayrak’s verdict materials. The court ruled that the inclusion of personal data in the verdict’s annex does not violate that person’s presumption of innocence.

Pavlo Prysyazhnuk also tried to challenge Bayrak’s verdict on the grounds that the total amount of damages in the case is 11,4 billion hryvnias, while Bayrak agreed to reimburse only 100 thousand hryvnias. Prysyazhnuk feared that the remaining billion-scale losses would be recovered from other defendants, including him. However, the Appeals Chamber of VAKS dismissed the complaint, noting that civil liability and the verdict concerning Bayrak do not determine Prysyazhnuk’s guilt and do not impose any obligations on him.

Where the defendants are hiding

NABU-SAP are searching for the defendants; most of them fled abroad. According to court rulings, Dmytro Sennichenko resides in Valencia, Pavlo Prysyazhnuk in Vienna, and Andrii Hmyrin in Dubai. The pretrial investigation was repeatedly suspended due to the search for the defendants.

Extradition of defendants from EU countries is complicated by two factors: martial law in Ukraine and countries’ concerns about detention conditions. But thanks to the Cabinet’s determination of institutions where extradited persons may be held, some countries, including Germany, have already agreed to extradition. Extradition procedures are ongoing in Austria, where most defendants are located, in Spain — regarding Sennichenko himself — and in the United Kingdom.

Seizures of property

In January 2025 NABU-SAP, with the help of law enforcement in France and Italy, seized a premium-class yacht valued at 5,5 million euros. Judging by photos on NABU’s website, it is the yacht of Andrii Hmyrin’s family.

In addition, within the framework of the joint investigative team’s work, real estate in France worth 6,5 million euros was seized, and in Austria — luxury cars and jewelry.

Did the Presidential Office know about the schemes at OPP and UMC?

According to Censor.NET, there are documents indicating that Bankova was aware of money-making at OPP and UMC. In particular, this is the testimony of former SSF deputy head Serhii Ihnatovskyi, who worked at the Fund from October 2019 to July 2020 and was on OPP’s supervisory board.

According to Ihnatovskyi’s testimony, Sennichenko involved his university friend Serhii Bayrak to find intermediaries, through whom he reached Andrii Hmyrin — the person who became the main coordinator and the “political roof” of the criminal organization. Sennichenko allegedly told the deputy directly that Hmyrin lobbies the Fund’s interests in the Presidential Office through Serhii Shefir and Tymur Mindich, and therefore appointing controlled persons to state enterprises was the “political will” of the country’s leadership.

Within this scheme, on Hmyrin’s recommendation Mykola Synytsia was appointed director of OPP, and later the plant’s board composition was updated under pressure. Ihnatovskyi claims that key decisions, including tenders for the supply of tolling raw materials, were made in the interests of Agro Gaz Trading. When in 2020 the open tender was won by Ukrnaftoburinnia at a price profitable for the plant, Sennichenko personally intervened in the process, ordering the auction to be stopped and later canceling its results, citing direct instruction from the Presidential Office. After the tender’s disruption, the SSF head allegedly boasted to Ihnatovskyi that “Bankova is satisfied” and AGT would pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in reward for it.

Besides Hmyrin, the testimony mentions Denys Kudin, who initially was an informal consultant and later replaced Ihnatovskyi as deputy head of the SSF, and banker Pavlo Prysyazhnuk, whom Sennichenko presented as a “curator from the Presidential Office” (in particular, from Serhii Shefir) on economic matters. The witness notes that due to resistance to these appointments and refusal to participate in distribution of funds from AGT, Sennichenko forced him to resign, citing dissatisfaction from the Presidential Office.

Proceedings No. 12020000000000236

Date of submission of the indictment/claim to the court 04/09/2026

Date scheduled for trial 07/09/2026

Duration of proceedings 32 days

Subjects

head/deputy of a central executive authority of Ukraine

Head of a state or municipal enterprise/institution

Business

Other

Qualification

part 5 of art. 191, part 2 of art. 364, part 2 of art. 191, part 4 of art. 191, part 1 of art. 364, part 4 of art. 369, part 3 of art. 209

THE CASE OF DMYTRO SENNICHENKO

Preparatory proceedings

Over 2019–2021 years participants of the criminal organization led by former State Property Fund head Dmytro Sennichenko allegedly laundered more than 10 billion hryvnias stolen from the Odesa Port Plant and the United Mining and Chemical Company.

part 1 of art. 255, part 2 of art. 255, part 3 of art. 255, part 2 of art. 364, part 3 of art. 209 and part 5 of art. 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine