Dmytro Sennichenko: $5 million bribe and over 10 billion UAH money laundering

Former head of the State Property Fund Dmytro Sennichenko, who previously publicly reported an offer of $5 million for appointing the head of the Odesa Portside Plant, has himself become an accused in a case concerning the activities of a criminal organization, the embezzlement of funds from state enterprises, and the legalization of property worth more than 10 billion UAH. 4 September 2026, the indictment in criminal proceeding No. 12020000000000236 was sent to court. The investigation links Dmytro Sennichenko to episodes involving the Odesa Portside Plant and the United Mining and Chemical Company, and the alleged losses to state enterprises exceed 700 million UAH.

Dmytro Sennichenko’s story began with a public statement about a bribe. According to the investigation, while working at the State Property Fund he was offered $5 million for appointing a preferred person as director of the Odesa Portside Plant. The first tranche of $50 thousand was transferred under the control of NABU detectives. This episode became one of the most publicized stories surrounding Dmytro Sennichenko’s tenure as head of the SPF, media report. Later, Sennichenko’s role in the criminal proceeding changed. According to the investigation, he was not merely receiving information about possible corrupt offers but was an organizer of a criminal organization that, the prosecution alleges, seized funds from state enterprises and legalized the acquired property. He is charged, in particular, under part 5 of article 191, part 3 of article 209 and part 1 of article 255 of the Criminal Code, as well as articles 364 and 369.One of the key episodes concerns the Odesa Portside Plant, 99,56% of whose shares belong to the state. After Sennichenko’s arrival, the enterprise’s supervisory board and management were changed. Mykola Synytsia became director, and among the key contractors remained the company “Agro Gaz Trading,” associated with Volodymyr Kolot and Oleksandr Horbunenko.According to the case materials, Agro Gaz Trading supplied gas to the Odesa Portside Plant, received the plant’s produced ammonia and urea, and then sold the fertilizers. At the same time, according to the investigation, the plant received reduced payment for processing tolling raw materials. This operating model, NABU estimates, created conditions for the state enterprise to lose a significant portion of its income.When Ukrnaftoburinnya, associated with Ihor Kolomoisky, offered more favorable terms in a tender, the tender results were canceled. The next tender procedure also did not lead to a change of partner: proposals from OKKO and SOCAR were not accepted, and Agro Gaz Trading retained the contract with the Odesa Portside Plant.According to the investigation, from May 2020 to October 2021 the Odesa Portside Plant lost more than 600 million UAH due to this scheme. This episode is one of the main ones in the case against Dmytro Sennichenko. NABU is also examining whether the former SPF head’s public statements about bribes could have been used to remove competitors during the struggle for control over state enterprises.The second major episode involves the United Mining and Chemical Company. After the appointment of Artur Somov in 2020–2021, the enterprise signed four contracts to sell titanium raw materials with the Czech company Belanto Trade s.r.o., which the investigation links to Vladyslav Klyshchar.According to the investigation, the concentrate was sold at a price below market, after which an intermediary sold it at a higher price. The case materials state that among the directions for further movement of the product were enterprises in Russia and the territory of occupied Crimea. The investigation estimates the state losses from OMRK operations at more than 111 million UAH.The criminal proceeding names Mykola Hmyrin, Mykola Lypka, Mykola Synytsia, Pavlo Prysyazhnyuk, Volodymyr Kolot, Oleksandr Horbunenko, Serhiy Bayrak, Denys Kudin and Vladyslav Klyshchar. According to the investigation, foreign companies, including EPI Group and Belanto, were used to move and legalize funds.

A separate set of materials concerns Mykola Hmyrin and assets linked to him. Former deputy head of the SPF Serhiy Ihnatovskyi told investigators that Dmytro Sennichenko instructed Serhiy Bayrak to find intermediaries, after which Hmyrin appeared in the scheme. According to Ihnatovskyi’s testimony, Sennichenko referred to Hmyrin’s connections to the Office of the President through Serhiy Shefir and Timur Mindich.Ihnatovskyi said that Sennichenko explained the cancellation of the Odesa Portside Plant tender by an instruction from Bankova Street. After the tender’s disruption, according to the testimony, he reported a possible payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars by Agro Gaz Trading. Ihnatovskyi also asserted that Pavlo Prysyazhnyuk was presented as a person close to Serhiy Shefir. After the conflict, Ihnatovskyi left the State Property Fund, and his position was taken by Denys Kudin.The investigation also examined the movement of funds through companies in the United Arab Emirates and Croatia. According to the case materials, more than 300 million UAH passed through structures linked to Hmyrin’s relatives. The family was found to have at least three companies in the UAE and six Croatian companies, as well as real estate and expensive assets.Among the assets that drew law enforcement attention were a villa and five plots of land with an approximate value of €5 million. Separately mentioned is the yacht Cranchi Settantotto 78, which was valued at about €5,5 million. The yacht was seized. In France, real estate with an approximate value of €6,5 million was blocked, and in Austria — cars and jewelry.In February 2026 charges in the proceeding were issued to Zoya and Anatoliy Hmyriny, Olena Kolot and Yuliya Menshun, whom the investigation links to Klyshchar. Thus, the case extended far beyond operations directly on the territory of state enterprises and encompassed the international movement of assets and property.A separate procedural episode concerns Serhiy Bayrak, who pleaded guilty and entered into an agreement with the investigation. The High Anti-Corruption Court sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment with a probationary period, a fine of 8,5 thousand UAH and compensation of 100 thousand UAH. Pavlo Prysyazhnyuk appealed the agreement, citing, among other things, the sum of 11,4 billion UAH mentioned in the case materials, but on 12 March 2025 the VACs Appeals Chamber rejected the complaint.Dmytro Sennichenko is currently outside Ukraine. Other figures in the case are also abroad, including Hmyrin — in Dubai, and Prysyazhnyuk — in Vienna. The High Anti-Corruption Court placed Hmyrin under arrest in absentia on 19 April 2024, and Dmytro Sennichenko — on 7 May 2024. International search and extradition procedures are ongoing.According to the investigation, the Odesa Portside Plant lost more than 600 million UAH, OMRK’s losses exceeded 111 million UAH, and the total damage to state enterprises is estimated at more than 700 million UAH. At the same time, the amount of over 10 billion UAH in the proceeding concerns the value of property and transactions that the investigation links to the criminal organization’s activities and its legalization, and is not identical to the sum of directly established losses of the Odesa Portside Plant and OMRK.In this way, the Dmytro Sennichenko case combines two different stages of his public story: at first he acted as a complainant in a case about an offer of a multi-million bribe, and later he himself became an accused in a large-scale criminal proceeding. Final conclusions about the guilt of Dmytro Sennichenko and other figures must be made by the court.