Serhiy Koretsky May Have Reached NABU's Tapes in the Ukrnafta Case

Serhiy Koretsky, who in 2023 year headed Ukrnafta, figures in the materials of NABU's criminal case regarding the procurement of tubular products by Interpipe Ukraine, within which detectives obtained authorization for covert investigative actions, including listening to his office and vehicles. According to materials the authors of the publication cite, technical control over Koretsky began in July 2023 year. At the same time, there are no officially confirmed data about the content of potential recordings or about whether they formed the basis for notifying him of suspicion.

The proceedings concern Ukrnafta's purchase of approximately 1800 tons of tubular products in May 2023 year, the Commentaries write. According to the investigators, the products were bought without a tender at prices that could have been inflated by nearly 1,5–2 times. Agreement No. 23/842-MTR dated 18 May 2023 year was concluded with Interpipe Ukraine. Detectives checked whether the procurement truly was urgent and whether the use of pipes matched the claimed critical need of the company. In the case materials, the Ukrnafta purchasing director, Bilyansky, according to the authors of the publication, stated that he acted under Koretsky's instruction to sign the contract as quickly as possible. The investigation noted that part of the products were distributed for an investment project, while another part, purchased under the pretext of urgent necessity, was not used within the appropriate deadlines. These circumstances became one of the investigative directions but are not independent proof of Koretsky's guilt. It is precisely within this proceedings that, as noted in the publication, detectives obtained a court authorization to install technical control devices in Koretsky's office at Ukrnafta, in the offices of other companies, and in the vehicles he used. The validity period of one of the rulings was set until 10 September 2023 year. The article authors suggest that the covert investigative actions could have continued within the legal time limits. However, without the full text of the relevant court rulings and documents on extensions of measures, it cannot be stated that the surveillance lasted until January 2025 year. The question of the possible content of the recordings gained additional attention due to another proceeding related to the procurement of methyl tert-butyl ether — MTBE, used in fuel production. According to the investigation, in 2023–2024 years Ukrnafta purchased more than 42 thousand tons of additive from Swiss company AGTG SA. NABU is checking whether the purchases were made at prices exceeding market values and whether they caused damage to the state company. According to court rulings, the possible overpayment for two contracts was estimated at tens of millions of hryvnias.

AGTG SA belongs to Yevhen Svirskyi, who, according to the data, was Koretsky's business partner at Wellsby Trade Plus. This connection is being examined in the MTBE procurement context, but by itself it does not prove an illegal agreement between the official and the supplier. Court documents regarding this episode also mention the seizure of Koretsky's phone during a search on 31 October 2024 year. According to the court order, NABU detectives seized from an apartment used by Koretsky an iPhone 15 Pro Max, gray, with a sticker from Idealist Coffee Co. The phone, as stated in the documents, Koretsky handed over voluntarily but refused to provide the unlock password. The device was seized as a physical evidentiary item to preserve information that could be relevant to the investigation. The Appellate Chamber of the High Anti-Curity Court 4 December 2024 year left the seizure in place. The refusal to provide the password does not prove the existence of a crime or of compromising correspondence. In August 2026 year Koretsky's lawyers, according to the publication's authors, filed a motion to revoke the seizure of the phone, but the court denied it. The provided materials do not specify whether the device's examination was completed, whether access to its contents was obtained, or whether messages were found that would confirm the investigative version. There is also no confirmation that the phone contains recordings of conversations made within covert investigative actions in the tube procurement case. The authors of the publication speculate that Koretsky's conversations may concern not only the tube procurement but also his connections with other state sector figures and political circles. People named in the material include Rostyslav Shurma, Oleksiy Chernyshov, former head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, as well as officials and managers who worked at Ukrnafta and Naftogaz. At the same time, confirmed information about the content of possible recordings involving these individuals in the provided materials is absent. Serhiy Koretsky did not become a suspect solely because covert investigative actions were conducted against him or because his phone was seized. Such measures are taken on the basis of a court permit to collect evidence, and their results must be assessed within the criminal proceedings. Publicly confirmed data about the formal notification of Koretsky of a suspicion in the described procurement episodes in the provided materials do not exist. Thus, the main question is which exact data the NABU detectives could have recorded during the technical control and whether they have evidentiary value for the Ukrnafta procurement cases. The existence of warrants for eavesdropping and for the seizure of the phone confirms that investigative actions were taken, but does not reveal the content of potential recordings. Until the official materials are made public, statements about “Koretsky tapes” and their possible political resonance remain assumptions.