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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Financing the Russian army, business in occupied Sevastopol, and an unpaid loan of almost 37 million euros may at first glance seem unrelated. However, state registries, court rulings, and journalistic investigations link these stories to a single surname: Oleksandr Dementienko.
From “Interpipe” to his own empire
Oleksandr Viktorovych Dementienko was born in Dnipropetrovsk. According to the media outlet “My U.E.”, he may be the illegitimate son of the third Prosecutor General of independent Ukraine, Hryhoriy Vorsinov. That, however, remains the claim of the sources. His biography then follows a familiar pattern: school, university, and then big business.
Since 1991, Dementienko worked at the company “Interpipe,” which was headed by his former classmate Viktor Pinchuk. At that time it was one of the largest industrial groups in the post-Soviet space. According to “My U.E.”, by 2004 the corporation included:
five pipe plants;
the largest ferroalloy plant in the CIS, Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant;
share packages in three mining and processing plants;
electric grid companies in Luhansk and Dnipropetrovsk regions;
the banks “Kredit Dnipro” and “Ukrsotsbank”;
the insurance company “Oranta.”
In 2004 the partners fell out. According to the publication, Dementienko joined with Russian businessman Mykhailo Shchegolevskyi, and together they claimed assets worth 750 million dollars.
The division was stalled for almost a year. It only moved in 2005 when Kostiantyn Hryhoryshyn and the “Privat” group joined the process. The outcome: about 100 million dollars, two electric grid companies, a stake in the Mohylivskyi Metallurgical Plant, and several smaller companies. The total value received was about 300 million dollars. That was less than the partners demanded, but by no means a small sum.
Partner under sanctions and the Russian trail
Mykhailo Myronovych Shchegolevskyi is a Russian citizen and a long-time mutual partner of Dementienko and Pinchuk. Since 2025 he has been under RNU sanctions for actions that threaten Ukraine’s national interests.
After the “split” with Pinchuk, Dementienko and Shchegolevskyi controlled Assets Management Group. According to the resource “Genshtab,” his sphere of influence also included “Dynex” and “Dnipro-InvestTechnologies.” In the documents of the company “Assets Management Group” Dementienko is listed as a founder.
Even then ties to Russia were evident. According to “My U.E.,” the businessman invested in the construction of a plant producing titanium rod in Russia. In addition, he owned one-fifth of the shares of the Russian oil company “Chedtiy Neft.”
Family business and a fading plant
It is known that Dementienko is married and has two children. According to the outlet’s analysts, the daughter is likely Olha Dementienko, and the son Serhiy Dementienko. Both appear in their father’s business.
On the YouControl platform Olha Dementienko is connected with PJSC “Plant ‘Fregat’,” LLC “Terracapital,” and LLC “Countryhouse.” Serhiy Dementienko is connected with the same “Fregat,” as well as LLC “Sunlight Energy 2” and “Sunlight Energy.”
“Fregat” raises the most questions. According to the registries, Oleksandr Dementienko transferred the enterprise to his daughter. The Mykolaiv plant for years positioned itself as a leader in domestic production of peaceful agrotechnics: irrigation machines and hydraulics. However, the company’s history contains a Russian trace. In 2016 its owner was the same Shchegolevskyi, and in 2016 and 2018 the plant exported products to Russia.
The indicators of the enterprise, which should be operating for the country during wartime, are rapidly falling. According to open financial data, the plant’s revenue changed as follows:
According to open financial data, in 2021 the plant’s revenue was 816,5 million UAH, and by 2022 it had fallen to 193,2 million UAH. In 2023 the figure dropped further, to just over 160 million UAH. In the last year when revenue was still recorded, the enterprise earned slightly more than 200 million UAH, and from 2025 its revenue has been zero.
Whether the enterprise was deliberately driven to this state remains an open question.
One house and a trailer
Dementienko certainly had money. In 2013 he ranked 11-th in the list of the richest businessmen of Dnipro, published by Forbes, reminds “368 media.”
The declared assets of one of Dnipro’s wealthiest residents are striking only in their modesty:
one house with an area of just over 1200 sq. m.;
a black Toyota Land Cruiser, year 2000;
a blue trailer, year 2006.
No other assets are visible in the available data. However, the editorial team managed to find one significant court decision.
2,7 billion hryvnias of debt
By decision of the Commercial Court of Kyiv dated 20 December 2024 in case No. 910/17873/20 the petition of the liquidator of LLC “DniproMetalServiceGroup” was granted. The court imposed subsidiary liability on two persons anonymized in the document for the company’s obligations. It also ordered the recovery from them of 2 691 251 669,39 UAH.
“DniproMetalServiceGroup” is currently in the process of liquidation. Among its founders is LLC “Ecotech,” whose founder is Oleksandr Dementienko.
Where did a debt of almost 2,7 billion UAH come from? The answer is given by a ruling of the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv from 2025. Three loan agreements were concluded between JSC “Delta Bank” and “DniproMetalServiceGroup”:
21 March 2011 for 21 million euros;
21 March 2011 for 11 million euros;
19 March 2013 for 4 732 537,11 euros.
In total this is over 36,7 million euros. The funds were to be repaid by 21 March 2016, but that did not happen.
The money went to Sevastopol
According to “368 media,” the loan funds received in 2013 were directed to the development of a plant in Sevastopol: finishing the berth and purchasing port equipment. Then came 2014. After the annexation of Crimea it became impossible to recover the property or seize the collateral remaining on the peninsula. The funds essentially settled in infrastructure that came under Russia’s control.
Case materials indicate that after the occupation the owners quickly re-registered the business:
“DniproMetalServiceGroup” became the “mirror” LLC “Dnepr Metall Servis Grupp” under Russian law;
the pledgor under the loan, LLC “Metal Servis Grupa,” became LLC “Metall Servis Gruppa.” The ultimate beneficiaries are the same.
That LLC paid 8,6 million rubles in taxes to the Russian budget over 2019–2021 years.
Creditors and the state initiated a large-scale legal process that lasted for years. The result was a decision on subsidiary liability. According to journalists, almost 2,7 billion UAH are to be recovered personally from Oleksandr Dementienko.
The online media “Nenʹka Info” in 2025 listed the seized assets as follows:
100% of the corporate rights of “Assets Management Group,” which is about 33,5 million UAH;
non-residential premises in Dnipro and Chernivtsi;
funds in ten accounts at “Sense Bank” and “Ukrgasbank,” excluding tax payments.
Military boats for “Rostec”
The most acute part of the story concerns possible work for the aggressor’s army. According to “368 media,” the company cooperates with the Russian state corporation “Rostec,” directly with its head Sergei Chemezov, in building military boats for Russian forces. According to the publication, an entire network of intermediary companies operates between Dementienko and Chemezov.
These claims are also supported by court documents. One ruling states that “DniproMetalServiceGroup” has financial and commercial relations with the Rostec group regarding the construction of military boats for the needs of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Therefore, according to the prosecution’s version, the subject may be financing the aggressive war against Ukraine. That is a crime under part 1 of Art. 110-2 of the Criminal Code.
This raises a number of questions. Could the Crimean plant be using Ukrainian technical documentation and engineering developments? Does it now provide production and maintenance of naval military equipment for Russia? After all, assault and patrol boats are used by Russian special services and the Black Sea Fleet to patrol Crimea’s waters, block Ukrainian shipping, and protect the occupiers’ logistics.
A “legal performance” at the highest level
Another ruling puts it even more sharply. According to the investigation, Ukrainian citizens, acting to the detriment of the state’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and defense capability, registered in occupied Crimea LLC “Dnepr Metall Servis Grupp” and LLC “Metall Servis Gruppa.” They, the investigation claims, organized the activities of these companies on the occupied territory and pay taxes to the occupation authorities.
On the eve of the full-scale invasion, part of the Crimean business was re-registered to Russian owners. However, according to the pre-trial investigation materials, the enterprises continued production activity on the peninsula. Thus the re-registration looks more like a legal performance designed to create the impression that the business had been left behind.
According to “368 media,” the legalization of Crimean assets within the Russian legal framework was coordinated at the highest level. The publication names Russian senator Volodymyr Kozhin as the main curator of the scheme. The fictitious purchase-and-sale agreement, the outlet reports, was executed through Russian securities connected to the circle of the occupation’s head of Crimea, Serhiy Aksyonov.
What next
The story does not end there. A criminal proceeding is currently underway, and the defendants have not been officially named. The investigation is being conducted by the Main Investigation Department of the State Bureau of Investigation under articles on state treason, abuse of power, and financing actions aimed at changing Ukraine’s territorial boundaries.
The Pechersky court ruling mentions:
related companies that, after the occupation of Crimea, re-registered under Russian law and continued operations;
payment of taxes to the Russian budget;
contracts with Russian ship-repair enterprises;
assets that, the investigation alleges, remained linked to the same beneficiaries.
Individual fragments (the companies, the loan, Sevastopol, Russian partners) form a single chain. Whether it will receive a final legal assessment will be decided by the court. The editorial team will follow developments.
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Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Кредит на 37 млн євро, завод у Севастополі та катери для ”Ростеху”: що пов’язує дніпровського мільйонера Дементієнка з окупантами?". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: NARDEP 24.
