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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 at first glance seem unrelated. However, public registers, court rulings, and journalistic investigations tie these stories to a single surname: Oleksandr Dementiienko. This is discussed in an investigation by StopCor.
From "Interpipe" to his own empire
Oleksandr Viktorovych Dementiienko was born in Dnipropetrovsk. According to the Mai Uey media outlet, he may be the extramarital son of the third prosecutor general of independent Ukraine, Hryhorii Vorsinov. However, that claim remains the responsibility of the sources. His biography then follows a familiar pattern: school, university, and then big business.
Since 1991 Dementiienko worked at the company "Interpipe," 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 Mai Uey, by 2004 the corporation included:
five pipe plants;
the largest ferroalloy plant in the CIS, Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant;
share packages of three mining and processing plants;
electric grid companies in Luhansk region and Dnipropetrovsk region;
the banks "Credit Dnipro" and "Ukrsocbank";
the insurance company "Oranta."
In 2004 the partners quarreled. According to the publication, Dementiienko joined forces with Russian businessman Mykhailo Shchegolevskii, and together they claimed assets worth 750 million dollars.
The division stalled for almost a year. It only moved in 2005 when Kostiantyn Hryhoryshyn entered the process together with the "Privat" group. The result: about 100 million dollars, two electric grid companies, a stake in the Mohylivsky Metallurgical Plant, and several smaller companies. The total value received was about 300 million dollars. That is less than the partners demanded, but by no means a modest sum.
Partner under sanctions and the Russian trace
Mykhailo Myronovych Shchegolevskii is a Russian citizen and a long-time mutual partner of Dementiienko and Pinchuk. Since 2025 he has been under RNSB (National Security and Defense Council) sanctions for actions that threaten Ukraine's national interests.
After "parting" with Pinchuk, Dementiienko and Shchegolevskii controlled Assets Management Group. According to Henshtab, Dinex and Dnipro-Investtekhnolohii were also within its sphere of influence. In the documents of Assets Management Group, Dementiienko is listed as a founder.
Already then links with Russia were evident. According to Mai Uey, the businessman invested in building a factory producing titanium rod in Russia. In addition, he owned one-fifth of the shares of the Russian oil-extraction company "Chedtii Neft."
Family business and a fading factory
It is known that Dementiienko is married and has two children. According to the outlet’s analysts, his daughter is likely Olga Dementiienko and his son Serhii Dementiienko. Both figure in the father’s business.
On the YouControl platform Olga Dementiienko is linked to PrJSC "Zavod 'Fregat'", LLC "Terracapital" and LLC "Countryhouse." Serhii Dementiienko is linked to the same "Fregat", as well as to LLC "Sunlight Energy 2" and "Sunlight Energy."
The most questions surround "Fregat." According to registers, Oleksandr Dementiienko transferred the enterprise to his daughter. The Mykolaiv plant for years presented itself as a leader in domestic production of peaceful agricultural machinery: irrigation machines and hydraulics. However, the company’s history shows a Russian trace. In 2016 its owner was the same Shchegolevskii, and in 2016 and 2018 the plant exported products to Russia.
The indicators of a company that should be working for the country during wartime are rapidly declining. 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 fell 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 since 2025 its revenue has been zero.
Whether the enterprise was deliberately brought to this state remains an open question.
One house and a trailer
Dementiienko certainly had money. In 2013 he ranked 11-th in the list of the richest businessmen in Dnipro published by Forbes, reminds the 368 media.
The declared property of one of Dnipro’s wealthiest residents is striking only for its 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 available data. However, the editorial team managed to find one telling 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 liquidator of LLC "Dniprometallservicegroup" had its claim satisfied. The court imposed subsidiary liability on two persons anonymized in the document for the company’s obligations. It also ordered them to pay 2 691 251 669,39 UAH.
"Dniprometallservicegroup" is currently in the process of liquidation. Among its founders is LLC "Ecotech", whose founder is Oleksandr Dementiienko.
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 2025. PJSC "Delta Bank" and "Dniprometallservicegroup" concluded three loan agreements:
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 this never happened.
The money went to Sevastopol
According to 368 media, the loan funds received in 2013 were directed to develop a factory in Sevastopol: to complete a berth and purchase port equipment. Then came 2014. After the annexation of Crimea it became impossible to recover the property or seize the collateral left on the peninsula. The money effectively remained in infrastructure that came under Russia’s control.
Case materials indicate that after the occupation the owners quickly re-registered the business:
"Dniprometallservicegroup" 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 remained the same.
This LLC paid 8,6 million rubles in taxes to the Russian budget over 2019–2021 years.
Creditors and the state initiated an extensive court process that lasted years. Its result was the decision on subsidiary liability. According to journalists, nearly 2,7 billion UAH are to be recovered personally from Oleksandr Dementiienko.
Online media "Nenka info" in 2025 listed the seized assets as:
100% of corporate rights in "Assets Management Group", about 33,5 million UAH;
non-residential premises in Dnipro and Chernivtsi;
funds on ten accounts at "Sense Bank" and "Ukrgasbank", except for 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 collaborates with the Russian state corporation "Rostec", directly with its head Sergei Chemezov, in building military boats for the Russian forces. According to the outlet, a whole network of intermediary companies operates between Dementiienko and Chemezov.
These claims are also supported by court documents. One ruling states that "Dniprometallservicegroup" has financial and economic relations with the Rostec group regarding 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 Ukrainian technical documentation and engineering developments be used at the Crimean plant? 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 the waters around Crimea, block Ukrainian shipping, and secure occupiers’ logistics.
A "legal performance" at the highest level
Another ruling uses even stronger wording. According to the investigation, Ukrainian citizens, acting to the detriment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and defense capability of the state, registered in occupied Crimea LLC "Dnepr Metall Servis Grupp" and LLC "Metall Servis Gruppa". They, the investigation says, organize these companies’ activities on the occupied territory and pay taxes to the occupying authorities.
On the eve of the full-scale invasion part of the Crimean business was re-registered to Russian owners. However, according to pre-trial investigation materials, the enterprises continued productive activity on the peninsula. Therefore the re-registration looks more like a legal performance intended to create the impression that the business had been left behind.
According to 368 media, the legalization of Crimean assets within the Russian legal system was coordinated at the highest level. The main curator of the scheme, the outlet names Russian senator Volodymyr Kozhin. The fictitious sale-purchase agreement, it reports, was formalized through Russian securities associated with the circle of the occupation head of Crimea, Serhii Aksyonov.
What next
The story is not over. A criminal proceeding is currently underway; its suspects have not been officially named. The investigation is being conducted by the Main Investigative Department of the SBI under articles on treason, abuse of power, and financing actions aimed at changing Ukraine’s borders.
The Pechersky court ruling mentions:
related companies that re-registered under Russian law after the occupation of Crimea and continued operations;
payment of taxes to the Russian budget;
contracts with Russian ship-repair enterprises;
assets that, according to the investigation, remained linked to the same beneficiaries.
Separate fragments (companies, loan, Sevastopol, Russian partners) form a single chain. Whether it will receive a final legal assessment will be decided in court. The editorial team will monitor further developments.
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: Rupor.
