Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine is investigating possible price inflation during purchases by the state port “Pivdennyi” in 2024 through LLC VKP “TAKO”, linked to Serhii Taranenko, a former assistant to People’s Deputy Yaroslav Dubnevych. According to case file No. 72024161010000016, the port concluded three contracts with the company with a total value of about 25 million UAH, and the investigation established a difference from comparable prices at the level of 7,14 million UAH. Expert examinations estimated the possible damage at 4,88 million UAH. On 30 June 2026, the director of the supplying company was notified of suspicion under part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code.
According to the investigation’s version, the preparation of the procurements may have created the appearance of competition among suppliers, media report. The case materials describe how “TAKO” allegedly provided the port in advance with product specifications, and on 31 January 2024 a request about prices was sent from the address [email protected] to five companies: “TAKO”, “Company Bioenergo”, “Ukrprommontazh 21”, “Forest-Budexport” and “Zaliznytsiabud”. The next day, according to the investigation, prepared commercial offers were sent to competitors from the email address [email protected] for signature. These circumstances are being checked within the criminal proceedings. Three tenders — UA-2024-03-14-010947-a, UA-2024-07-18-008022-a and UA-2024-09-02-008069-a — ended with “TAKO” being the sole participant. Contracts No. T/SN-83/24, No. T/SN-267/24 and No. T/SN-324/24 were signed by port director Oleksandr Oliynyk and TAKO’s head Vyacheslav Satunovskyi. According to the cited court materials, the difference between the cost of the purchased products and the prices of similar deliveries amounted to 1,91 million UAH, 2,62 million UAH and 2,61 million UAH, respectively. In particular, under the third contract 12,68 million UAH were transferred from an account at PUMB to TAKO’s account at Ukreximbank. The investigation compared prices with supplies of similar products to Ukrzaliznytsia, DTEK, the Poltava Mining and Processing Plant, and ArcelorMittal. According to the case materials, port procurement prices could exceed the level of such supplies by 1,5–2 times. The final legal assessment depends on the results of the investigation and court proceedings; the mere price difference does not prove intentional misappropriation of funds. Serhii Taranenko heads JSC Dnipro Switch Plant and owns 9,9992% of its shares. Other co-owners of the enterprise include Johnen Capital Limited, Viktoriia Korban, Artem and Ruslan Krasnov, Iryna Taranenko, Valerii Kryachko and Zahid Krasnov. According to financial data for 2025, the plant reported 1,96 billion UAH in revenue and 580,87 million UAH in profit. In LLC VKP “TAKO”, where Taranenko owns 42,2%, the remaining shares belong to several individuals, among them Ruslan Krasnov, Iryna Taranenko and Valerii Kryachko. The company’s director is Vyacheslav Satunovskyi. In 2025, “TAKO” declared 59,86 million UAH in revenue and 5,45 million UAH in profit with a staff of 19 employees.
In 2025, “TAKO” again won a Pivdennyi port procurement worth 6,22 million UAH. According to investigation materials, port representative Oksana Kladko did not agree to split the procurement into separate lots. The ESB also checked price proposals from LLC Budindustriia and the Rail Fastening Plant, which was led by Andrii Hryhorenko. According to the investigation’s version, those proposals may have been inflated, and the potential overpayment exceeded 2 million UAH. Searches in the case took place on 12 November 2025. On 1 October 2026, the court refused to impose a freeze on 1,2 million UAH in TAKO’s accounts, noting that the investigation did not prove the origin of the account balances in a manner sufficient for such a restriction. That ruling is not a final conclusion regarding the procurement circumstances. Former port director Oleksandr Oliynyk declared 1,735 million UAH in salary, 90 thousand USD and 1,2 million UAH in cash, as well as a Range Rover, an apartment and a house. His wife’s declaration lists a Mercedes-Benz GLE, an apartment and two houses. Later, Artem Lytvynov became the port director. A separate NABU proceeding No. 52017000000000365, which the High Anti-Corruption Court is hearing in case No. 991/878/22, concerns procurements for Ukrzaliznytsia in 2015–2017. According to the indictment, Dnipro Switch Plant sold products to KRT Corporation, associated with Yaroslav Dubnevych, for 525,9 million UAH. KRT Corporation later resold the products to the company Argo for 631,4 million UAH, and Ukrzaliznytsia paid 637,9 million UAH. The investigation estimated the possible damage at 93,28 million UAH. Among the figures named in the railway procurement case are Yaroslav Dubnevych, Serhii Taranenko, Valerii Kryachko, Pushkaryonko, Shevchenko, Misiiong, Stepanenko, Klepak and Zakharevych. NABU also investigated a possible attempt to close the case for a reward from 500 thousand to 1 million USD. In 2023, Dubnevych was declared internationally wanted, and over 56 million UAH in bail was transferred to the state budget. On 26 May 2026, the High Anti-Corruption Court again closed the case on the alleged misappropriation of 93,28 million UAH due to expiration of the pretrial investigation’s procedural terms. The first decision to close, made in 2022, was overturned on appeal in 2023. On 29 May 2026, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office appealed the decision again. According to provided information, the next court hearing is scheduled for 18 November 2026. Closing proceedings on procedural grounds is not by itself an acquittal on the merits of the charges. The investigations into Pivdennyi port procurements and the Ukrzaliznytsia case concern different episodes and different periods. In the first case, the ESB is checking possible price inflation and coordination of tender participants; in the second, the court process concerns alleged misappropriation of the railway’s funds. The involvement of specific individuals and the amount will be proven
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