Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Zlochevskyi, Kozytskyi, Akhmetov and Pinchuk control hundreds of gas extraction permits in Ukraine — CPC
Private companies own 200 special permits for the use of hydrocarbon subsoil in Ukraine — that is 33,61% of the total number. About 20 permits cover operations in temporarily occupied territories.
This was reported by the Anti-Corruption Center (CPC), which analyzed the owners of 117 special permits. Most of them are connected to businessmen from the Forbes list and well-known entrepreneurs regularly written about in the media.
The largest number of permits among the mentioned businessmen is held by the family of Mykola Zlochevskyi — 37. He previously worked in state bodies that issue licenses for subsoil development, and during Viktor Yanukovych’s presidency he served as minister of ecology. Later his family acquired gas assets.
In 2023 the High Anti-Corruption Court found Zlochevskyi guilty in a bribery case. He reached a plea deal with investigators and transferred 500 million UAH to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The family’s companies are controlled through a number of structures by his daughters Anna and Karina, who hold Cypriot citizenship. In 2025 the head of the parliamentary committee on finance Danilo Hetmantsev reported preparing an appeal to the National Security and Defense Council regarding a review and audit of subsoil concessions.
The Kozytskyi family controls 21 special permit. Zinovii Kozytskyi, father of the head of the Lviv regional military administration Maksym Kozytskyi, owns the group “Zakhidnadrservice.” He controls eight permits solely, another 11 jointly with Czech billionaire Karel Komarek. Two other permits belong to him together with co-owners, among whom is Vitalii Antonov — owner of the OKKO gas station chain.
Viktor Pinchuk controls 14 special permits for gas-bearing subsoil in Ivano-Frankivsk, Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions. The CPC piece calls him the second-richest person in Ukraine after Rinat Akhmetov. Two permits — for the Vysochanske and Zaitseve fields — are located in the temporarily occupied territory of Luhansk region.
Rinat Akhmetov holds 10 special permits through controlled companies. Seven of them concern hydrocarbon exploration in Poltava and Kharkiv regions. He acquired three permits already during Russia’s full-scale invasion. Three more extraction permits belong to PrJSC Naftogazvydobuvannia, which the businessman controls.
Oleksandr Katsuba has nine special permits. In 2012–2014 he served as deputy head of Naftogaz and was one of the figures in the case over the purchase of the so-called Boyko rigs — oil-drilling units bought at inflated prices. Katsuba reached a plea agreement with investigators and was released after paying a fine of 3,5 million dollars.
At the beginning of 2026 Katsuba registered the business of his ex-wife and father-in-law in his name, including the company Nadra-GeoInvest. According to media reports, in 2023 that group entered the top three largest private gas producers in Ukraine.
Hennadii Butkevych, owner of the ATB supermarket chain, is linked to six special permits. Five of them belong to his companies and concern plots in Kharkiv and Odesa regions. The sixth permit — for the Siverskodonetsk block in temporarily occupied Luhansk — is indirectly linked to him. The beneficiary of the owning company is listed as the chairman of the board of directors of BGV Group Management, founded by Butkevych.
Another six special permits are connected to Vadym Novynskyi — founder of Smart Holding, who is sanctioned for aiding Russia. In August 2025 he announced the cessation of investments in Ukrainian gas subsoil.
Before sanctions were imposed, Novynskyi transferred his business to other persons. According to the CPC, the Ministry of Justice recognized them as resembling nominal owners, after which Novynskyi was forcibly returned to registries as the beneficiary.
He is currently listed as the beneficiary of companies that own three extraction permits in Kharkiv and Poltava regions. One more permit concerns the Azov shelf, where Novynskyi has joint interests with Ruben Zakharyan. In addition, two permits are linked to Regal Petroleum Corporation, which is part of the British Enwell Energy structure. Until December 2022 Novynskyi was a beneficiary of the latter.
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