Kernel

The largest producer of sunflower oil and the biggest stock price plunge

Kernel Holding SA is the world's largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, registered in Luxembourg. The founder and majority shareholder is Andriy Verevskyi, a former member of parliament, with a net worth of $1.2 billion. In May 2024, the intermediary company Namsen LTD was registered in Cyprus, and Kernel immediately issued 216 million new shares. Namsen LTD purchased them, becoming the main shareholder — shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange fell from 26 to 1 zloty. Investors panicked and sold their holdings, while Verevskyi consolidated over 94% control in one hand. The Luxembourg court in March 2025 dismissed the minority shareholders' lawsuit.

1.5 billion UAH in taxes, shell companies, and "shadow" shipments

From May 2024 to March 2025, 750 thousand tons of oil were exported through the ports of Odesa region, but Kernel officially shipped only 325 tons. In the export chain, shell companies "Yadro-Trade" and "Yadro-Torg" suddenly appeared, registered at the same address as Kernel’s structures. According to investigators' calculations, about 1.5 billion UAH in taxes disappeared from the state budget during the full-scale war in this way.

Raiding and "expulsion" from the Parliament

Verevskyi lost his parliamentary mandate after the scandal. In 2024, the aggrieved Yakovyshyn declared a raider takeover of his company "Land and Freedom" — the scheme resembled Kernel’s methods. Verevskyi's partner is Vitaliy Khomutynnik, a former MP from the Party of Regions and a figure in numerous investigations. Kernel long positioned itself as a “transparent” public company for foreign investors — in fact remaining an instrument of sole owner control.