The law enforcement officers exposed a scheme to take possession of seized oil products worth UAH 967 million

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office (SAP) together with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) exposed a criminal organization that caused the state to suffer losses in the amount of 967 million hryvnias in 2014-2018.

The press services of the departments write about it.

According to the investigation, in 2014 the court seized 97 000 tons of oil products imported into Ukraine in violation of the law. One oil businessman with connections in state and law enforcement agencies, together with a top official of the then Presidential Administration, developed a scheme to take possession of seized property.

Investigators believe that they succeeded in transferring fuel and lubricants to a state-owned enterprise whose management was under their control. The top official also controlled oil product storage facilities with the help of the Ministry of Internal Affairs units.

Under the pretext of "being forced to sell", this state-owned enterprise sold fuel at reduced prices to a company controlled by the organizer of the scheme. The money was partially transferred to the accounts of controlled companies. The money did not get into the state budget, so the losses amounted to 967 million hryvnias.

The law enforcement officers informed six people about the suspicions in this case. Among them is a former deputy and top official of the Presidential Administration, head of one of the Councilʼs committees. His name is not mentioned, but it follows from the information above that itʼs about Serhiy Pashynskyi. He was searched in the morning, which he himself reported and added that the case concerns the transfer of "Kurchenkoʼs fuel" to the state in 2015. He was also so-called. at. Head of the Presidential Administration in 2014, headed the Committee on National Security and Defense.

Suspicions were also announced:

• an entrepreneur, a co-organizer of a criminal organization;
• former director of a state enterprise;
• former deputy director of a state enterprise;
• the manager of the state enterprise;
• to the head of a private company.

Qualification of suspicions — for appropriation, embezzlement of someone elseʼs property (Part 1 of Article 255, Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code).

The case of Serhiy Kurchenko

Serhiy Kurchenko is a Ukrainian businessman, oligarch, owner of the SEPEK group of companies (East European Fuel and Energy Company), ex-owner and president of the Metalist football club (Kharkiv). After the Revolution of Dignity, he fled Ukraine and is now in Moscow.

According to the estimates of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the criminal schemes of importing and selling oil products into the territory of Ukraine by the SEPEC group of companies caused at least seven billion hryvnias in losses to the Ukrainian budget. Several criminal cases were opened against Kurchenko, his property and the property of enterprises were seized. As a person from Yanukovychʼs entourage, Kurchenko came under EU sanctions.

NABU believes that Kurchenko appropriated and legalized the property and funds of a number of state-owned enterprises worth more than 12 billion hryvnias.