The ex-leader of the banned party "Opposition Platform — For Life" (OPZZh) Viktor Medvedchuk and his associates were declared of suspicion in the case of the “Samara — Western Direction” oil pipeline.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) writes about this.
Investigators have collected a large-scale evidence base that proves the illegality of the privatization of the state oil pipeline "Samara — Western Direction" in 2015.
As part of the investigation, Medvedchuk and four representatives of the former top management of “Prykarpatzakhidtrans”, who took over and managed the oil pipeline, were informed of the suspicion.
They were accused of:
- abuse of authority;
- misleading the court or other authorized body;
- taking possession of other peopleʼs property, abusing official position;
- receiving funds as a result of committing a socially dangerous illegal act and their legalization.
The case of the oil pipeline "Samara — Western Direction" or "Medvedchuk pipes"
The oil product pipeline "Samara — Western direction" has a section on the territory of Ukraine with a length of 1 433 km, which connects it with Russia and Belarus and stretches to the western border.
It was built during the times of the USSR and after the declaration of Ukraineʼs independence, it was supposed to become the property of the state. However, the subsidiary of the Russian JSC "Transnefteprodukt" did not transfer the right to the pipeline.
Starting from 2005, Ukraine proved its right to own the pipeline through the courts, and only in 2014-2015 this right was confirmed by the Court of Appeal and the Higher Economic Court.
However, according to the investigation, Medvedchuk managed to overturn this decision through the Rivne Commercial Court and formalize the sale of the oil product pipeline to a Swiss company, which was actually controlled by the participants of the scheme.
After taking possession of the "pipe", Medvedchuk and his accomplices ensured its operation through the "Prykarpatzakhidtrans" enterprise, and the profits received were transferred to the accounts of affiliated foreign companies and shared among themselves.
This information, among other things, is confirmed by the testimony of Viktor Medvedchuk himself, given by him before the exchange with the Russian Federation.
Since May 2019, the pumping of diesel fuel through the oil pipeline was blocked in order to return it to state ownership, while law enforcement officers investigated the legality of the privatization. In February 2024, the Supreme Court of Ukraine finally recognized the Ukrainian part of the oil pipeline as state property.