Coal fraud worth millions of hryvnias: a preventive measure was imposed on the former Deputy Minister of Energy
Kyiv • UNN
The HACC imposed a measure of restraint on the former Deputy Minister of Energy for fraud with coal worth UAH 12 million. The suspect is involved in the illegal sale of coal to a private company instead of the state-owned Centrenergo.
The appellate Chamber of the Supreme anti-corruption court has chosen measures of restraint in the form of personal commitments to the ex-deputy Minister of energy and ex-director of state enterprise "Ukrugol", who are suspected of causing almost 12 million UAH of losses to the state energy producer. This was reported in the NABU, reports UNN.
HACCU imposes personal recognizance on former Deputy Energy Minister and former Director of Ukrvuhillya They are suspected of causing almost UAH 12 million in damage to the state energy producer in the context of the energy crisis caused by Russia's full-scale aggression
In July, the NABU and the SAPO served three people with suspicion notices in the case:
- to the former Deputy Minister of Energy (2020-2021) (Part 3 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
- former MP, expert deputy chairman of the Committee on Construction, Urban Development, Housing and Communal Services and Regional Policy of the Verkhovna Rada, beneficiary of a private company (part 3 of Article 27, part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
- the former director of the State Enterprise “Ukrvuhillya” (Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
According to the investigation, at the end of July 2022, the coal market in Ukraine was restricted due to military operations. In order to ensure a sustainable heating season in 2022/2023, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ordered Ukrvuhillya to supply energy to certain electricity producers, including state-owned Centrenergo.
Despite these restrictions, the beneficiary of a private company that had a contract with Ukrvuhillya, in collusion with the former Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine, persuaded the director of the state enterprise to sell coal to his company, which also had more than UAH 50 million in debt to the state enterprise. As a result, Ukrvuhillya supplied the private company with almost 24 thousand tons of raw materials, which it resold with a surplus of almost UAH 20 million.
At the same time, PJSC Centrenergo did not receive 12.5 thousand tons of coal and was forced to buy it back in October 2022 at a much higher price, overpaying almost UAH 12 million, NABU said.
