The High Anti-Corruption Court has canceled the seizure of shares in Firtash's gas companies
Kyiv • UNN
The High Anti-Corruption Court has canceled the seizure of shares in gas distribution companies linked to businessman Dmytro Firtash, reversing a previous decision to transfer these assets to state management due to alleged embezzlement and damage to Ukraine.
The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has canceled the arrests of shares in gas distribution companies of the RGC group, which is linked to sanctioned businessman Dmytro Firtash. The HACC decision of June 25 was published in the Unified Court Register, UNN reports.
The reasons for this decision are not yet known. The full text of the ruling will be announced at 16:45 on July 1, according to the resolution part of the ruling.
The Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) in a comment to hromadske reported that it had sent an appeal to the Prosecutor General's Office over the HACC decision to cancel the arrest of shares in a number of regional gas companies. The agency called the court's decision "having financial and political consequences for Ukraine and national security".
Recall
In May 2022, Kyiv's Pechersk District Court seized and transferred the corporate rights of 26 regional gas companies to ARMA for non-payment for the use of networks. Later, the government transferred these assets to the management of Naftogaz.
Add
Earlier, the SBU, together with the BES, exposed a large-scale scheme: officials of Firtash's regional gas companies embezzled more than 70% of the funds intended for gas purchases.
In 2021 alone, the illegal activities of the defendants caused losses to the state of more than UAH 4.2 billion. According to preliminary estimates, the total amount of damage in 2016-2022 may exceed UAH 18 billion.
In May 2023, the chairmen of the boards of Ivano-Frankivskgaz and Sumygaz were notified of suspicion in the Firtash case. And in August of the same year, based on SBU materials, three more suspects were notified of suspicion - the chairmen of the boards of Volyngaz, Kryvyi Rihgaz, and Chernihivgaz.
