The SSU jointly with the ESBU have shut down a large-scale scheme of misappropriation of industrial volumes of natural gas from the gas transportation system of the Naftogaz of Ukraine.

The scheme involved the top management of 16 regional gas companies in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Volyn, Zakarpattia, Sumy, Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, Chernihiv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions. These economic entities are associated with one of the Ukrainian oligarchs.

Officials paid for gas to controlled private companies, but did not actually receive it from them. In fact, they carried out an unauthorized extraction of state owned blue fuel from the gas transportation system.

Such criminal actions caused Ukraine losses of almost UAH 3.5 bln in 2021 alone.

Another part of the scheme was that regional gas companies received tariff payments from consumers, but the money was not used to purchase gas. These funds were ‘transferred’ to controlled commercial entities and then diverted the ‘shadow’ economy.

At the same time, the regional gas companies continued to use the reserves of the state gas transportation system and thereby increased their debt to Naftogaz.

Later, the organizers of the scheme tried to ‘write off’ the artificial debt at the expense of budget funds.

However, the SSU exposed the crime and blocked the scheme.

The law enforcement agencies are conducting searches in the offices of the regional gas companies.

In two regions, the gas distribution companies have been returned under the state management.

Pre-trial investigation is ongoing to establish all the circumstances of the crime and bring the involved to justice. The proceeding was opened under two Articles of the CCU:

• 191.5 (misappropriation, embezzlement or seizure of property through abuse of office)
• 212.3 (tax evasion).

The investigation is carried out under the supervision of the Prosecutor General’s Office.