On January 10, Al Jazeera published the verdict text against Arkadiy Kashkin, former director of LLC "GazUkraine-2020," which led to the largest confiscation in Ukraine’s history—a $1.5 billion recovery for the state budget.
This verdict had been classified (the text of the verdict is available for download).
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, from 2010 to February 2014, then-President Viktor Yanukovych established a criminal organization that embezzled, misappropriated, and alienated state property. To operate this organization, Yanukovych involved his closest circle, who acted as heads of various subdivisions within the criminal group.
One of such leaders was Serhiy Kurchenko, who created a group of companies "EUFEC" (Eastern European Fuel and Energy Company) to implement the intended goals.
A total of 15 departments with conditional names were created in "EUFEC," such as: "Department ’Europe’," "Department ’Oblgaz’," "Liquefied Gas Department," "Customs Department," "Security Service," "Securities and Insurance Trading Department," and others.
According to the investigation, participants of the structural subdivision of Yanukovych’s criminal organization controlled by Kurchenko created and acquired more than 400 enterprises, both residents and non-residents, for fictitious entrepreneurship from 2009 to 2014.
The locations of the offices of the "EUFEC" group were recorded: the premises of the business center "Arena City" in Kyiv, offices in Kyiv on 21 Degtyarivska Street and 69 Dmytrivska Street, in Kharkiv on 43/1 Haharina Avenue, 30 Malinovskogo Street, 21 Hanny Street, and 1 Teplichna Street, in Donetsk on 138-A Artema Street, as well as in the premises of the business center "Moscow City" (Moscow, Tower "C") and other unnamed premises.
The investigation indicates that from March 2010 to February 2014, Yanukovych’s criminal organization existed unhindered in the territory of Ukraine and Russia, allowing S. Kurchenko, together with other leaders of the criminal organization, to plan and organize a number of serious and especially serious crimes in the fuel and energy complex and banking sector, totaling over 13.24 billion UAH.
According to the verdicts listed below, convicts compensated 123.34 million UAH, the lion’s share of which are contributions from Katsuba and Sukhomlin.
Special confiscation was applied to the following assets: funds and government bonds amounting to $1.5 billion; all movable and immovable property, land plot, belonging to PJSC "Odesa Oil Refinery" and LLC "Energy and Gas Ukraine"; 97 thousand tons of petroleum products or money received from their sale (the OPG indicates about 800 million UAH; experts claim it is about 2.5 thousand tons of petroleum products and 102 million UAH).
Below are the verdicts concerning the figures of the so-called Kurchenko group, found in the state register of court decisions or known from official statements of the OPG’s executives. All these individuals made deals with the investigation.
| Crimes committed by participants of Yanukovych’s criminal organization, particularly under the leadership of Serhiy Kurchenko | Suspects/Accused | (Special) Confiscation |
| Under Articles 255 Part 1 (creation of a criminal organization), 28 Part 4 (committing a crime by a group of persons), 209 Part 3 (legalization, laundering of proceeds from crime) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
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Deal with the prosecutor, approved by the court: Former Director of LLC "GazUkraine-2020" Arkady Kashkin - 5 years probation. This verdict from 28.03.2017 was classified. On 10.01.2018, Al Jazeera published the text of this verdict. The verdict describes Arkady Kashkin’s participation as the director of a fictitious enterprise in the legalization of funds obtained by Yanukovych’s criminal organization through the commission of the following crimes listed in the table below. |
Kashkin - partial voluntary compensation of damages amounting to 32 thousand UAH. Special confiscation of $1.5 billion applied. |
| Illegal appropriation of liquefied gas, extracted by PJSC "Ukrgazvydobuvannya" and PJSC "Ukrnafta" amounting to 2.20 billion UAH |
Deals with the prosecutor, approved by the court: - Former Deputy Minister of Economic Development Oleksandr Sukhomlin - punishment unknown, as it’s not in the state register. The deal is known from the words of the chief military prosecutor A.Matios. - Former Director of LLC "Cherkasy - Gazsnab" Stanislav S. - 5 years probation. - Former Founder of LLC "Kharkivspetsgazsnab" Yevhen Y. - 5 years probation. - Former Director of LLC "Modus-Vivendi" Anatoliy M. - 5 years probation. - Former Director of LLC "Ukrkharkivgazpostachannya-2009" Oleksandr L. - 5 years probation. - Former Director of LLC "Crimeanbutangaz" Oleksandr B. - 5 years probation. - Former Director of LLC "Luhanskpropangaz" Artyom L. - 5 years probation. |
According to the chief military prosecutor A.Matios, Sukhomlyn paid 22 million UAH back to the state budget.
Partial voluntary compensation of damages caused by criminal actions amounting to 2000 UAH
Partial voluntary compensation of damages caused by criminal actions amounting to 2000 UAH |
| Illegal appropriation of funds from NJSC "Naftogaz of Ukraine" amounting to 0.45 billion UAH for undelivered fuel. |
Deals with the prosecutor, approved by the court: - Founder and Director of LLC "GazUkraine-2020" Denys N. - 3 years probation. - Former Director of LLC "GazUkraine-2020" Arkadiy Kashkin - fine of 51 thousand UAH. He didn’t pay, so on 30.10.2015, the court replaced the fine with 240 hours of community service. |
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| Illegal appropriation of funds from the National Bank of Ukraine amounting to 0.79 billion UAH, provided as a stabilization credit to "Real Bank" |
Deals with the prosecutor, approved by the court: - Specialist of the sector for working with borrowers of the security department at PJSC "Real Bank" Olha Sh. - 5 years probation. - Specialist of the sector for working with borrowers of the security department at "Real Bank" Iryna S. - 5 years probation. Verdict in the state register became unavailable after publication. |
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| Illegal appropriation of funds from "Brokbiznesbank" amounting to 0.84 billion UAH through unlawful interbank credits to "Real Bank" and illegal placement of "Brokbiznesbank" funds on a correspondent account in "Real Bank" | ||
| Illegal appropriation of funds from "Brokbiznesbank" amounting to 1.44 billion UAH through issuing loans to fictitious enterprises, in violation of current Ukrainian legislation | ||
| Illegal appropriation of funds from "Ukrgazbank" amounting to 0.50 billion UAH through the conclusion of sham sale contracts of government securities - State Mortgage Institution bonds with "Ukrgazbank" and the State Mortgage Institution | ||
| Illegal appropriation of funds from PJSC "Agrarian Fund" amounting to 2.07 UAH through the conclusion of sham agreements on government bond sales with PJSC "Agrarian Fund" and direct repo agreements with the National Bank of Ukraine |
An indictment regarding the former First Deputy Chairman of the NBU Borys Prykhodko and the former Chairman of the Board of PJSC "Agrarian Fund" Oleksandr Kiryuk was returned to the prosecutor of the OPG on 30.11.2017. The prosecutor and representative of the "Agrarian Fund" appealed this decision in the Kyiv Court of Appeals. Prykhodko and Kiryuk are charged with committing a crime in conspiracy with the chairman of the board of JSC "Brokbiznesbank" Oleksandr Dynnyk and chairman of the bank’s Supervisory Board Denys Buhay |
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| Illegal appropriation of funds from NJSC "Naftogaz of Ukraine" amounting to 4.97 billion UAH ($0.62 billion) through forged contracts to purchase self-elevating drilling units B312 and B319 (so-called "Boyko’s rigs") |
Deal with the prosecutor, approved by the court: Former Deputy Chairman of the Board of NJSC "Naftogaz of Ukraine" Oleksandr Katsuba - 1 year 5 months imprisonment (the term is considered served as the court counted the time spent in pre-trial detention as day for two days). |
Voluntary compensation of 100 million UAH. |
| Other crimes |
Deal with the prosecutor, approved by the court: Deputy General Director of Supplies at PJSC "Odesa Oil Refinery" Dmytro Veremiyev - 5 years probation, fine of 12,750 UAH. According to the investigation, Veremiiev as part of the criminal organization from October 2013 to March 2014, using PJSC "Odesa Oil Refinery" and LLC "Energy and Gas Ukraine" as a single property complex adapted for processing oil products, evaded payment of mandatory payments (fees) to the state budget through documentary support of fictitious processing of oil products and their re-export beyond Ukraine’s customs territory through LLC "Laguna-Reni" terminal, causing property damage to the state totaling 2,123,041,962.19 UAH, which was not compensated. |
Veremiiev - special confiscation applied by transferring all movable and immovable property, land plot, owned by PJSC "Odesa Oil Refinery" and LLC "Energy and Gas Ukraine" for the benefit of the state in the person of the Cabinet of Ministers. When sentencing Veremiiev, the court considered, among other things, voluntary partial compensation to the state of the damage caused (amount not stated). |
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Deal with the prosecutor, approved by the court: Head of the department for the sale of oil products at LLC "GazUkraine-2020" Serhiy K. - 5 years probation and fine of 12,750 UAH. Accused of participating in crimes committed by Kurchenko’s criminal organization, committed aiding in evading customs payments for a total of 2,123,041,962.19 UAH, aiding in document forgery and abuse of power. |
Voluntary partial compensation by the accused of material damage amounting to 500,000 UAH. | |
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Two employees of LLC "Laguna-Reni" and a mediator-organizer. All made deals with the prosecutor and received 5 years probation and fines up to 5,000 UAH. They implemented a fictitious documentarily arranged transit or re-export of light oil products through LLC "Laguna-Reni," which wasn’t actually carried out, and oil products were sold in Ukraine without paying mandatory taxes, fees, and charges. Convicted: - Former Director of LLC "Laguna-Reni" Oleksandr B.; - Former dispatcher of LLC "Laguna-Reni" Yuliia B., whose job description included accepting documents, processing information on cargo handling, further processing, drafting reception-transfer acts, issuance documents. - Individual Ihor Ya., who organized LLC "Laguna-Reni" for scheme implementation. His duties overall included assisting in acquiring enterprises in Reni and Izmail, licensed for oil products transshipment in these ports, selecting ship crews and negotiating contracts, finding river tankers to cover the fake oil products export, selecting suitable people and conducting illegal actions seemingly aimed at exporting oil products. |
During pre-trial investigation, damages to the state amounting to 808,000 UAH were compensated.
Special confiscation of 97,098.355 tons of oil products, or funds received from their sale, including those on the accounts of SE "Ukrtransnaftoprodukt," was applied by the court. According to the OPG, the value of these oil products is 800 million UAH. However, experts and activists reported that only a small portion of this amount will end up in the state budget at best. As the publication enkorr reported, the actual special confiscation concerns 2.5 thousand tons of oil products left unsold, and 102 million UAH frozen in the liquidated bank "Fortuna," with which payments are made in order of priority by the Deposit Guarantee Fund. |
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Andriy Koshel, founder of LLC "EUFEC." A deal on guilt was concluded with the prosecutor of the OPG, but it’s not in the state register. The deal was approved by the Dnipro District Court of Kyiv. Koshel is charged under Part 1, Article 255 (creation of a criminal organization), Part 4, Article 28, Part 5, Article 191 of the Criminal Code (misappropriation of property). He was threatened with 7 to 12 years with confiscation. |
Unknown |
