Ukrainian law enforcers refer UAH 13.8 bln Ukrnafta embezzlement case to court
Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) have referred to court a case involving the misappropriation of over UAH 13.8 billion from Ukrnafta by seven individuals.
According to NABU, in 2015, several LLCs were declared winners in Ukrnafta's crude oil auctions, signing sales contracts and receiving crude oil worth more than UAH 10.7 billion.
However, these transactions violated a government regulation requiring crude oil deliveries only after full payment. The illegally obtained crude was then processed at the Kremenchuk Oil Refinery, and the resulting petroleum products were sold at gas stations across the country.
Additionally, in July 2015, Ukrnafta signed 70 contracts to purchase petroleum products from another LLC, prepaying over UAH 3.06 billion for deliveries scheduled by year-end. Later, supplementary agreements extended the deadlines to late 2018, yet Ukrnafta never received the petroleum products.
NABU's investigation found that the misappropriated funds were funneled abroad to offshore accounts.
"As a result, the total value of misappropriated assets and funds across these two cases exceeds UAH 13.8 billion," NABU stated.
Among the accused are: former Ukrnafta CEO, former deputy head of Oil & Gas Sales, former head of Oil & Petroleum Accounting & Supply, and former directors of four commercial enterprises.
In 2015, Oleksiy Kushch served as acting CEO of Ukrnafta.
NABU said that, as part of this criminal case, the agency successfully canceled 60 contracts worth nearly UAH 3 billion between Ukrnafta and Kotlas LLC, a petroleum supplier.
Moreover, thanks to NABU and SAPO investigations, Ukrnafta has already recovered UAH 5.4 billion, which has been used to settle debts resulting from illegal activities.
Investigators also determined that the LLCs involved in the crude oil contracts were linked to companies from the so-called "Privat Group."
Ukrnafta is Ukraine's largest oil extraction company and operates a national network of filling stations. In March 2024, the company took over the management of Glusco assets, and now operates 544 filling stations – 461 of its own and 83 under management.
The largest shareholder in Ukrnafta is Naftogaz Ukrainy, which holds a 50% plus one share.
In November 2022, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to transfer the corporate rights of the company, previously owned by private shareholders, to the state. The Ministry of Defense now oversees these shares.