NABU and SAPO Charge 4 Ex-CEOs in $71.6M Embezzlement Case in Mykolaiv

The NABU and the SAPO have brought to court a case of embezzlement of more than USD 70 million at the Mykolaiv-based Zorya Mashproekt plant. The investigation found that the company's management developed a scheme to misappropriate funds through fictitious agency agreements.

This was reported by the press service of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.

According to the case file, in 2013-2018, the state-owned enterprise entered into several contracts with a non-resident company that was supposed to look for buyers for gas turbine products and negotiate exports. In fact, no services were provided, but USD 71.6 million was unjustifiably transferred to the company's accounts. This amounts to UAH 1.4 billion at the NBU exchange rate at the time of the crime.

These funds were subsequently legalized through foreign companies controlled by the company's ex-executives.

The fact of damage was confirmed by the conclusions of a forensic economic examination.

On March 18, 2024, the NABU and the SAPO completed an investigation into the misappropriation of funds from the state-owned enterprise Zorya-Mashproekt, which exported its own products. Earlier, on September 26, 2023, NABU detectives and SAPO prosecutors, with the support of the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police, served four former CEOs of the plant and the head of a non-resident company with suspicion.

They are charged under Part 5 of Article 191, Part 1 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In addition, the former director of the enterprise and the head of the non-resident company were charged under Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and another former director was charged under Part 2 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The materials regarding the head of the private company and other alleged participants in the corruption scheme were separated into separate proceedings.

In the course of the investigation, the NABU and the SAPO requested international legal assistance from more than 20 countries. Indian authorities confirmed that the agency services were fictitious, and information received from Switzerland and Latvia made it possible to trace the money laundering.

Two former officials of the company transferred USD 795 thousand, EUR 222 thousand and USD 275 thousand to foreign accounts, respectively. The investigation of international connections in this case is ongoing.

Recently, the SBU blocked the supply of strategic raw materials for the Russian military industry. The court seized raw materials worth more than UAH 2 billion at the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant, which belonged to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

Earlier, the High Anti-Corruption Court began hearings in the case of misappropriation of UAH 12.3 million by the management of the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant. The prices for air conditioning, refrigeration and ventilation equipment were inflated, which led to significant financial losses. The defendants are also accused of similar corruption schemes related to the nuclear power plant.

Анна Бальчінос