NABU announces new suspicions to former head of the State Property Fund

Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine have reported new suspicions in the case of a criminal organization headed by the former head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations with reference to the NABU press service. The suspects are four people involved in the legalization of illegally obtained property, including the former head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, Dmytro Sennychenko.

According to the investigation, the suspects set up companies abroad to launder their corrupt assets and acquire various assets. Among them are land plots in Croatia, expensive cars, an entire floor of apartments in a residential building in the United Arab Emirates, etc. The total amount of legalized property is over UAH 300 million.

"We managed to identify new participants in the scheme thanks to the work of a joint investigation team with a number of European countries," the NABU emphasized.

On March 22, 2023, the NABU and the SAPO exposed two episodes of the criminal organization's activities. The first concerned corruption at the Odesa Port Plant (99.56% of shares are owned by the state). In early 2020, the then head of the SPFU managed to elect loyal members of the company's supervisory board, who agreed to appoint a member of the criminal organization as director of the plant.

Between May 2020 and October 2021, the suspects illegally extended contracts with the controlled LLC for the processing of gas into urea and ammonia, which allowed them to pay the company a reduced cost of services.

When the risk of exposure arose, they organized a tender for the supply of tolling raw materials, which was later deliberately disrupted in order to conclude a contract with a predetermined company. As a result, Odesa Port Plant lost more than UAH 600 million.

The second episode concerns the United Mining and Chemical Company (100% owned by the state represented by the SPFU). The investigation found that in 2020-2021, four contracts were signed for the sale of ilmenite concentrate at reduced prices to a controlled company. The products were resold at market prices, in particular to Russian companies and to the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea. This caused the state to lose over UAH 111 million.

The total number of suspects in connection with the aforementioned facts of the criminal organization's activities is currently 15 people. The court decided to approve a plea agreement with one more person.

Кирило Бойко