Ex-Kharkiv Council Deputy Suspected in ₴58M Energy Scheme

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office have exposed an organized group involved in seizing electricity from the Unified Energy System (UES) and laundering funds from its sale.

According to media reports, the organizer is considered to be the former deputy chairman and ex-deputy of the Kharkiv Regional Council, Volodymyr Skorobagach, who is currently abroad.

Under the procedural guidance of SAPO prosecutors, NABU detectives, with operational support from the SBU, exposed and reported suspicion to three members of an organized group whose criminal actions during the sale of electricity during the war caused losses to PJSC NPC Ukrenergo in the amount of over 58 million UAH. Among the suspects: former deputy chairman, former deputy of the Kharkiv Regional Council; director of a private company; founder of a private company

NABU said that in April 2022, Skorobagach, then a deputy of the Kharkiv Regional Council, created an organized group with the aim of seizing electricity from the Unified State Economic System and legalizing funds from its sale. He recruited the head of a private company as an executor and its founder as an accomplice, while he himself was an investor in this company.

The group members pre-acquired three companies with electricity supply licenses, which in June 2022 received electricity from the United Energy System of Ukraine and transferred it to a controlled company for sale to end consumers. At the same time, the financial responsibility for the received electricity fell on the aforementioned laying companies.

Ukrenergo never received the funds from the electricity sold, and to hide the source of the money, they transferred them to the accounts of financial companies under the guise of loan repayment. The financial companies, for a fee of 0.5% of the transfer amount, transferred these funds to other controlled companies, which transferred them to the account of a non-resident company registered in Bulgaria.

As a result of the implementation of the scheme, PJSC NPC Ukrenergo suffered losses in the amount of UAH 58.44 million.

We also previously wrote that the Appellate Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court left the case in the High Anti-Corruption Court on charges of businessman Mykhailo Kiperman in organizing a scheme to seize electricity from PJSC NPC Ukrenergo for over UAH 716 million and money laundering.

In addition, the High Anti-Corruption Court extended the term of office of the former director of the security department of PJSC "National Energy Company "Ukrenergo" Serhiy Totsky until January 21 .