Position: former General Director of the state-owned enterprise "Ukrvuhilya".
Sphere of corruption: energy.
Region of corruption activity: all of Ukraine.
Qualification: actions are qualified under Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: at large.
Case story: in July 2024, NABU and SAPO reported suspicions of a former MP, former Deputy Minister of Energy, and former director of the state-owned enterprise "Ukrvuhilya" in embezzlement of almost UAH 12 million.
According to media reports, the suspects were former People's Deputy Volodymyr Vecherko, former Deputy Minister of Energy Maksym Nemchynov, and former head of the state enterprise "Ukrvuhilya" Vitaliy Zyusko.
Under the procedural guidance of SAPO prosecutors, NABU detectives reported suspicions of three individuals in abuses that, in the context of the energy crisis that arose as a result of Russian aggression, caused millions in losses to one of Ukraine's largest energy generating companies.
The NABU reported that a former MP and a former Deputy Minister of Energy are considered the organizers of the offense. The former MP turned out to be the owner of a private company that appears in the scheme.
According to NABU, the coal market in Ukraine was limited due to military operations at the end of July 2022. In order to ensure the sustainable completion of the 2022/2023 heating season, the Cabinet of Ministers obliged the State Enterprise "Ukrvuhillya" to supply energy to certain electricity producers, in particular the state-owned PJSC "Centrenergo".
Despite these restrictions, the beneficiary of a private company that had a contract with the state-owned enterprise "Ukrvuhillya", in collusion with the former deputy minister of energy, persuaded the director of "Ukrvuhillya" to sell coal to his company, which also had over 50 million UAH in debt to the state-owned enterprise. As a result, "Ukrvuhillya" supplied the private company with almost 24 thousand tons of raw materials, which it resold with a surplus of almost 20 million UAH.
At the same time, PJSC "Centrenergo" received 12.5 thousand tons of coal short and was forced to buy it back in October 2022 at a significantly higher price, overpaying almost UAH 12 million.
On September 24, 2024, the Appellate Chamber of the Supreme Court of Ukraine applied a preventive measure to the former director of the state-owned enterprise "Ukrvugilya", suspected of abuses that, in the context of the energy crisis that arose as a result of the Russian aggression, caused millions in losses to one of the largest energy generating companies in Ukraine.
The Court of Appeal overturned the decisions of the Supreme Administrative Court of Ukraine on the refusal to apply a preventive measure and issued a new one - the Supreme Administrative Court of Ukraine partially satisfied the petition of the NABU detectives, approved by the SAPO prosecutor, recognized the report of suspicion as well-founded and applied a preventive measure in the form of a personal obligation to the suspect," the SAPO informs.
Zyusko is obliged to: appear at the NABU, SAPO, and VAKS upon first request and refrain from communicating with other witnesses and suspects in the case.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: former Deputy Minister of Energy Maksym Nemchynov, former People's Deputy, former First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Construction, Urban Development, Housing and Utilities and Regional Policy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Volodymyr Vecherko.
Assets: There are no publicly available income declarations of Vitaliy Zyusko.
Persons who should have reacted: in the case of Zyusko, law enforcement officers reacted in a timely manner.
Scandals: has not been seen as a figure in other scandals.
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