You're reading: Investigators arrest 10 suspects in major gas fraud

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office detained 10 former officials suspected of embezzlement of Hr 3 billion through fraudulent gas sales. On June 18-19, all 10 suspects were arrested for two months with bails summing up to Hr 1 billion.

They are suspected of being involved in an embezzlement scheme at the state-owned gas producer Ukrgazvydobuvannya in 2013-2016.

The
investigators said that the arrested 10 suspects were members of a criminal
organization of 20 people, suggesting that more arrests are coming.
To detain the suspects, the detectives conducted 37 searches in Lviv, Kyiv and Dnipro, and
confiscated $50,000 on June 15.

The
authorities didn’t reveal the names of the arrested suspects. They also didn’t
explain how they were involved in the scheme and what their positions were.

Now the investigators seek to arrest lawmaker Oleksandr Onyshchenko, who
is suspected of being the main beneficiary of the scheme.

Oleksandr Onyshchenko

Investigators seek the arrest of lawmaker Oleksandr Onyshchenko. (Courtesy)

On June 16, Ukraine’s chief anti-corruption prosecutor Nazar
Kholodnytsky filed a request to the Verkhovna Rada to strip Onyshchenko of
immunity, but the lawmakers haven’t yet considered it. The parliament won’t
have another meeting till July 5.

On the same day as Kholodnytsky sought to strip his immunity, Onyshchenko left Ukraine for France, according to the
Anti-Corruption Bureau. Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said that if Onyshchenko
fails to return to Ukraine, the authorities will seek his extradition.

The investigators suspect that Onyshchenko was on the top of the
criminal group that embezzled Hr 3 billion from gas company Ukrgazvydobuvannya.
Onyshchenko has allegedly controlled several companies that were selling gas on
behalf of Ukragazvydobuvannya in 2013-2016.

But according to the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Onyshchenko’s companies
were selling gas to proxy companies at extremely cheap prices. They then sold
the gas at normal price, pocketing the difference.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau wasn’t pleased with the bails set for some of
the 10 arrested suspects. While some got Hr 200 million or Hr 50 million bail, at
least two suspects were set with the bails of just Hr 1 million – which,
according to the prosecutors, is pennies compared to the Hr 3 billion that were
allegedly embezzled.

The prosecutors will appeal the Hr 1 million bail amounts. Originally
they requested the Solomyansky district court of Kyiv to set the bails at Hr
200 million and Hr 1 billion.

Ukrainian
authorities are making progress on another gas scheme investigation.

On June 17, Prosecutor General’s Office detained ex-deputy head of
Naftogaz Ukraine Oleksandr Katsuba on
charges of creation of a criminal group and misappropriation of Hr 450
million in state funds
. Next day Holosiyvskiy District
Court in Kyiv ordered to arrest Katsuba for two months and set a record bail of
Hr 450 million ($18 million).

Katsuba is suspected of embezzling state
funds together with oligarch Serhiy Kurchenko, who was close to the family of
ex-President Viktor Yanukovych and fled Ukraine after the EuroMaidan
Revolution.