The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine refused to reopen the case of the so-called Rotterdam+ coal pricing scheme on Sept. 24.
The decision comes after the infamous case was partly suspended by the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office in late August. Prosecutors say they could not find enough evidence against the six main suspects — government officials and DTEK employees — and that it was impossible to establish the losses.
The August decision was later appealed by Viktor Chumak, the former deputy prosecutor general of Ukraine.
But on Sept. 24, Kateryna Shyroka, the High Anti-Corruption Court judge, ruled against the reopening of the Rotterdam+ case, therefore, recognizing the decision of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s office to close the case as the investigation failed to establish evidence of the crime.
“The collected evidence of the crime is not enough. The court concluded to reject the complainant’s application and uphold the prosecutor’s decision to close the case,” Shyroka said.
The Anti-Corruption Action Center, however, disagrees with the recent decision and wants to appeal.
“We did not expect such a decision and peremptorily disagree with it,” the Anti-Corruption Action Center’s statement reads.
“Fortunately, we have hope in the Court of Appeal of the Anti-Corruption Court, where Shiroka’s decision will be appealed. We lodged a complaint as one of the applicants in the case,” their statement reads.
Read also: Why authorities are trying to kill key Rotterdam+ investigation
The infamous Rotterdam+ formula was introduced in 2016 by Ukraine’s energy regulator and ran until July 2019. The formula set energy prices based on a coal index in European hubs “plus” the cost of its delivery to Ukraine.
However, most coal didn’t come from European hubs — it came from Ukraine. According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, or NABU, paying for nonexistent delivery drained Hr 39 billion (today, $1.4 billion) from Ukrainian energy consumers — money they shouldn’t have had to pay.
In March 2017, NABU opened a criminal investigation into the controversial scheme.
NABU found evidence that DTEK Group, which controls 70% of the country’s coal energy, created the formula and illegally colluded with the regulator to make it law.
The Rotterdam+ case was one of NABU’s priorities during recent years as it aimed at fighting corruption in Ukraine’s energy sector.
According to NABU, when the Rotterdam+ case was closed on Aug. 28 by the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, it was already at the final stage of the investigation. NABU says that the decision of the High Anti-Corruption Court is not final and can be appealed.
“NABU insists on reopening the investigation, which will allow the case to go to court for evaluation by impartial judges and civil society,” NABU wrote in a Facebook post.
The main benefactor of the illegal scheme was allegedly DTEK’s owner Rinat Akhmetov, who is Ukraine’s wealthiest oligarch. Former President Petro Poroshenko is also accused of benefitting from the scheme. The former president has business ties with ICU, a financial firm where Dmytro Vovk, the former chair of Ukraine’s energy regulator, used to work.
Both Akhmetov and Poroshenko deny the accusations.
DTEK, in its turn, called accusations “unjustified ” and in a statement released on Aug. 28 said that all suspicions were groundless.
“DTEK has always consistently advocated for the introduction of the transparent European pricing mechanisms in Ukraine and the abolishment of manual regulation. The company regrets that NEURC’s decision to implement such principles has become a tool for political manipulation and long-term persecution of the company,” their statement reads.
