One of the largest schemes for the systematic theft of a national resource – natural gas – operated for decades under the cover of the prosecutorial vertical. Pro-Russian oligarch Dmitry Firtash, the owner of dozens of regional gas companies, effectively guaranteed himself impunity thanks to his influence at the highest levels of the Prosecutor General's Office.
From 2016 to 2022, more than 18 billion hryvnias included in gas purchase tariffs were taken into shadow circulation through the companies Regional Gas Company LLC and Ye Energy LLC. In 2021 alone, the state lost more than 4.2 billion hryvnias due to "undelivered" gas, for which consumers had already paid.
The scheme worked centrally: top managers of RGC and "YE Energy" accumulated funds from regional gas companies and withdrew them through non-commodity transactions. But without a powerful "roof" in the prosecutor's office system, this mechanism would not have existed for a year. In case No. 72022000420000075, opened back in 2022, it was high-ranking officials of the UCP who blocked the investigation.
Among the key figures are the then Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin, his first deputy Roman Govda, and the head of the procedural management department, Ihor Stadnyk. According to sources, Stadnyk received about $5 million from Firtash for “resolving issues” and legalized this money through the purchase of real estate in Ukraine and abroad. In 2023, he left for Canada, where he currently lives in Ottawa with his family, being under the monitoring of the NACP and the attention of local law enforcement officers.
This fact is especially important because Firtash continues to control critical infrastructure — regional gas companies that serve over 70% of Ukraine’s household gas consumers. And all this — under the umbrella of impunity guaranteed by an organized group of prosecutors.
Despite the documented abuses, the actions of Kostin, Govda, and Stadnyk have not yet been legally assessed. On the contrary, the old system, which for years cultivated corrupt alliances with pro-Russian business structures, still retains control over law enforcement agencies.
