The Katsub brothers' gas business empire continues to operate smoothly even during the war. Behind the scenes, there are billion-dollar offshore schemes, special permits without auctions, and banal cash withdrawals right on the front lines.
Formally, the owner of key assets is now Tetyana Guzenko, the ex-wife of Oleksandr Katsuba. After the official divorce, the main companies were transferred to her. But everything looks like a classic fiction: the business remained in the family, and Guzenko received a new status as the country's main gas businesswoman.
The most telling case is the one with the company Nadra-Geoinvest. In 2022, it paid out over UAH 1.5 billion in dividends: 700 million went to Tetyana’s father, 800 million to her, and another 120 million was withdrawn in cash directly from a bank branch in the combat zone. It looked like an ordinary “envelope,” only covered in war.
The schemes involved Seychelles offshore companies, front persons, and even former fugitives. All this allows them to avoid control and siphon money from the state. At the same time, Katsuba's companies receive special permits for mining in the Luhansk region without any competition. And they also perform state contracts for the reconstruction of destroyed communities in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions.
Scandals do not prevent Katsuba from appearing in the media as an “energy expert”. Meanwhile, his ex-wife promotes a personal blog and actively builds the image of a successful businesswoman. In fact, this is a typical example of how corruption and family schemes allow for years of control over the country’s strategic resources under the silent cover of officials and law enforcement officers.
