According to Pavlo Demchuk, legal advisor of Transparency International Ukraine, the energy sector has always been a sector that attracts attention to potential corruption schemes. According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, recent events such as Onyshchenko's "Gas case", the "Rotterdam+" case and the scandal surrounding "Centrenergo" have significantly damaged the country. In particular, they have complicated the development of the energy sector, making it a hotbed of corruption abuses for many years.
One of the most difficult cases in this field is the case of the Dubnevich brothers, related to theft of gas at thermal power plants. Law enforcement officers estimate the total damage to the state at approximately 2 billion hryvnias. In the case, the involvement of the former people's deputy, as well as numerous attempts to delay the court process, are noted.
Let's consider the details of this scheme and its possible consequences for modern Ukraine.
In 2016, the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NKREKP) began an audit of gas purchases for the Novoyavorivska and Novorozdilska thermal power plants in the Lviv region. As a result of this inspection, it was found that the energy companies managing these thermal power plants were using subsidized gas purchased from Naftogaz for the wrong purpose.
According to the indictment, when purchasing gas for the CHP, these companies created the appearance that the gas was needed for the production of heat for the population of Novoyavorivsk and Novy Rozdol. In order to reduce heat prices for the population, Naftogaz sold gas at discounted prices, sometimes three times cheaper than for other consumers. However, instead of using the gas to generate heat, the companies used it to produce electricity, which was sold on the market through SE Energorynok.
As a result of these actions, the profitability of electricity production at the thermal power plant significantly exceeded the standards set by the National Energy and Mineral Resources Commission (more than 60% versus 3-5%).
The investigation of these cases began in December 2016, almost immediately after unscheduled inspections at the CHP. According to the detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), the practice of illegal use of gas at the CHP lasted for two periods: in 2013-2015 and 2016-2017.
The main figure in the case is Yaroslav Dubnevich, one of the brothers and a former People's Deputy. During the specified period, he, together with Bohdan Dubnevich, was the ultimate owner of the enterprises that managed the specified thermal power plants. In 2019-2020, they transferred the management of the companies to their sons. Additionally, their name also appears in the case of illegal sand mining for the amount of 21 million hryvnias.
During the period from 2013 to 2015, these enterprises concluded several contracts with NJSC "Naftogaz" for the purchase of natural gas for heat production. The volume of purchases exceeded 300 million cubic meters of gas worth over 1.4 billion hryvnias.
In the second period, from 2016 to 2017, contracts worth more than 700 million hryvnias were concluded for the purchase of more than 150 million cubic meters of gas for the supply of heat to the cities of the Lviv region.
Instead of using the gas for heating the population, CHPs used it to generate electricity, resulting in losses for Naftogaz of approximately 2.1 billion hryvnias, while CHPs controlled by the Dubnevichs made significant profits.
According to the indictment, the management of the companies, the management of which was under the control of Yaroslav Dubnevich, entered into the criminal conspiracy. Among the accused are the ex-director of Energy LLC Ihor Kuchma, the head of Energy-Novy Rozdil LLC Ihor Artymko, his deputy Ihor Ilkiv, the financial director of "Energy-Novy Rozdil" Oleg Pavlyshyn and the ex-director of NVP "Energy-Novoyavorivsk" LLC Oleksandr Oleksyuk.
Five of those involved in the case were notified of suspicion for the first episode in 2018, and for the second episode in 2020. Yaroslav Dubnevich was only charged with suspicion on October 10, 2023, and he became the sixth suspect. However, he did not appear before the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), and therefore on October 17 he was declared wanted, and on November 13 he was arrested in absentia by the High Anticorruption Court. Bohdan Dubnevich, Yaroslav's brother, does not appear in the case, he was not even informed of the suspicion.
Company officials and Yaroslav Dubnevich are accused of seizing gas worth more than 2.1 billion hryvnias and legalizing illegally obtained profits from the sale of electricity. According to the indictment, Yaroslav Dubnevich managed to "launder" more than 450 million hryvnias, taking these funds offshore and returning them to Ukraine as foreign investments in green energy.
It is interesting that in October 2018, the former head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) Nazar Kholodnytskyi stated that the Dubnevichi brothers had nothing to do with gas fraud at thermal power plants in the Lviv region.
Three years have passed since the initial inspections of the NCRECP to the moment of the indictment in court, and the trial has been going on for five years. Transparency International Ukraine has been monitoring this case since the suspicions were served: it is noted that in the process of court hearings there were frequent non-appearances of the participants in the case, refusals to join the episodes and even closure of the proceedings due to "Lozovoy's amendments".
NABU assesses this case as one of the most difficult in the field of economics, as the pre-trial investigation required referral to nine countries, including Switzerland, the USA, Cyprus, Latvia, Slovakia, Canada and the Marshall Islands.
There were several attempts to remove the case from the High Anti-Corruption Court (HCC), but the Appeals Chamber rejected these initiatives. After the third review of jurisdiction, the Appeals Chamber of the VAKS decided that all previous attempts were unfounded. In August 2022, the first episode of the case was closed and then reopened, resulting in the loss of the progress made by having to start the trial all over again.
Combining two episodes of the case into one did not speed up the process either. This single episode was referred to the VACS in January 2023, and the proceedings have now been in the pre-trial stage for over a year. In the six years since the start of the investigation, law enforcement officers have collected 300 volumes of materials, which the court must examine before making a decision.
The companies "Novorozdilska CHPP" and "Novoyavorivska CHPP", valued at 800 million hryvnias, remain under arrest. 2.3 million euros belonging to persons close to former People's Deputy Yaroslav Dubnevich were also detained.
In June 2018, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) proposed to transfer both CHPs to the management of the Asset Management Agency (ARMA). The judge of the Solomyan District Court in Kyiv supported this initiative, and four months later, ARMA appointed a temporary manager of the Garant Energo M company.
However, the manager faced active resistance from the owners of the CHP: the staff refused to go to work, the equipment was dismantled, technical documentation was destroyed, and through the court they tried to regain control over the assets.
In September 2019, the term of the contract with the manager "Garant Energo M" expired, and a new competition was announced. The tender committee decided to keep the old manager for energy generation and choose a new one for energy distribution (Alternativa-T-XHI LLP). However, "Garant Energo M" did not fulfill the conditions, did not report on readiness for the heating season, and did not pay off salary arrears to Naftogaz.
As a result, both CHP plants were handed over to the management of Naftogaz Teplo LLC without a tender due to salary arrears. This case became an important driver for the implementation of the procedure of "exceptional" management of seized assets, provided for in Art. 21-1 of the Law on ARMA. This allowed the government to effectively transfer management of critical infrastructure facilities, such as CHPs, to ensure their normal operation.
Soon, the case will move to the stage of consideration on the merits. Transparency International Ukraine emphasizes the importance of a fair and impartial judicial process in this case, especially since it has a direct impact on the well-being of residents of Ukrainian cities and involves a former MP involved in complex financial schemes.
Consideration of the case cannot be expected too quickly, since the case materials number more than 300 volumes. It is possible that individual defendants will enter into agreements with prosecutors, which will be approved by the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court (SCAC). In the case of a guilty verdict, those involved in the case face serious punishment - up to 15 years of imprisonment for the set of crimes for which they are charged.
In addition, Yaroslav Dubnevich is also accused of embezzling 93 million hryvnias intended for Ukrzaliznytsia. According to the indictment, a group of officials, together with controlled enterprises, organized open tenders for the purchase of turnouts, which led to overpayments. This case is also at the stage of a preparatory meeting at the VAKS.
It is expected that the results of the trial of these cases will be interesting both in terms of the process of gathering evidence and from the point of view of substantive law. This can have an important deterrent effect on those who would try to abuse the tariff government policy.
