Energy-Service Company Esko-Pivnich LLC, which is part of the Burisma Group and belongs to gas oligarch Mykola Zlochevskyi, disappeared from the tax evasion case. This became known from the materials of criminal proceedings No. 42018000000002900 under Part 5 of Art. 191, Part 2 of Art. 205, Part 3 of Art. 212 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
This investigation began at the end of 2018, initially conducted by the SBU, and then transferred to the National Police. Most of the decisions in this case were made by the Sosniv District Court of Cherkassy.
According to the investigation, from 2016 to 2019, a group of people evaded paying taxes using the financial instruments of PJSC Bank "Ukrainian Capital" and companies related to LLC "Ukrinvest Group". This was done through the illegal transfer of non-cash funds into cash, the baseless formation of a tax credit from the value added tax, assistance in the appropriation of funds and the legalization of income obtained through criminal means.
The controlled enterprises, which at the same time conduct real financial and economic activities, include: "Skela Tertium" LLC, "GK "Investservice" LLC, "Synergia Gas Energy" LLC, "Gaztorgpostach" LLC, "Esko-Pivnich" LLC, "Gazenergopostach" LLC ”, LLC “Gas Trading Company”, LLC “Gazprominvest LTD”, LLC “Ukrainian Gas Trading Company”, LLC “Promservice” LLC, PJSC “ZNVKIF “Verden”.
In order to avoid paying taxes, money was transferred to the accounts of these companies with signs of fictitiousness. Thus, in 2018 alone, funds in the amount of about 200 million hryvnias were received from PJSC "Ukrzaliznytsia" to the accounts of "Skela Tertium" LLC, and the total amount of illegal financial transactions carried out according to the specified scheme every month amounted to more than 100 million hryvnias.
LLC "Gaztorpostach" bought gas from the transit company "Gaztransproekt" (Onyshchenko), as well as directly from producers, mainly from LLC "Esko-pivnich" (Zlochevskyi) and PrJSC "Ukrnaftoburinnia" (Stavitskyi), as well as small volumes from LLC "Karpatigaz" (Firtash).
Next, gas was sold mainly by "Skela Tertium" LLC and "RGK Trading" LLC. The price difference, which amounted to an average of 1,500 hryvnias per 1,000 cubic meters, was used to avoid taxation through agency services.
Stavytskyi and Zlochevskyi worked through Skela Tertsium LLC. The chain included the miner "Esko-pivnich", PJSC "Ukrnaftoburinnia" and LLC "Gaztranspostach", which assigned its rights to LLC "Skela Tertsium". In two months, Gaztorgpostach LLC sold gas worth 454 million hryvnias to Skely Tertium LLC. 
In February 2024, the Shevchenkiv District Court lifted the seizure from the multi-currency accounts of the Esko-Pivnich company.
It is interesting that this happened after Zlochevsky was released from criminal liability in August 2023. Zlochevsky transferred 500 million hryvnias to help the Armed Forces for the "Army of Drones" project, but he was still included in the list of corrupt persons. Zlochevskyi was accused in a "bribery" case, but participated in the court session remotely, being in Cyprus. At the final stage, Themis switched from an open case to a closed one, which made it possible to hide the full text of the verdict against Zlochevskyi from the public.
Mykola Zlochevskyi's gas production business is incorporated into the Burisma group. Burisma includes 12 operating companies, including "Esko-Pivnich", "Pari", "First Ukrainian Oil and Gas Company", "Aldea-Ukraine", "Sistemoilinjiniring", "Burisma Service", "Technocomservice", "Nadragaz", " Nadragavydobuvannya", "Gazoilinvest", "Kub-Gas" and "Oil Geology". In 2021, former Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Zlochevskyi re-registered mining companies for his two daughters, Anna and Karina.
