A large-scale scheme to supply low-quality fuel to municipal institutions has been uncovered in Kharkiv, linked to former deputy head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration Oleksandr Skakun and his brother Yuriy. According to the investigation, the family controls Ukraine's largest illegal oil refinery, which operates through LLC "AES Group" in the city of Merefa, Kharkiv region.
Legally, AES Group was registered in July 2021, and its business structures operate in the petrochemical, energy, alcohol and research sectors. The company's main asset is a mini-refinery, which does not pay excise duty on the fuel produced for road construction. This brings AES Group about a billion hryvnias per year.
In addition to the refinery, the group controls solar power plants and distilleries, as well as a number of legal entities related to public fuel procurement. Through fictitious competition in tenders, the attackers promoted their enterprises, including LLC Brent-Invest, LLC Brent Oil, LLC Brent Oil-98, LLC Garantor, LLC MPK, LLC Naftokhimsnab, LLC Rukh-GK, LLC Kalam, LLC Svey.
According to sources, companies associated with the Skakuny are involved in criminal proceedings, and the group's activities bear the hallmarks of a large-scale illegal business aimed at harming the state and municipal institutions of Kharkiv.
