According to media reports, the management of the state energy company "Centrenergo" is involved in a large-scale corruption scandal related to the purchase of low-quality coal for Ukrainian thermal power plants. In addition, 4.3 billion hryvnias were spent on obtaining low-quality fuel, and agreements were concluded on the basis of forged documents.
In 2023-2024, PJSC "Centrenergo" concluded several contracts for the supply of coal with "Energo Resource Group" LLC, "Coal Company Optenergotorg" LLC, and "Global Soft Ukraine" LLC. All agreements provided for the supply of coal at a base price of UAH 5,076 per ton, including VAT. However, the investigation established that instead of high-quality coal, products of unknown origin were supplied without proper inspection.
The proceeds were transferred to the accounts of front companies, withdrawn in cash and distributed among the participants of the scheme. For example, the company "Energo Resources Group" purchased coal from companies that were engaged in completely different types of activities, in particular, car trading.
In addition, the pre-trial investigation established that during 2023-2024, the officials of the contractors of "Centrenergo" used the details of fictitious enterprises as advance payments for coal with the aim of their further transfer to cash, artificial creation of primary accounting documents.
