The activities of the head of the State Geology and Subsoil Service of Ukraine (Derzhgeonadra) Roman Opimakh came under the close attention of law enforcement agencies. According to data published by the "Fraza.yua" , his activity was accompanied by a number of non-transparent decisions that raise serious questions.
It is worth starting with the fact that Opimakh is a protégé of the oligarch Viktor Pinchuk. According to the official version, Opimakh won the competition for the position of head of the State Geodesy in a fair fight. However, behind him stood a serious and influential lobby in the form of a Ukrainian billionaire.
Prior to his appointment at the State Geological Survey, Opimakh was the executive director of the "Association of Gas Extraction Companies", which mainly includes business structures of their Pinchuk asset pool. Also, the connection between Pinchuk and Opimakh can be traced through Oleksandr Kamenchuk (husband of Opimakh's sister), who was Pinchuk's business partner in the gas production companies "Eastern Geological Union", "Intek Geo" and "Natural Resources".
After receiving a new position, Opimakh immediately started his career. Only in the first year of Opimakh's tenure, revenues to the state budget of the State Geodesy decreased 20 times. From UAH 200 million in 2019 up to UAH 10 million in 2020 This is the state budget plan for 2020. was 750 mln. UAH
For five years at the helm of the Derzhgeonadr Opimakh became a very poor man. This is evidenced by his declaration for 2024. The Opimakha family has 4 apartments, a non-residential premises, a parking space. In addition, from 2023 in the midst of the war, Opimach rents an apartment in Spain, where his wife and daughter now live.
Under Opimakh, the State Geological Survey was repeatedly accused of non-transparent procedures for the distribution of special permits for exploration of Ukrainian subsurface resources. For example, in 2019, the State Geonadra gave a license to use the subsoil of the Zahidnotokarsk-Krasnyan oil and gas field (Luhansk region) to the Nadra Carbon company at an understated price of UAH 1.6 million. The price is understated because the prospective reserves of the oil and gas area are estimated at 900 mln. cubic meters of gas. According to experts, this is more than UAH 5 billion in revenue.
The opposite situation occurred when permits were issued for amber mining at the Olshan site (Rivnensk region). The starting price was 323 thousand. UAH As a result, the winner of the auction was the company "Potential-Polissya" with a charter capital of 5 thousand. hryvnias, which offered 521,000 UAH UAH At the same time, the Zahidzemresurs company, which offered UAH 3.2 million, was denied the right to obtain a permit for unknown reasons. This is stated in Order No. 486 of the State Geological Survey of November 4, 2020.
There were many similar stories during the five years that Opimakh managed the State Drama. At the same time, according to the presented scheme, Ukrainian law enforcement officers knew about the corruption risks that the leadership of the State Geodesy exposed the state budget of Ukraine, but turned a blind eye to it, since not all "dark" stories eventually surfaced.
At the end of his term, Opimachus also found himself at the center of a corruption scandal surrounding the issuance of a permit to study state lands. In short, back in 1997. "Malinsky Stone Crushing Plant" JSC, which is part of the "Unigran" group of companies, received a special permit from the State Geodesy to use the subsoil of the Pinyazevetsky deposit in the Zhytomyr region. 2023 the NSDC sanctioned against the owner of "Unigran" Ihor Naumets for his connections with the Russian Federation, and the assets belonging to him had to be transferred to the state. The sanctions also meant the suspension of previously issued permits. However, in March 2024, despite the sanctions, the State Geological Survey restored the permits. The Kyiv economic court blocked this decision, but Opimakh's department did not agree with this decision of the court and filed an appeal. And on the same day, without waiting for the results of the re-examination, they agreed to the previously adopted decision contrary to the law and the state interests of Ukraine.
By the way, it is already November 14, that is. after the official dismissal of Opimachus. At the same time, the procedure for reissuing a special permit, which usually takes weeks, was carried out in one day and in the personal presence of the former head of the State Geodesy Roman Opimakh. This may indicate the official's personal interest in this case and receiving personal dividends from its result.
What is the result of 5 years of Opimakh's leadership of the State Geology and Subsoil Service of Ukraine? As we can see from the examples above, there is no need to talk about any "transparency" declared by Opimachus. However, it is safe to say that another protégé official of the Ukrainian oligarchy has secured his old age and can safely retire and drink wine in Spain. And this, in turn, confirms another long-known postulate: the war with the oligarchs in Ukraine continues very selectively.
