The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office have referred to court the case of former Deputy Chairman of the Kharkiv Regional Council Volodymyr Skorobagach, who is suspected of embezzlement in the energy sector during martial law. According to the investigation, the losses of the state-owned PJSC "NPC "Ukrenergo" reached tens of millions of hryvnias.
The investigation found that in 2022, several companies close to Skorobagach concluded contracts for the purchase of electricity and transferred funds through financial companies to the accounts of enterprises registered in Bulgaria. The case involved Powerstock LLC, Optima-Price LLC, Our Energy Company LLC, and Midbor LLC.
Powerstock CEO Iryna Khasianova and former Optima-Price owner Yana Laurinaichute are partners of the Skorobagach family in a number of commercial projects. Laurinaichute currently lives in Dubai and owns an investment company, while Viktoria Skorobagach, the former official's wife, and the family's children are in Europe and the Cote d'Azur.
The investigation also established the connections of the Skorobagach family with the activities of conversion centers and a number of legal entities that were used to launder funds. The daughter of the former deputy, Maria Skorobagach, owns a large number of land plots in the Kharkiv region and studied in London.
Although Volodymyr Skorobagach has stated on social media that he is willing to cooperate with law enforcement, his current location – the Cote d'Azur – makes it difficult for justice to be served. The trial of the case should show whether he will be held responsible for large-scale embezzlement in the energy sector.
