The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has ruled that there is no preventive measure for Maksym Nemchynov, an advisor to Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko, who previously held the position of Deputy Energy Minister. This decision came against the backdrop of an investigation into corruption schemes at the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine.
This was reported by journalist Oleg Novikov. He noted:
-the decision was made by the investigating judge of the Supreme Court of Criminal Procedure Larysa Zadorozhna;
-“it seems that she found the suspicion unfounded”;
-her decision has already been appealed to the Appeals Chamber of the Supreme Court of Criminal Procedure.
“NABU and SAPO suspect Nemchynov and former People's Deputy Volodymyr Vecherko of organizing abuses of almost UAH 12 million during the sale of coal. Together with them, the former director of the state enterprise “Ukrvuhilya” Vitaliy Zyuzko is also suspected,” the report says.
The journalist noted: according to the investigation, at the end of July 2022, "due to military actions, the coal market in Ukraine was limited." Therefore, to ensure the stable passage of the 2022/2023 heating season, the Cabinet of Ministers obliged Ukrvuhilya to supply energy only to certain electricity producers - in particular, the state-owned PJSC Centrenergo.
“Despite such restrictions, Vecherko (owner of Interbis LLC), in collusion with Nemchynov, convinced Zyuzko to sell coal to his company, which, by the way, had more than UAH 50 million in debt to the SE Ukrvuhilya. As a result, Ukrvuhilya supplied the private company with almost 24 thousand tons of raw materials, which it resold with a profit of almost UAH 20 million. At the same time, Centrenergo received 12.5 thousand tons of coal short and was forced to buy it in October 2022 at a significantly higher price, overpaying almost UAH 12 million,” Novikov said.
Maksym Nemchynov has worked in the energy sector for 20 years. He has held various positions in the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine, including State Secretary, Deputy Minister, and Advisor to the Minister. Nemchynov served as Deputy Minister from July 2020 to December 2021. In this position, he worked on the development of the Concept of Coal Industry Reform.
Volodymyr Vecherko was a People's Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of the 7th convocation and entered parliament on the lists of the "Party of Regions". This was his third and last term as a People's Deputy, as this convocation was dissolved in the summer of 2014. At one time, Vecherko was the first deputy chairman of the Committee on Construction, Urban Development, Housing and Utilities, and Regional Policy of the Verkhovna Rada.
Vitaliy Zyuzko became the head of Ukrvuhillia in July 2022.
