The case against Sennychenko regarding a criminal organization within the State Property Fund of Ukraine has been referred to court
The prosecutor’s office has filed an indictment with the court in the case involving a criminal organization led by former State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU) head Dmytro Sennychenko. According to the investigation, the group’s activities caused the state more than 700 million hryvnias in losses.
Among the defendants are a person close to the head of the State Property Fund (co-organizer), the then-advisor to the State Property Fund chairman, two acting directors of JSC “Odesa Port Plant” (at different times), the acting head of JSC “United Mining and Chemical Company,” two owners of the LLC that won the auction for the Odessa Port Plant, and two individuals—accomplices in the crime.
Based on the materials of the NABU pretrial investigation, a prosecutor from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) filed an indictment with the court in the case involving a criminal organization led by the former head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU), according to the statement.
The organization’s activities caused losses to the state amounting to over 700 million hryvnias. It should be noted that its members are also accused of laundering property obtained through criminal means totaling over 10 billion hryvnias.
In March 2023, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) and NABU uncovered the criminal group, the prosecutor’s office notes.
Between 2019 and 2021, this group misappropriated funds from state-owned enterprises, including Ukraine’s largest chemical enterprise—JSC “Odesa Port Plant”— — and one of the world’s largest producers of titanium raw materials—JSC “United Mining and Chemical Company.”
According to investigators, from November 2019 to March 2020, the head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU) established a criminal organization aimed at gaining control over the most critical assets under the SPFU’s management in the extractive, processing, fuelenergy, and other sectors of the national economy.
“The criminal plan consisted of appointing to the management bodies of state-owned enterprises only individuals under their control who would ensure the sale of raw materials, the provision of services, and so on, and the use of state resources exclusively in the interests of the members of the criminal organization,” notes NABU.
To this end, the management of state-owned enterprises—controlled by the head of the State Property Fund—entered into relevant contracts with companies controlled by criminals on terms that ran counter to the state’s interests but allowed the criminals to enrich themselves unlawfully.
At the same time, the head of the State Property Fund, together with other members of the criminal organization, ensured the appointment of individuals who were to oversee the operations of the relevant state-owned enterprises in the interests of the criminal organization’s members.
These individuals, though not employees of the state-owned enterprises, effectively managed their business operations, instructing their executives on how to enter into contracts, determine the winners of tender procedures, and set prices for the products of state-owned enterprises.
Thus, so-called “back offices” were established at these state-owned enterprises, investigators claim.
In particular, to achieve the unlawful goals of this criminal organization, the head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine ensured the appointment of individuals under his control to the management bodies of JSC “Odesa Port Plant” and their subsequent commission of a serious criminal offense as part of the criminal organization.
As a result of these actions, between May 2020 and October 2021, the Odesa Port Plant lost more than 600 million hryvnias in revenue.
In addition, the criminal organization misappropriated funds belonging to JSC “United Mining and Chemical Company”—members of the criminal organization entered into four contracts with a non-resident company under their control and arranged for the shipment of titanium raw materials at an undervalued price.
These actions resulted in losses totaling 111 million hryvnias, according to investigators. Thus, the total amount of state funds misappropriated exceeds 700 million hryvnias.
Subsequently, the criminal organization facilitated the transfer of funds abroad and the acquisition of assets.
This was reported by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.
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