The "Golden Mandarin" case, involving 54 million hryvnias, has been referred to court
NABU and the SAP have referred to court a case involving the embezzlement and laundering of 54.18 million hryvnias from the state budget. According to investigators, one of the organizers of the scheme was former Member of Parliament Heorhiy Logvynskyi, and the money was allegedly obtained through a dispute over Kyivenergo’s debt. NABU claims that the participants in the scheme concealed important information from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), after which the state paid out over 54 million hryvnias.
This relates to criminal proceedings against “Zolotoy Mandarin Oil” LLC. NABU has been investigating the case since 2017, and charges were formally filed against the participants in the scheme in 2020. In 2023, former People’s Deputy Heorhiy Logvynskyi was also notified of the charges against him. According to the investigation, the scheme operated from 2013 to 2016. It centered on a debt between “Zolotoy Mandarin Oil” and Kyivenergo PJSC.
In September 2013, a representative of “Zolotoy Mandarin Oil” filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. The company demanded that 54.18 million hryvnias be paid to it from the state budget. The application stated that “Kyivenergo” had allegedly failed to comply with a court ruling regarding the payment of the debt dating back to 2009. However, according to investigators, at the time of the appeal to the ECHR, the company had not taken any concrete steps to collect this debt on its own.
The debt had already been transferred to another company
The investigation also highlighted another important detail. According to the NABU, Zolotoy Mandarin Oil’s assets and accounts had been frozen at that time. This was done due to the company’s debts to the state-owned “Rodovid Bank,” which exceeded 70 million hryvnias. Furthermore, the right to claim the debt from “Kyivenergo” had already been transferred to another company before the application was filed with the ECHR.
In other words, according to the investigation, the company no longer held this right of claim at the time it filed its petition with the European Court. At the same time, detectives believe that information regarding the assignment of this right was concealed from the ECHR.
According to the NABU, 54.18 million hryvnias had already been received for the transfer of this claim. The investigation considers this circumstance to be one of the key elements in the case.
How 54 million UAH Was Obtained from the State Budget
Furthermore, according to the investigation, a former member of parliament reached an agreement with then-representatives of the Ministry of Justice regarding the preparation of a declaration on the amicable settlement of the dispute. In effect, this document acknowledged the state’s liability for failing to enforce a ruling in a dispute between two private companies.
At the same time, as investigators point out, the right to claim under this dispute had already been transferred to another company. Subsequently, based on the declaration, 54.18 million hryvnias were transferred from the state budget to a company which, according to the investigation, was controlled by the participants in the scheme.
NABU believes that, as a result, the state budget lost over 54 million hryvnias. The investigation also alleges that after receiving the money, the funds were laundered through so-called “conversion centers.”
What Logvynskyi Is Accused Of
Heorhiy Logvynskyi is named in this case as a former member of parliament and one of the suspects whom NABU identifies as the organizer of the scheme. According to the bureau, in 2023 he was notified of suspicion of organizing the misappropriation and laundering of 54.179 million hryvnias in state funds. He became the seventh suspect in the “Golden Mandarin” case.
Previously, Logvynskyi’s case had a distinct procedural feature: he enjoyed immunity as a close relative of an ECHR judge. In 2020, the European Court of Human Rights itself considered the question of whether he could be held criminally liable. At that time, the ECHR did not allow him to be notified of the charges due to this immunity.
After his immunity was lifted, NABU and the SAPO were able to notify Logvynskyi of the charges against him. In January 2026, NABU announced the completion of the pre-trial investigation into the case involving the embezzlement and money laundering of 54.179 million UAH. The indictment has now been submitted to the court.
The case has reached court
The transfer of the case to court means that the pre-trial investigation is complete, and the evidence gathered will now be evaluated by the judges. NABU and the SAP believe they have gathered evidence confirming a scheme involving the embezzlement of state funds and the subsequent laundering of the money.
At the same time, all the circumstances described are currently the position of the prosecution. The guilt of Logvynskyi and the other defendants has not been established until the court issues a corresponding ruling. It is up to the court to evaluate the evidence presented by both the prosecution and the defense and to determine whether the scheme described by the investigation actually took place and who exactly is responsible for it. This is according to a statement from the agency.
As a reminder, back in 2023, NABU issued a warrant for the arrest of former People’s Deputy Heorhiy Logvynskyi. He is suspected of orchestrating the embezzlement of over 54 million hryvnias from the state budget through the company “Zolotoy Mandarin Oil.”
Previously, the High Anti-Corruption Court denied a motion by a NABU detective to place former People’s Front MP Heorhiy Logvynskyi in pretrial detention in absentia. This relates to the “Golden Mandarin” case.
Detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and prosecutors from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office have completed their investigation into a scheme to embezzle state funds through the illegal use of mechanisms of the European Court of Human Rights.
