The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has completed an investigation into a criminal case against former and current officials of Ukrgasvydobuvannya suspected of abusing gas production for more than UAH 340 million. This was reported by Komersant ukrainskyi
with reference to the NABU press service.
The agency notes that it has opened the case file for review and will send it to court.
According to the investigation, in 2019-2020, Ukrgasvydobuvannya held a tender and entered into an agreement with the winning company to provide services to increase gas production at the company’s fields. According to its terms, the contractor had to carry out basic and enhanced gas production.
The cost of basic production of 1 cubic metre of natural gas was to be three to four times lower than the price of enhanced production, and the volume was to be fixed.
However, Ukrgasvydobuvannya officials illegally reduced the rate of basic production of the resource, which ultimately led to an increase in the rate of enhanced production, for which the company had to pay at a significantly higher cost. In this regard, in 2020-2023, the state-owned company illegally overpaid the contractor UAH 340 million.
For the “successful” implementation of the project, the responsible official of Ukrgasvydobuvannya received a bonus of twice his monthly salary. Later, having left the territory of Ukraine after the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia, he was employed as a business development manager in the company that won the tender.
Detectives uncovered the scheme and served one current and one former Ukrgasvydobuvannya official with a notice of suspicion under Part 2 of Art. 364 of the Criminal Code in March 2024.
The sanction of the article provides for imprisonment for a term of five to eight years with the loss of the right to hold certain positions and engage in certain activities for up to three years.