Kurchenko receives new suspicion for seizure of enterprises in Donbas
12 July 01:21
Fugitive oligarch Serhiy Kurchenko has been served with a new suspicion in absentia by the Security Service of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General’s Office. He, along with a group of Russian officials, is accused of illegally seizing Ukrainian enterprises in the temporarily occupied Donbas. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the SBU press service.
According to the investigation, from 2017 to 2021, Kurchenko and his accomplices carried out illegal “privatization” of industrial enterprises in the occupied districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. These are the facilities of the coal, metallurgical and coke-chemical industries, which, after the seizure, were used for mining and industrial production.
The criminals transferred the obtained resources to Russia and other countries, causing large-scale losses to the Ukrainian economy.
The SBU established that during this period, they illegally exported
- coal products worth over UAH 6 billion
- metal products worth UAH 47.3 billion
- coke products worth over UAH 1.6 billion.
The organized criminal group, in addition to Kurchenko, includes:
- deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation S.M. Nazarov;
- head of the Department of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation V.O. Pavlov;
- other citizens of Russia and Ukraine who cooperate with the aggressor state.
“The incriminated actions are classified as war crimes – looting of national property in the occupied territory, use of means of warfare prohibited by international law, and other violations of the laws and customs of war,” the SBU said.
The defendants in the case were served suspicion notices in absentia under Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code. They face up to 12 years in prison. The investigation is ongoing, and measures are being taken to bring all those involved to justice.
As a reminder, back in 2021, the court allowed an investigation in absentia against Kurchenko, who is suspected of causing almost UAH 3 billion in damage to the state. The same year, Ukraine imposed sanctions on him. Later, the European Union imposed similar restrictions. In 2022, the businessman’s assets were blocked in Ukraine.
