Mazepa, who could go to jail for 12 years, bought a special permit to mine limestone
7 March 2024 14:26
EХCLUSIVE
The company of Concorde Capita founder Ihor Mazepa, who faces up to 12 years in prison for illegal possession of land in Kiev Region, Vitaliy Antonov, who owns the Galnaftohaz concern (a chain of OKKO petrol stations), has bought a 20-year licence for limestone mining in the Maryanskoye deposit in the Kryvorizhskyy district of Dnipropetrovsk Region from the State Agency for Geodesy and Mineral Resources. This is evidenced by the relevant document of sale and purchase, reports Komersant ukrainskyi 
How the auction was held
The auction for the sale of the licence took place on 17 January 2024, with only two companies participating.
The first was Maryansky Quarry LLC, whose key founder is Krivoy Rog Cement. 90.1 per cent of this company is owned by Igor Mazepa and Vitaliy Antonov.
The second is the company “Forsazh”. It, in turn, belongs to the wife of former Chernihiv mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko, who was temporarily suspended from office due to corruption.
According to the protocol of the electronic auction, the company “Forsazh” won: it immediately put the price at more than 151 million hryvnias (with the starting price of the field at almost 48 million).
Thecompany of Mazepa and Antonov “Maryansky Quarry” offered a three times lower price – 58 million 250 thousand hryvnias. However, it was the company of these two businessmen that won the auction and acquired a licence to mine limestone at the Maryanskoye deposit. And all because “Forsazh” for unknown reasons did not sign the sale and purchase agreement.
The agreement between the State Geological Survey and “Maryanskiy quarry” was concluded on 4 March 2024.
Courts for Maryanskoye deposit
The Maryanskoyebirthplace is one of the largest in terms of area and limestone reserves in Ukraine, its total area exceeds 428 hectares and its limestone reserves amount to more than 132 million tonnes.
Mazepa and Antonov’s company has been interested in this deposit since 2006. They have also repeatedly tried to obtain a special permit to use the subsoil of the deposit, but until this year Krivoy Rog Cement failed to do so.
Interestingly, the courts for the Maryanskoye deposit are still going on: the company Ferromet1, which was previously engaged in limestone mining at this deposit, is trying to regain its special permit for subsoil use.
In 2022, the case reached the Supreme Court, which rejected Ferromet1’s claim to the site.
However, the company continues to sue for a licence, at least already this month, on March 18, a preparatory hearing on the matter is due to take place.
“Kryvyi Rig Cement” acts as a third party in the case, not making independent claims on the subject of the dispute on the side of the defendant.
Earlier, Mazepa personally accused Ferromet1 of having ties with former President Viktor Yushchenko and Andriy Zadorozhny, an MP from the Servant of the People, and accused them of trying to obtain a licence to mine limestone outside of a tender.
What Ihor Mazepa is known for
Igor Mazepa, the founder of Concorde Capital investment company, was detained in January this year by investigators of the State Bureau of Investigation while passing the Polish-Ukrainian border. He is accused of illegally obtaining rights to land for the construction of a premium-class cottage town Goodlife Park in Kiev Region.
According to the GBI statement, Mazepa is the organiser of the scheme of illegal seizure of lands on which hydro-technical facilities of critical infrastructure – the Kiev hydroelectric power plant – are located. According to the investigation, the members of the criminal organisation, using corrupt connections in state bodies, illegally seized the lands of the water fund, on which the hydraulic structures of the Kiev HPP are located.
This case contains elements of three articles of the Criminal Code: part 1 and part 2 of Article 255 (creation, management of a criminal association or criminal organisation, as well as participation in it), Article 233 (illegal privatisation of state or communal property) and Article 209 – “legalisation (laundering) of property obtained by criminal means”.
The participants of the criminal organisation face up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.
Author: Alena Kaplina
