Court releases two more defendants in the Rotterdam case – the statute of limitations has expired
8 September 21:48
The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has decided to release from criminal liability two more former members of the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC) who were accused in the so-called Rotterdam case.
According to theAnti-Corruption Action Center, the court granted their motions and left the civil claims in the proceedings without consideration, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The defendants were suspected of official negligence that caused grave consequences, but since the events date back to 2018-2019, and the statute of limitations for this crime is five years, the court found it impossible to continue the prosecution.
In total, nine defendants remain in the case, including former top officials of DTEK and the NEURC. They are accused of illegally using the Rotterdam formula to determine the price of coal at Ukrainian thermal power plants. According to the investigation, the state suffered more than UAH 38 billion in losses as a result.
As a reminder, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, following the NABU investigation, submitted an indictment against six people to the court. Prosecutors also filed a civil lawsuit for UAH 19.357 billion to compensate the state for the damage.
Earlier, in 2023, the HACC seized real estate and other property of several former officials involved in the case. And in November 2024, the court denied motions to completely close the process.
“The Rotterdam Formula was in effect in 2016-2019 and provided for linking the price of coal for Ukrainian thermal power plants to quotations in the port of Rotterdam plus the cost of delivery to Ukraine. According to the government, this was supposed to reduce dependence on coal supplies from the occupied territories and Russia.
However, critics considered the mechanism a corruption scheme that allowed energy companies to make excessive profits at the expense of Ukrainian consumers. According to experts and investigators, Ukrainians overpaid tens of billions of hryvnias.
The case has been repeatedly closed due to the “lack of corpus delicti”, but after a public outcry and public pressure, the NABU and the SAPO resumed the investigation. “Rotterdam has become one of the most high-profile corruption cases in the energy sector since 2014.
