In the U.S., the Kernel Group is suspected of market manipulation and causing financial losses. What is this about?
12 March 18:26
The House of Representatives has accused Kernel Group, the largest Ukrainian agricultural holding owned by former regional official Andriy Verevsky, of possible manipulation and causing losses not only to foreign investors but also to the Ukrainian budget, according to a Facebook post by political strategist and deputy head of the Agency for Situation Modeling, Oleksiy Golobutsky, as reported by
On his page, Golobutsky published a letter from Republican U.S. Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis.
“The Kernel Group may be engaged in activities that contradict the anti-corruption standards expected of U.S. partners,” Republican Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis wrote in a letter to U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Julie Davis.
As outlined in the letter, in March 2023, USAID announced joint investments involving the Kernel Group aimed at supporting Ukrainian grain exports.
“I hope everyone understands how important this is for our budget,” Golobutsky wrote
Meanwhile, according to the Republican, in May 2024, Kernel likely engaged in market manipulation and violated shareholders’ rights. As the political strategist explains, this refers to the artificial devaluation of the company’s shares to consolidate control by executive management, but at the expense of international investors.
“Kernel is also suspected of aggressively using lawsuits to pressure small agricultural operators and landowners,” Golobutsky wrote
The Americans also do not rule out that Kernel may have used intermediary organizations to underreport export volumes between May 2024 and March 2025.
“This, if confirmed, is the most painful for us, because such underreporting could potentially have deprived Ukraine of significant tax revenues during wartime,” Golobutsky wrote.
In her letter, the congresswoman asks the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine to provide the following information:
1. What is the current status of the USAID investment partnership with Kernel, announced in March 2023, and what due diligence mechanisms were applied to this company?
2. Is the Embassy or the State Department aware of any complaints, reports, or concerns regarding the business practices described above?
3. Has the State Department received any prior reports or communications regarding this company that could help assess its suitability as a U.S. partner?
According to the company’s official website, Kernel Group is the largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil in Ukraine, as well as one of the leading suppliers of agro-industrial products on the international market. The company accounts for approximately 15% of global sunflower oil exports and 18% of grain exports. Kernel supplies products to over 80 countries worldwide. Since 2007, the company’s shares have been traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE).
The company ranks among the top 3 largest companies in Ukraine and the top 5 best employers in Ukraine, according to Forbes magazine. The founder, Andriy Verevskyi, serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors and is the majority shareholder.
The company specializes in
– sunflower oil production;
– export of sunflower oil and grain crops;
– distribution of bottled oil on the domestic market;
– providing grain transshipment services at the Port of Illichivsk;
– providing oil and grain transshipment services at the ports of Mykolaiv;
– storage of grain and oilseeds at domestic elevators;
– agricultural production.
The company comprises enterprises in Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kirovohrad, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Kharkiv, and Cherkasy regions.
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