Former Member of Parliament Kryuchkov has been declared wanted

Former Member of Parliament Kryuchkov has been declared wanted

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has declared former Member of Parliament of the 5th convocation, the former chairman of the holding company "Energomerezha," Dmytro Kryuchkov, wanted. He is accused of organizing the appropriation of funds from Cherkasyoblenergo and Zaporizhzhyaoblenergo in 2014-2015.

This is reported on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. The date of the ex-MP’s disappearance is listed as October 3, 2024.

On October 4, 2024, the Higher Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) arrested the former parliamentarian in absentia. According to the investigation, total losses amount to over 1.5 billion UAH.

The politician is accused under three articles: Part 5 of Article 191 "Appropriation, embezzlement of property through abuse of office," Part 3 of Article 209 "Legalization of property obtained through criminal means," Part 2 of Article 364 "Voting by a Member of Parliament at a plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada instead of another Member of Parliament."

The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) submitted the case concerning the illegal activities of the holding company "Energomerezha," chaired by Kryuchkov, to the court in the fall of 2021. He was accused of organizing the appropriation and legalization of funds from PJSC "Cherkasyoblenergo" and PJSC "Zaporizhzhyaoblenergo," as well as abuse of office.

According to the investigation, in 2014-2015, officials of the company "Energomerezha" inflicted damages of almost 350 million UAH on the state company "Zaporizhzhyaoblenergo" by organizing a scheme of electricity payments through Kryuchkov’s company.

A similar case concerns the appropriation of funds from the state-owned "Cherkasyoblenergo." According to the investigation, the total losses to energy supply companies amount to over 1.5 billion UAH, of which 315 million UAH were recovered during the pre-trial investigation.

On February 15, 2024, Kryuchkov left the country and has not returned to Ukraine since. According to the HACC decision dated May 30, the ex-MP has five children, which allows him to leave the country without hindrance. At the same time, Kryuchkov participated in court hearings in an online format.

The prosecutor then asked the court to impose a preventive measure in the form of arrest with the option of bail amounting to 151.4 million UAH and to confiscate his foreign passports.

Kryuchkov himself stated that he has the right to permanent residence in Monaco. The court rejected the prosecution’s request, seeing no risk of the accused evading the trial.