Loan of 2000 UAH and control over millions: "Pound" Serhiy Saprykin in the bankruptcy scheme of Dmytro Kovalenko’s "Intercoaltrading"

Loan of 2000 UAH and control over millions: "Pound" Serhiy Saprykin in the bankruptcy scheme of Dmytro Kovalenko’s "Intercoaltrading"

The surname of the little-known entrepreneur Serhiy Saprykin surfaced in the public domain in connection with the controlled bankruptcy of LLC "Intercoaltrading" and the subsequent highly controversial auctions for the sale of its assets.

In publications investigating the bankruptcy case, it is Serhiy Saprykin who is mentioned as the person under whose name the company purchasing the bankrupt’s assets was registered – LLC "Coke-Chemical Enrichment Plant ’Voskresenska’". Attention is also drawn to the fact that the sale of the bankrupt LLC "Intercoaltrading" was actually part of a complex financial scheme involving the transfer of its assets at undervalued prices to other market participants.

Behind the bankruptcy scheme of LLC "Intercoaltrading" stood Dmytro Kovalenko, one of the most notorious shadow players in the coal market. Prior to bankruptcy, the company, which owned significant financial and material assets, was deliberately driven to insolvency through an artificial process, resulting in the withdrawal of large debts and claims into separate lots, which were then sold for amounts clearly below market value.

One of the most controversial episodes involved auctions during which lots with debts amounting to tens of millions of hryvnias were sold for symbolic sums, raising questions about the fairness and transparency of the process, as well as the potential involvement of interested parties. Journalists and analysts noted that these auctions took place without real competition and involved companies with no apparent business history, yet which turned out to be linked to key figures in the schemes.

Who is Dmytro Kovalenko

The surname of Dmytro Kovalenko most frequently appears in the story of the bankruptcy and subsequent withdrawal of assets of LLC "Intercoaltrading" – a businessman who is attributed with control over a number of companies through which controversial deals were conducted.

Dmytro Kovalenko is a Ukrainian businessman who has been featured in numerous journalistic investigations, linking him to the coal business, offshore companies, international financial structures, and the supply of Russian coal as well as coal from the uncontrolled territories of the so-called "L/DPR" to Ukraine.

Dmytro Kovalenko is referred to as a key figure in the Swiss company Adelon AG, which in 2021–2022 acted as a major buyer of coal from several Russian suppliers. This activity continued even after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, utilizing international trading tools.

Kovalenko is also linked to entities with offshore registration in the UAE (Plaimp SFP Limited) and the British Virgin Islands (Bremer International Limited), through which financial operations and schemes were carried out.

Additionally, investigations connect Kovalenko to a number of Ukrainian and Russian companies in the coal sector (LLC "Anthracite", LLC "Khrystoforvuhillya", LLC "Agrofirm Yasenivska", and others), as well as to business figures associated with coal supply and energy assets. These connections paint a picture of a broad business network used to move capital and assets between jurisdictions, often bypassing sanctions or restrictions.

More details about Dmytro Kovalenko and his role in supplying coal from Russia to Ukraine can be found here. In this investigation, his figure is significant in the context of the fact that Kovalenko is named as the key organizer of the bankruptcy scheme of LLC "Intercoaltrading".

Unknown Serhiy Saprykin

The buyer of the assets of LLC "Intercoaltrading" was LLC "Coke-Chemical Enrichment Plant ’Voskresenska’", whose owner at the time was a certain Serhiy Oleksandrovych Saprykin, who was soon replaced by subsequent nominal owners.

Why do investigators conclude that Serhiy Saprykin is a nominal figure? This conclusion is based on a combination of several factors. Firstly, no one in the coal market has ever heard of a businessman named Serhiy Saprykin. He appeared as the owner of LLC "Coke-Chemical Enrichment Plant ’Voskresenska’" precisely during the bankruptcy of LLC "Intercoaltrading" and the withdrawal of its assets, and soon after, he disappeared into obscurity.

Moreover, a review of public registries reveals the fact that Serhiy Saprykin could not have purchased LLC "Coke-Chemical Enrichment Plant ’Voskresenska’", as his business activities did not allow for it. Serhiy Saprykin is the owner of LLC "Valiant-S" (code 37748386) and PE "Montazhspetskomplekt" (code 3495807, a company that has ceased operations). Additionally, Serhiy Saprykin is listed as the director of LLC "IDL-Glass" (code 45173055) in Svalyava.

As for the latter, Saprykin as a director leaves much to be desired: the company is operating at a loss. However, far more interesting is the ultimate beneficiary, who is Danyil Kovalenko.

As for Serhiy Saprykin as a businessman, LLC "Valiant-S", although not bankrupt, also has little to boast about: the company’s net profit has never exceeded one million hryvnias, which, in monthly terms, amounts to only about one hundred thousand – essentially the average salary of a not very successful manager in a large city.

Another nuance that supports the conclusion that Serhiy Saprykin is merely a nominal figure is information from court registries. As we recall from the registration data of LLC "Coke-Chemical Enrichment Plant ’Voskresenska’", Serhiy Saprykin is registered at the following address: Dnipro, Putyliwska Street, building 12, apartment 10. In court registries, there are several cases involving Serhiy Saprykin, who resides at this address.

Firstly, there is a ruling on an administrative offense dated May 13, 2015, according to which a person registered at the aforementioned address was deprived of the right to drive a vehicle for driving under the influence.

Of course, this is an old case and proves nothing, although in the court ruling, Saprykin is listed as "unemployed". Far more interesting is the next entry from the court registry:

Here, Serhiy Saprykin appears as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by "PrivatBank" for debt recovery. Of course, one could assume that the "big businessman" Serhiy Saprykin took out a large loan from "Privat" and failed to repay it. But no: in the registry of court decisions, there is a corresponding document indicating that this concerns a regular consumer loan for the amount of 2,000 (Two thousand) hryvnias.

The surname Saprykin also appears in divorce cases, but this is personal and, if relevant to the matter at hand, only indirectly.

Far more significant is the fact that the "big businessman", supposedly the owner of mines, factories, and plants, turns out to be a person who takes out a bank loan of 2,000 (Two thousand) hryvnias at an exorbitant interest rate and, of course, fails to repay it.

What is this "big businessman" doing among the owners of LLC "Valiant-S" and the directors of LLC "IDL-Glass"? It seems likely that he is doing the same thing as among the "beneficiaries" of LLC "Coke-Chemical Enrichment Plant ’Voskresenska’". Whose interests is he serving this time? It is logical to assume that it is the same person as in the case of the bankruptcy of LLC "Intercoaltrading", especially since, in the case of LLC "IDL-Glass", the beneficiary also bears the surname Kovalenko. But in any case, it is certainly not his own interests.