Million-dollar overpayments through European intermediaries: NABU and SAPO expose scheme to embezzle 170 million from Energoatom during construction of Tashlyk HPSPP

Million-dollar overpayments through European intermediaries: NABU and SAPO expose scheme to embezzle 170 million from Energoatom during construction of Tashlyk HPSPP

NABU and SAP exposed a scheme to embezzle almost 170 million UAH from Energoatom during the construction of the Tashlytska pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant (HPSPP) in Mykolaiv region.

This was reported by NABU on June 2 in a statement.

According to the court register, the case involves the company PrJSC Yuzhenerhobud of Matviy Yasenytskyi. Back in 2003, before the launch of ProZorro and the State Procurement Bulletin, the company received a contract to complete the construction of the Tashlytska HPSPP, which is needed for the operation of the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant (SUNPP).

Over time, the company entered bankruptcy proceedings. However, it was systematically awarded additional contracts for works with artificially justified necessity and for the purchase of high-value equipment at knowingly inflated prices.

In particular, officials of Energoatom tasked the general contractor Yuzhenerhobud with conducting a market price study for the equipment. The contractor’s employees sent requests for commercial proposals on behalf of the state enterprise and received responses on behalf of companies with which they had previously agreed to indicate knowingly inflated prices. To conceal the significant price markup, several intermediaries among non-resident companies were involved in the supply chain, including Mazal International B.V. (Netherlands) and CKD elektrotechnika a.s. (Czech Republic).

Under one of these additional contracts, a set of equipment for the automated control system of the HAPS was purchased for a total of over 305 million UAH (Automated Process Control System ASU TP-2020.THAES.380.01.61000, manufactured by Emerson Process Management Sp.Zo.o. (Republic of Poland)). The actual value of the purchased equipment is significantly lower, and according to investigators’ estimates, the difference from the procurement price paid by Energoatom amounted to about 170 million UAH.

This was made possible by the influence of the company’s de facto owner over Energoatom officials. According to media reports, the case involves Nataliya Volkova, former head of the cost-estimate and contracts department at the Atomproektinzhynirynh branch.

The case was opened under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — misappropriation, embezzlement of property, or obtaining it through abuse of official position.

The perpetrators face 7 to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. The organizer of the scheme has been detained.

In turn, Yuzhenerhobud has also appeared in media investigations and was one of the largest contractors of Energoatom during the existence of the Mindich group’s “barrier” scheme at the state enterprise.

Since the launch of ProZorro in 2016, data on Yuzhenerhobud contracts worth 4.78 billion UAH have been preserved. Another 1.22 billion UAH in contracts went to Energoprombud LLC of Anastasiya Yasenytska, wife of Matviy Yasenytskyi (“Buzki Kariery Corporation”). Since the beginning of 2023, these two companies have received 80% of their contracts from Energoatom. The Yasenytskyis also had Oleksandr Altman, known for the raider seizure of the TVi channel during Yanukovych’s time, as a partner for some time.

Since 2021, the South Ukraine NPP has been headed by Ihor Polovych. According to local media, when moving to Mykolaiv from his previous job in the Energoatom system in Kyiv, he settled in a house in the cottage town of Yuzhnoukrainsk. The house belongs to the aforementioned Anastasiya Yasenytska, who, together with her husband, received contracts from the SUNPP.

Author: Yuriy Nikolov

Source: Nashi Hroshi