Centrenergo ex-officials suspected of UAH 8 million gas fraud

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) notified four persons of suspicion of abuse of power and official forgery, which led to Centrenergo PJSC's overpayment of UAH 8.25 million for natural gas. The actions of the suspects fall under Part 2 Art. 364, Part 1 Art. 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The suspects are:

• two former officials of Centrenergo PJSC;
• the current head of a Centrenergo PJSC department;
• the director of a private company.

Since one of the ex-officials is hiding from the investigation, he was notified of suspicion in absentia.

As established, in November 2019, Centrenergo concluded a contract for the supply of gas with a private company. In May 2020, it made a prepayment for the contracted volume of gas for June 2020. However, the gas wasn't supplied in full, while the debt that occurred to Centrenergo was reduced by raising the price of the already supplied gas through forging official documents. As a result, Centerenergo suffered losses worth UAH 8.25 million.

This is not the first case of corruption exposed at Centerenergo PJSC.

According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered non-guilty in the commission of a crime and cannot be subject to criminal punishment until he or she is found guilty by court.

For reference: Centrenergo PJSC is the only state-owned energy generating company in Ukraine comprising three thermal power plants - Vuhlehirska (Donetsk region), Zmiivska (Kharkiv region), Trypilska (Kyiv region), and the separate subpision Remenergo (Cherkasy).