Former official suspected of massive coal scheme, environmental harm
The former acting CEO of the State Enterprise "Coal Company "Krasnolymanska" is suspected of causing UAH 336 million in losses and environmental harm exceeding UAH 210 million. The suspicion notice was served on May 25. Thanks to the timely actions of detectives and prosecutors, the corrupt scheme was exposed and stopped: in 2019, a court ordered to annul the contract between the state enterprise and an intermediary company. Thus, further damage to the state was prevented.
Episode 1 - the scheme
According to the investigation, from November 2015 to January 2017, the state enterprise sold 756 thousand tons of coal to a private intermediary company at a price three times lower than the market average. Subsequently, the intermediary company resold the same coal at a market price to PJSC "Centrenergo" (78.289% of shares owned by the state). As a result, the state enterprise failed to receive a potential income of over UAH 336 million.
Episode 2 - environmental harm
Furthermore, in November 2015, without the necessary permits, the state enterprise illegally extracted over 112.5 thousand tons of coal. This caused environmental damage amounting to over UAH 210 million.
According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered not-guilty in the commission of a crime and cannot be subject to criminal punishment until he or she is found guilty by court.