Former Deputy Head of the Kharkiv Regional Council Skorobahach has been notified of suspicion

Former Deputy Head of the Kharkiv Regional Council Skorobahach has been notified of suspicion

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office reported the exposure of an organized group that seized electricity from the United Energy System of Ukraine (UES) and legalized funds from its sale.

According to the investigation, the organizer of the scheme is a former deputy head and ex-member of the Kharkiv Regional Council, Volodymyr Skorobahach, who is currently abroad. Along with him, two other persons were also suspected: the director and the founder of a private company.

How the scheme worked:

1. Group creation: In April 2022, Skorobahach organized a group that involved the head of a private firm and its founder.
2. License manipulations: The group acquired three companies with licenses for electricity supply, which received electricity from the UES in June 2022.
3. Financial manipulation: Electricity was transferred to a controlled company for sale to end consumers. Instead, the financial responsibility for the supply was borne by intermediary companies.
4. Legalization of funds: The money from the sold electricity was transferred to the accounts of financial companies under the guise of loan repayments. Further, the funds were laundered through non-resident companies, particularly in Bulgaria.

According to the investigation, PJSC «NPC «Ukrenergo» suffered losses amounting to over 58 million hryvnias.

The investigation is ongoing, and all participants in the scheme could face severe punishment for criminal actions under martial law.