Beryllium worth 100 billion and "Servants of the People": how Butkevych gained control over strategic resources of Zhytomyr region

Beryllium worth 100 billion and "Servants of the People": how Butkevych gained control over strategic resources of Zhytomyr region

Butkevych and MPs from "Servant of the People": How Strategic Mineral Resources Turned into Developer Capital.

In Ukraine, strategic resources are increasingly disappearing not due to war, but as a result of backroom deals. The Perzhanske beryllium deposit in Zhytomyr region is a clear example of how the state has lost control over its mineral resources, gaining instead environmental risks, budget losses, and the silence of responsible authorities.

Mining is carried out by LLC "Perzhanska Rudna Kompaniya," which is under the de facto control of Hennadiy Butkevych, co-owner of the ATB supermarket chain. This control is exercised through the Cypriot company BGV Group Limited, which owns over 83% of the company. Formally, it is a private business, but in reality, it represents an offshore model of managing a strategic resource. The company received a special permit to use the mineral resources in 2019 through an auction with a single participant and an "environmental impact assessment" that existed mostly on paper.

Such a scheme is impossible without political backing. The process involved former heads of the State Service of Geology and Mineral Resources of Ukraine (Derzhgeonadra) and ex-officials from the environmental sector. In parliament, the issue was overseen by representatives of the "Servant of the People" party: Oleh Bondarenko, head of the environmental committee, and Pavlo Yakymenko, head of the subcommittee on mineral resources and son of a co-founder of the company. The conflict of interest did not hinder the process but rather expedited approvals at the regional and ministerial levels.

Actual mining operations were launched within the boundaries of the Polissia Nature Reserve, a territory with special protected status where economic activity is explicitly prohibited. At the same time, the company reported understated extraction volumes, significantly reducing royalty payments and tax obligations. Meanwhile, according to expert estimates, the real value of beryllium reserves amounts to 80–100 billion USD.

Beryllium is a strategic raw material for the military-industrial complex, aviation, and electronics. Instead of state-controlled use, a model has been created where mineral resources serve private interests, and financial flows are diverted out of the country through offshore structures. Economic losses are compounded by environmental damage: toxic waste with heavy metals and radionuclides, land degradation, and pollution of water and air. Land reclamation remains a mere declaration, while the movement of equipment and waste beyond permitted areas has become the norm. This is not a glitch—it is a systemic approach.

Against this backdrop, the development direction appears as a logical continuation of Hennadiy Butkevych’s business strategy. In October 2024, BGV Group Management entered into a strategic partnership with SAGA Development. Their first joint project was the Boston Creative House residential complex in Kyiv. Under the terms of the agreement, Butkevych’s "Magnum" fund acquired 49% of LLC "Stolytsya-Zem-Industriya," while another 31% went to the "Elbrus" fund, linked to the son of developer Maksym Vavrysh. Control over beryllium reserves and the launch of a gravel plant in Zhytomyr region with a capacity of 1.5 million tons per year effectively complete the chain of "mineral resources – processing – construction," transforming raw materials into developer capital.

In this context, Boston Creative House ceases to look like just a residential complex. The project is presented as a symbol of a modern city and a "space of the future," but when the source of investment comes from mineral resources in protected natural areas, the focus shifts. Questions arise not about the architecture, but about the real cost of such "progress" for the state, the environment, and society, as well as the reputational risks of partnering with a developer whose name has been associated with corruption scandals and problematic construction projects for years.