Tender frauds and million-dollar embezzlement: who profits from the “daughters” of “Naftogaz”
Managers of Naftogaz's subsidiaries organized schemes to embezzle funds.
The national joint-stock company “Naftogaz of Ukraine” is increasingly becoming the object of law enforcement attention due to numerous abuses that take place in its subsidiaries. Among the managers of these companies there is a group of people who have long been suspected of embezzling state funds through kickbacks on state tenders and product theft. By data “Telegrafa”, soon the law enforcement officers can seriously take care of them, and some of the suspects have already felt the first consequences.
Oleksandr Sklyarov – “Ukrtransgaz” under the control of adviser Oleksiy Chernyshov and friend Yuriy Golik
Oleksandr Sklyarov, a deputy of the Kyiv Regional Council from “Servant of the People”, took a senior position at JSC “Ukrtransgaz” in 2023, which raises questions about his appointment. Despite the unknown details of his career path, Sklyarov regularly receives significant income from the company. According to the declaration, his salary, bonuses and targeted assistance from Ukrtransgaz in 2023 amounted to almost 3 million hryvnias. This is a significant jump compared to 2022, when he declared income of only 175,827 hryvnias of pension.
Before his political career, Sklyarov was engaged in business and was a member of the National Commission for Communication and Informatization of Ukraine. In 2020, he became a deputy of the Kyiv Regional Council from the Servant of the People party and was soon elected its chairman. However, his stay in this position was short – in April 2021, he was removed from his position by the decision of 58 out of 60 deputies present in the session hall.
Loss of top managers of “Ukrgazvydobuvannya”: The case of Oleh Tolmachov
“Ukrgazvydobuvannya”, the largest producer of natural gas in Ukraine, continues to lose its top managers. One of the latest examples is the resignation of the chairman of the board Oleg Tolmachov. His appointment in early 2023 was accompanied by positive reviews of his education and career in the US, where he worked for major oil companies such as BP America, Chesapeake Energy, and others. Before his appointment, he was responsible for exploration and production at Naftogaz for two years.
Gennadiy Sleptsov: Deputy from “Servant of the People” and his unexpected interest in “Ukrgazvydobuvannya”
Another interesting character is Gennadiy Sleptsov, director of land relations and community relations at Ukrgazvydobovanny, who left his post in January 2024. As in the case of Sklyarov, his appearance in the gas production company raises many questions. A deputy of the Kyiv Regional Council and a successful entrepreneur, Sleptsov owns 15 companies that bring significant profits. For 2023, he earned UAH 3.15 million at Ukrgazvydobovaniya, while dividends from his company Concord Trade amounted to UAH 3.4 million. The mass media assume that it was Oleksandr Sklyarov who could have helped Sleptsov to take up a position in “Ukrgazvydobovaniya” for a reward of 100,000 dollars.
Maksym Horbatyuk – curator of “Ukrgazvydobuvannya” tenders and specialist in “commercial gas selection”
The next manager, whom Ukrgazvydobuvannya and Oleksiy Chernyshov could do without, is the commercial director of the company Maksym Gorbatyuk. His activity raises many questions, and we have already written about it several times.
Previously, Horbatiuk worked in a credit union, through which money was withdrawn from the bankrupt Terra bank, and also had tax debts in business amounting to tens of millions of hryvnias. However, the most high-profile case is his participation in the supervision of the nationalized gas station chain Glusco. Naftogaz spent 12 times more than it earned on managing this liquid fuel business.
These problems did not prevent Maksym Horbatyuk from becoming the commercial director of Ukrgazvydobuvannya. However, his activities in this position brought significant losses to the company. Under his leadership, Ukrgazvydobuvannya spent hundreds of millions of hryvnias on purchases from structures associated with Russian businessman Musa Bajaev. In addition, under his leadership, a decrease in revenues from gas production was observed, which also negatively affected the company’s financial results.
