The Cabinet of Ministers returned Firtash’s strategic deposits to the state and announced auctions for business
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine returned strategic deposits to the state, special permits that previously belonged to oligarch Dmitry Firtash. This was announced by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, noting that access to the fields is now possible for investors through transparent electronic auctions.
Special permits for the use of the Malyshevsk field in the Dnipropetrovsk region, as well as the Valky-Hatskivske and Mezhyrichne fields in the Zhytomyr region, were returned to the state. The decision was made taking into account the sanctions imposed on the ultimate beneficial owner, Dmitry Firtash.
The government has included these deposits in the list of subsoil areas, special permits for which will be granted exclusively through open auctions. This should create transparent conditions for attracting investors and developing production on a competitive basis. Svyrydenko added that business activity is expected in the near future to obtain subsoil use rights through electronic auctions.
At the same time, the State Service for Geology and Subsoil is conducting an audit of 38 “dormant” special permits for strategic minerals. The results of the inspection will be made public in the near future.
Dmytro Firtash is a Ukrainian businessman linked to numerous corruption schemes and Russian capital. In 2014, he was detained in Austria at the request of the FBI on suspicion of bribery. In 2019, a federal court in Chicago rejected Firtash’s motion to dismiss the charges, noting that the case falls under US jurisdiction.
In the summer of 2021, the National Security and Defense Council imposed sanctions against him for his participation in the titanium business and the supply of raw materials to Russia. In December 2024, an Austrian court ruled that Firtash could not be extradited to the United States as part of a lengthy trial on corruption charges.
