UAH1B corruption scheme: Searches underway in Nadra Ukrayny case

That’s according to the Prosecutor General's Office, Ukrinform reports.

Under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General's Office, an inquiry is underway into the abuse of office by officials with National Joint-Stock Company Nadra Ukrayny (Article 364 Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

According to the probe, the company was engaged in investment projects in the geological exploration industry in the territory of Ukraine.

By concluding a series of agreements on company property in favor of five business entities, assets worth tens of millions of hryvnias were illegally withdrawn from the firm. All these entities are affiliated with a Russian oligarch and People's Deputy of Ukraine of the 8th convocation, the report says, stopping short of revealing the names.

Currently, searches are ongoing targeting managers and beneficiaries.

Documents confirming the illegal business transactions, communication means, computer hardware, and mobile phones were seized. More than US$300,000, EUR250,000, and UAH1.5 million in cash was also seized to verify the legality of their origin.

The pre-trial investigation was run by the State Bureau of Investigations, with operational support from the Security Service.

The SBU added that, as evidenced by the investigation, as a result of the illegal operations by company officials and a number of commercial entities, Ukraine lost ownership rights to the Sakhalin oil and gas field in Kharkiv region.

"That’s despite the fact that more than UAH 1 billion was spent from the state budget on developing the field. According to the geological exploration data, gas deposits at the facility amount to at least 15 billion cubic meters," the statement reads.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on February 10, the SBI and SBU conducted joint searches across the entire vertical of the customs office, exposing shady schemes with a monthly scale of up to 10 billion.