It is not known for certain whether Rinat Akhmetov is aware of how one of his top managers, Mikhail Potapov, earns money from DTEK contracts during the war. Most likely no. But there is no doubt that Potapov is clearly not acting alone and that DTEK’s top management also has a share.
If the matter were limited to the banal theft of DTEK budgets, this, by and large, would be the owner’s personal matter: since he turns a blind eye to the situation, then let them steal. But the situation is aggravated by the fact that the Russian trace is clearly visible behind the transactions that Mikhail Potapov is carrying out. Whether this is true or not is a question for the investigation, which (hopefully) after this material will be taken into account by the SBU. But Russian companies and Russian citizens are clearly involved in the scams. And we are talking about (at least) millions of dollars.
Mikhail Potapov is the former general director of Corum Group LLC, which is a manufacturer and supplier of equipment for the mining industry. Now the company is owned by Rinat Akhmetov, and the founder is DTEK.
After the start of a full-scale war, Potapov was fired from his position as general director. Under what conditions and why is unknown, but it is known that before his dismissal he received a salary of $21,000. But dismissal from Corum Group LLC did not mean a break with DTEK - Potapov gets a job at the Polish company MMC Poland Sp.zoo For a much lower salary - 10,000 euros, but he is unlikely to lose money (more on this below).
Poland, Britain, Potapov and DTEK
The company MMC Poland Sp.zoo was founded in Poland more than ten years ago by representatives of DTEK, although they are not formally legally connected. The founder of the Polish company MMC is Ukrainian citizen Yulia Rybalka:
She is also listed as the owner of the British STELS INVESTMENT LTD:
The same British STELS INVESTMENT LTD is listed among the key partners of the Polish MMC. Formally, DTEK has nothing to do with either one or the other, but Mikhail Potapov positions MMC Poland Sp.zoo as “the exclusive representative of DTEK and the entire SCM group in Poland.” It is interesting that in February 2022, shortly before the start of a full-scale invasion, Mikhail Potapov, like many other people with connections to OPZZH, ended up not in Ukraine, but in Poland. Perhaps this was a coincidence, but it provided an opportunity to find a job at MMC Poland Sp.zoo. Among its main trading partners are DTEK structures:
Be that as it may, in 2022-23 Potapov is making full use of the company MMC Poland Sp.zoo for personal enrichment.
Ukraine and coal supplies at inflated prices. And DTEK
In order to understand how this works, you need to go a little aside and mention Potapov’s long-time partner, Alexander Muzychenko. The latter is the owner of the Typhoon security company, and in 2022-23 he headed the security service of the Astarta-Kyiv agricultural holding. In September last year, he was fired from there after a description of Muzychenko and Potapov’s schemes was placed on the table of Astarta owner Viktor Ivanchik. Instead of Muzychenko, who robbed the holding, Vasily Chmelyuk became the head of the security service, but this is so, for your information.
As for the schemes, they were simple and as old as the world: through the companies Ukrtranzit LLC and NPF Dneprotekhmash LLC, owned by Potapov’s friends, coal was purchased from DTEK at a reduced price, which was then sold to the Astarta-Kiev Agroholding, but much more expensive. More expensive than the market, which attracted the attention of the holding’s management. There is nothing new in this scheme, but there is a nuance - buying coal from DTEK at a reduced price is extremely problematic. It is almost impossible to buy it even on the market, and even below it is almost a miracle. How Mikhail Potapov managed to do this is unknown, but his accomplices earned at least 20 million hryvnia from this scheme. The issue of purchasing coal by Astarta was already decided by Muzychenko, which is where he ended up burning out. Here is an excerpt from the contract for the supply of coal by Ukrtransit to the Narkevitsky sugar plant, owned by Astarta:
Poland again. And again DTEK
MMC Poland Sp.zoo also participated in the scheme, which again raises questions and confirms the connection of the Polish company headed by Potapov with DTEK. MMC Poland Sp.zoo supplied coke to the Novoorzhitsky sugar factory, also owned by Astarta. The contract was signed on May 15, 2023 in the city of Katowice, the supply amount was 898,470 euros.
In total, five corruption schemes related to Astarta were identified, totaling more than 80 million hryvnia.
Poland, UAE and Russia
In addition to using MMC Poland Sp.zoo for personal purposes, Potapov also started his own business. He bought the Elibron spolka company and the Konko SA company in Poland:
The matter is not limited to Poland - in June 2022, Mikhail Potapov registered in the name of his wife Natalia Grushevskaya, who has two citizenships - Ukraine and Lithuania (although our country prohibits this), in the UAE the company Baltic Trading Solutions FZE with an authorized capital of $85,000.
Baltic Tradjng Solutions FZE immediately signs a contract with FOS Trade DMCC for the supply of coal miners at a cost of 6.2 million dollars:
Which were bought from a certain company Basis Trade AG. But for two million:
In this scheme, either Potapov and his partners either really have some kind of harvester for sale, or this is a banal money laundering scheme. However, this is not what is interesting. And the fact that, judging by the signatory FOS Trade DMCC (Bulava Ekaterina), the company has Slavic roots. And not just Slavic ones - FOS Trade DMCC is actively working in Russia. And, as can be seen from the analysis of counterparties, it is engaged in coal.
What is interesting in this case is that, according to our information, Mikhail Potapov is the holder not only of his own money, but also of the top management of DTEK, which has covered up his corruption schemes all these years and, judging by the documents, covers it to this day.
Baltic Tradjng Solutions FZE also enters into a contract with the Bulgarian company European Energy Solutions EOOD. Judging by the contract (and according to our insider information), $119,150 is part of the remuneration (kickback) to Potapov for lobbying for the sale of transformers to the Ukrainian market, including to the DTEK company.
Lithuania, figures from the occupied Donbass and a set of coal-related companies
As for the Lithuanian passport of Mikhail Potapov’s wife Natalia Grushevskaya, the story is not limited to its presence (which, as already mentioned, is prohibited by Ukrainian law). Because the Potapov-Grushevsky couple is registered in Lithuania at Vanagu g. 7-2, Geleziu k., Zujunu sen., 14168 Vilniaus r. sav. Apparently, this is a cottage community. But the fact is that companies from Potapov’s circle and people from among his friends and partners are registered at this address. These are Smart Steel Industry, Energy industry, UAB and UAB Eco Baltica. The company of Mikhail Potapov’s close friend, Maxim Krutenko, A.Š.KM Industrial, UAB, which also has a business in Irpen, is also registered here.
As for people, a certain Alexander Melnichuk is very interesting, whose company UAB Smart Steel Industry is listed among the companies supplying coal from the mines of the occupied Donbass, and he himself is on the sanctions lists of the USA, Canada and Ukraine for holding the post of “Minister of Energy” the so-called "LPR".
The above are just a few companies in this cottage town, where Mikhail Potapov and his friends registered themselves and registered their companies. But it is hardly a coincidence - all these companies and people are in one way or another connected with the coal business and the DTEK company. And – occupied territories. At least some of them.
And it is hardly a coincidence that Mikhail Potapov, after all his schemes, continues to work for DTEK. Therefore, it can be said with a fair degree of probability that these schemes are not his personal invention, but the result of the collective creativity of DTEK top management, whose wallet and éminence grise he is.
