Nemchinov, Vecherko, Voloshin: a trio of ex-officials sold off coal and left Ukrainians without electricity

Three former officials are accused of causing damage to the state energy producer Centrenergo amounting to almost 12 million hryvnia.

This was reported by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP).

According to journalists, the accused are former Deputy Minister of Energy Maxim Nemchinov, former MP Vladimir Vecherko and ex-director of Ukrugol Mikhail Voloshin.

People's Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak also commented on the situation in his Telegram channel.

How did this happen?

In the summer of 2022, due to the war, the coal market in Ukraine was limited. The government obliged Ukrugol to supply coal to certain producers, including Centrenergo. However, Nemchinov and Vecherko convinced Voloshin to sell the coal to their private company, which already had a huge debt to Ukrugle.

The company received almost 24 thousand tons of coal, which it resold for a profit of 20 million hryvnia. At the same time, Centrenergo did not receive 12.5 thousand tons of coal and was forced to buy it at a higher price, overpaying almost 12 million hryvnia.

This led to the risk of leaving the country without electricity, and coal had to be urgently sought at an inflated price.

The SBU has already begun criminal proceedings in this case. In early March, searches were carried out at addresses associated with Maxim Nemchinov, who had previously been fired for connections with Rinat Akhmetov’s coal business, but continued to work as an adviser to the Minister of Energy.