Officers from Ukraine’s SBU security service on Aug. 21 searched the Lviv and Kyiv offices of Galnaftogaz, which operates a large Ukrainian chain of gas stations under the OKKO brand, the security service said.
The SBU said the company was accused of financing terrorism. Security service officers seized documents and equipment during the raid.
The SBU said the OKKO chain was financing unrecognized Russian-backed “pseudo-governments” through its operations in Crimea and Donetsk Oblast — territories currently occupied by Russia. According to the authorities, OKKO still runs about 20 filling stations in the Russian-occupied areas.
“Some Ukrainian commercial structures have organized an illegal scheme to retain control over filling stations” in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, the SBU said in a statement published on Aug. 22.
“The parent company (Galnaftogaz) managed the petrol stations,” the SBU stated. “From its revenues, it paid so-called ‘taxes’ to so-called ‘budgets’ of the occupation administrations.”
The SBU said it had found evidence to back its claims during the search of the company’s offices.
OKKO’s head and its main shareholder, Vitaliy Antonov, denied the charges. Commenting on the searches during a press conference on Aug. 22, Antonov said OKKO did not operate either in Crimea or in the Donbas; the chain has nothing to do with the Russian occupation authorities.
According to Antonov, since 2014 OKKO has been entirely absent from the Donbas as a company. In Crimea, however, it leased its gas stations to its Crimean staff “who had worked for the company from there for more than 10 years.” However, they no longer work under the OKKO brand, the company said.
“For the money they earn there, they — our fellow Ukrainians — feed their families and maintain property that just happened to be located there.”
Antonov said the SBU was attempting to put pressure on his company. He said that it had always been managed transparently, is it works with institutions like the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, which is OKKO’s minor shareholder.
Antonov also said OKKO had lost 8 percent of its business when Crimea and the Donbas were occupied by Russia — or around $80 million.
“Taking actions that groundlessly stop the operations of one of the biggest enterprises in Ukraine… that’s a bad idea. Companies like ours attract investment to Ukraine,” he said.
The offices of OKKO are currently not operating due to the searches and seizure of equipment and documents.
Currently, OKKO runs 400 filling stations across Ukraine and employs about 10,000 people.
