The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine on Jan. 12 detained a suspect in a $125 million gas fraud scheme allegedly orchestrated by fugitive former lawmaker Oleksandr Onyschenko.
Serhii Svichenko, the former head of Nadra Geocenter, was arrested on the Ukrainian-Russian border in Sumy Oblast according to news publication Ukrainska Pravda, citing sources. The High Anti-Corruption Court website confirmed that a suspect with that title has been arrested.
The former official is suspected of participating in a criminal organization, abuse of power, forgery and property embezzlement. A bail of Hr 1.7 million ($62,300) has been set. If Svichenko makes bail, he will have to wear an electronic tag and give up his passport.
Svichenko will face allegations of embezzling money while selling natural gas that state company UkrGasVydobuvannya produced in partnership with Nadra Geocenter, HAS and Karpatnadrainvest – companies affiliated with Onyshchenko.
The companies rented UkrGasVydobuvannya’s fields, extracting gas and investing in production. After selling the gas, companies had to pay UkrGasVydobuvannya half of its cost.
However, Onyshchenko’s companies evaded taxes and rent payments, violated investment obligations and production plans and sold gas for cheap to fake exchanges. They then resold it at market prices, pocketing the difference, according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.
“According to the investigation, Oleksandr Onyschenko controlled the entire chain – gas production, its sale through the exchange and further resale to a real buyer on the market”, according to NABU’s report.
As a result the state lost nearly Hr 3 billion ($125 million).
Svichenko was first arrested in June 2016 while trying to cross the Ukrainian-Russian border. In February 2017, he fled the authorities, six months after Onyschenko did the same.
