Case description
Former MP Mykola Martynenko is accused of embezzling EUR 17.2 million from SE Eastern Mining and Processing Plant. Along with him, seven other people are involved in the case.
Eastern Mining and Processing Plant in Zhovti Vody is engaged in the extraction and processing of uranium ore and is also a producer of sulfuric acid.
According to the investigation, from 2013 to 2016, Martynenko and his accomplices organized a scheme to embezzle funds. The enterprise was supposed to extract the raw material independently; however, the management procured uranium concentrate from the Kazakh company Kazatprom through the Austrian firm Steuermann, which was controlled by Martynenko and Ruslan Zhurylo, for over $17 million. As a result, the enterprise suffered losses of more than UAH 25 million.
Seven other people are involved in this case:
- Oleksandr Sorokin, Director of the Eastern Mining and Processing Plant
- Ruslan Zhurylo and Volodymyr Bohdanets, Deputy Directors of Eastern Mining and Processing Plant
- Valerii Vasylkov, Director of Energoatom
- Volodymyr Sviatnenko, Director of Energoatom’s separate subdivision
- Serhii Pereloma, Deputy Head of Naftogaz
- Pavlo Skalenko, representative of the shell company.
According to the prosecution, in July 2013, Ruslan Zhurylo decided to misappropriate the enterprise’s funds through the procurement of uranium concentrate at inflated prices. To that end, he conspired with MP Mykola Martynenko, who had influence in the energy sector and controlled several companies, including the Austrian firm Steuermann.
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The scheme involved the state-owned Eastern Mining and Processing Plant procuring concentrate from Steuermann, which acted merely as a formal supplier, while the actual deliveries were made by the Kazakh enterprise Stepnogorsk Mining and Chemical Complex at significantly lower prices. The price difference—amounting to tens of millions of dollars—was distributed among the scheme’s participants.
In August 2013, with Martynenko’s approval, Zhurylo brought in officials from the enterprise, including Sorokin, Bohdanets, and others. At the same time, Martynenko strengthened his ties with Steuermann’s management and with Pereloma, who, although not officially employed at Eastern Mining and Processing Plant, coordinated documentation and communication with the Austrian side.
In November 2013, under Martynenko’s instruction, the company Steuermann was brought in to participate in Eastern Mining and Processing Plant’s tender. It was declared the winner, even though the tender should have been cancelled due to the absence of price offers for most of the procurement volume — 2.4 million kg out of 3 million. Although Bohdanets was not a member of the tender committee, he coordinated its work to ensure Steuermann’s victory.
The contract for the supply of 3,000 tonnes of concentrate was signed by Sorokin for $414 million, even though this amount exceeded the enterprise’s approved budget. Subsequent additional agreements provided for the delivery of another 900,000 kg of concentrate, totalling over $109 million, at prices ranging from $115 to $125 per kg.
In reality, Steuermann procured the concentrate from Stepnogorsk MCC at market prices, while Eastern Mining and Processing Plant paid significantly more. Between December 2013 and December 2016, the organizers embezzled $17.29 million, which they laundered through affiliated companies.
Separately, the investigation established that Ruslan Zhurylo is the ultimate beneficial owner of the UK-based company Wargrave Trading LLP. Through trust declarations with Krontex Services LTD and Nostrex Services LTD, he controlled this asset jointly with Zhanna Hryhorenko. Zhurylo personally opened Wargrave’s account at Latvia’s Citadele Bank and acted as its authorized representative.
Martynenko and Zhurylo are charged under Article 255(1), Article 191(5), Article 209(3) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and Sorokin, Bohdanets and Pereloma are charged under Article 255(1), Article 191(5) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Ruslan Zhurylo mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine in March 2023. Therefore, the court separated the case materials and suspended the proceedings against him.
In November 2012, the HACC delivered a verdict on another episode of embezzlement at Eastern Mining and Processing Plant. Ihor Holoborodko, former deputy general director of the plant, and Ihor Veduta, director of Eco-Service Trading House LLC, were convicted for causing UAH 24.5 million in losses to the enterprises following procurement at inflated prices.
