The NABU and the SAPO charge businessman Vladyslav Kotliarenko, Viktor Romanchuk, former head of the logistics department of the Passenger Company branch of Ukrzaliznytsia JSC, and Mariia Yakhnina, former director of Kolares-Brokers LLC, with the alleged misappropriation of Ukrzaliznytsia JSC funds during the procurement of hard coal.

According to the investigation, Yakhnina and Kotliarenko entered into a conspiracy with Romanchuk. They agreed in advance to procure coal at an inflated price and designated Kolares-Brokers LLC as the future supplier.

On May 10, 2018, the branch launched six procurement procedures for hard coal. To create the appearance of competition, Kolares-Brokers LLC and Magnatek Trading House LLC took part in the bidding; according to the prosecution, both were controlled by the same individuals. Magnatek also challenged tender committee decisions that were unfavorable to the predetermined winner, Kolares-Brokers.

Simultaneously, even before the winner was officially determined, contracts were being concluded between the controlled companies and the coal producer. According to the investigation, this made it possible to build a supply chain in which the price of the coal gradually increased: from UAH 2,850 per ton at the producer to UAH 4,500 at Kolares-Brokers. The volumes and delivery locations under these contracts matched the terms of all six procurements.

Officials of Ukrzaliznytsia then prepared documents on the basis of which no contract was concluded with Magnatek Trading House, as its documents did not meet the requirements of the tender documentation. As a result, on September 6, 2018, Kolares-Brokers was declared the winner of the procurement.

On September 24, 2018, Mariia Yakhnina signed six contracts for the supply of coal at a price of about UAH 4,500 per ton. According to the prosecution, the established price approval procedure was not followed. Later, on October 4, supplementary agreements increased the price to UAH 4,589 per ton excluding VAT.

According to the findings of a commodity expert examination, the market price of coal at the time was about UAH 3,770 per ton. Thus, according to the investigation, the branch was purchasing coal at a price that significantly exceeded its market value.

Between October 2018 and March 2019, Kolares-Brokers delivered over 14,200 tons of coal worth about UAH 65.1 million to the branch. The branch paid for the delivered product in full in January–April 2019.

According to the findings of a forensic economic examination, the purchase of coal at inflated prices caused the branch to incur excess expenditures of about UAH 11.9 million. The prosecution considers this to be the amount of damage caused.

The defendants' actions were classified under Article 191(5) of the Criminal Code.

Initially, the HACC closed the criminal proceedings under Article 284(1)(10) of the Criminal Procedure Code (expiry of the pre-trial investigation period). However, the SAPO prosecutor disagreed with this decision of the court and appealed it to the court of appeal.

The HACC Appeals Chamber granted the prosecutor's appeal. The court therefore overturned the HACC ruling and issued a new one, ordering a new trial of the case before the first-instance court with a different panel of judges.

The HACC is currently continuing to hear this case.