Case description
Attorney Mykola Toporkov is accused of bribing Dmytro Sennychenko, former head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU), in 2020.
According to the investigation, in June 2020, an acquaintance of Dmytro Sennychenko, then head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, asked him to assist in extending the agreement for the processing of tolling raw materials and manufacturing products between Odesa Portside Plant and Energy Equivalent LLC, as well as in appointing controlled persons to senior positions at the Odesa Portside Plant and Cherkasyoblenergo. Such actions “cost” USD 800,000.
It was agreed that the contact person in this matter would be attorney Mykola Toporkov, and that Sennychenko would be represented in the negotiations by his advisor Olha Batova, who later received the status of a whistleblower in the case. At the same time, USD 200,000 was provided for the extension of the agreement, and USD 600,000 for the appointment of heads of Odesa Portside Plant and Cherkasyoblenergo.
Toporkov was detained at the place of transfer of USD 200,000 in the premises of IndustrialBank. He is charged under Article 369, part 4 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The trial is pending. Toporkov attempted to make a deal with the prosecutor, but the court did not approve it because it did not meet the requirements of the Criminal Procedural Code and the public interest.
In March 2023, the NABU exposed Sennychenko for embezzling UAH 500 million from state-owned enterprises in 2019–2021. According to the investigation, Sennychenko refused bribes for a long time only to create a positive image of a whistleblower against corruption.
