The HACC approved a plea agreement with former MP Serhii Pashynskyi, one of the participants in the scheme to embezzle the seized “Kurchenko's oil products.” As the principal punishment, the HACC imposed a fine of UAH 850,000 on Pashynskyi. As an additional punishment, Pashynskyi must pay a fine of UAH 17,000 and is barred from holding public office for 1 year. In total, under the terms of the agreement, Pashynskyi undertook to compensate the state UAH 600 million and to direct UAH 500 million to two charitable foundations for the needs of the Defense Forces.

“Kurchenko’s oil products” are oil products seized in 2014 in the case of Serhii Kurchenko, the owner of the East European Fuel-Energy Company, which were stored at the Odesa Oil Refinery, Kherson Oil Transshipment, and the Vasylkiv Oil Depot. They were planned to be sold under the “interrupted transit” scheme: legally, they were to pass through Ukraine, but instead, they were to be sold there.

Details of the scheme

The investigation established that in 2014–2018, a criminal organization operated in Ukraine, allegedly headed by Serhii Pashynskyi, then head of the Presidential Administration, and businessman Serhii Tyshchenko. The aim of the individuals in the case was to take possession of nearly 97,000 tons of oil products and misappropriate the funds from their sale.

Read more about the main episode of the case at the link.

According to the investigation, Serhii Pashynskyi, who at the time the scheme was carried out held the position of acting head of the Presidential Administration, used his official position to unlawfully take possession of the seized oil products. The fuel was to be recovered for the state, which is why they decided to arrange its transfer to entities under their control under the guise of the “sale of physical evidence.”

The criminal organization established full control over the state-owned enterprise Ukrtransnaftoproduct, including by appointing loyal persons to managerial positions.

Ukroilproduct LLC, a company under their control, was chosen for the role of buyer of the seized oil products, and two more firms, Itanix Strong and Trade Invest Company, which were under their de facto control, were chosen for the subsequent siphoning off of the funds. SE Ukrtransnaftoproduct and Ukroilproduct LLC concluded a contract under which the state-owned enterprise sold the fuel at a below-market price, citing a "forced sale" and granting deferred payment.

Proceeds from the sale were allegedly routed through Fortuna Bank, owned by Tyshchenko’s mother. To disguise the scheme, detectives allege that Pashynskyi and Tyshchenko attempted to purchase other petroleum products in Belarus and Russia, with the intention of later reselling them to the state at inflated prices.

After Fortuna Bank was declared insolvent in 2017, payments to the state enterprise stopped, and Ukroilproduct LLC was allegedly liquidated through a bankruptcy procedure. As a result, part of the funds disappeared. As a consequence of these actions, the total losses, according to NABU's current data, amounted to UAH 967 million (UAH 817 million taking into account the excise duty paid).

Pashynskyi's actions were classified under Article 255(1) and Article 191(5) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Plea agreement

In May 2026, Serhii Pashynskyi entered into a plea agreement. He admitted that he had facilitated the appointment of the right person to the relevant ministry to ensure the transfer and sale of the fuel through the controlled state-owned enterprise Ukrtransnaftoproduct. His actions were reclassified under Article 255(1) and Article 364(2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, since it was Pashynskyi's abuse of his official position that enabled the criminal organization to take possession of the seized oil products.

The plea verdict describes Pashynskyi as a member, not an organizer, of the criminal organization. However, in other verdicts concerning the co-participants, his role is probably described differently.

The HACC did not approve the agreement on the first attempt: initially, the judge refused to approve the agreement and returned the criminal proceedings to the prosecutor for the pre-trial investigation to be continued. After the prosecutor sent the indictment with the agreement to the court for the second time in July 2026, the judge assigned through automated case distribution was recused from hearing the case. After several more self-recusals by judges, a preparatory hearing was scheduled in the case.

Later, in September 2026, the HACC approved the plea agreement with Serhii Pashynskyi. Under the terms of the agreement, he undertook to pay UAH 1.1 billion in compensation for the benefit of the budget and the Defense Forces of Ukraine, in particular:

• pay a UAH 850,000 fine as the principal punishment;
• pay an additional UAH 17,000 fine and be deprived of the right to hold positions in state and local government bodies for 1 year as an additional punishment.

From the day the verdict enters into force:

• compensate the state for UAH 600 million in losses, paying the amount into the State Budget of Ukraine in installments over 2.5 years;
• transfer UAH 400 million to the Come Back Alive Foundation or, at the foundation’s instruction, arrange deliveries of weapons worth the same amount to military units within 6 months;
• transfer UAH 100 million to the account of the Sternenko Community Foundation for weapons for the Defense Forces of Ukraine within 30 days.

The court also established mitigating circumstances, namely sincere remorse, committing the crimes for the first time, assuming an obligation to partially remedy the damage, and others. The court did not confiscate Pashynskyi's property, since this additional punishment under Article 255 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine was introduced only in June 2020, that is, after the crime was committed.

Initially, the full text of the verdict was closed in the Register; later, the court published an extract with some fragments redacted.

What is known about Serhii Pashynskyi?

Serhii Pashynskyi is a Ukrainian politician and businessman, a Member of Parliament of Ukraine of the 5th–8th convocations, and a co-founder of the People's Front party. In 2005, he was an adviser to Prime Minister of Ukraine Yuliia Tymoshenko. In 2014, he temporarily headed the Presidential Administration of Ukraine.

In 2017, Pashynskyi allegedly fired a pistol at Viacheslav Khimikus, a resident of Vasylkiv District in Kyiv Region, as a result of a conflict on the road. According to the investigation and Pashynskyi himself, the MP opened fire in self-defense after being hit on the head with a bottle. Pashynskyi was then served with a notice of suspicion by the SBI and was later taken into custody by court decision. In 2021, the court fully acquitted Pashynskyi in the shooting case.