Oleksiy Lelyuk is a former people's deputy of four convocations, a member of the Party of Regions, a confidant of Viktor Yanukovych, and the head of the State Reserve during his presidency.
Alexey Lelyuk
After the Revolution of Dignity, he allegedly left politics, but remains the owner of 68,5% of one of Ukraine's largest regional gas companies, Poltavagaz, and a figure who attempts to influence the situation in the region. Why has the state, having confiscated Firtash's assets, still not touched the former "Party of Regions" member's business? The investigation examines how a former oligarch from Yanukovych's entourage retained control over the country's critical infrastructure amid a full-scale war.
How Alexey Lelyuk ascended to the political Olympus
Lelyuk Alexey Vladimirovich Born November 30, 1969, in Kharkiv. He is a mechanical engineer by education, having graduated from the Bauman Moscow State Technical University (Moscow, 1992), and a lawyer from the Yaroslav the Wise National Law Academy (2001). His business career began with the Egida small enterprise in Kharkiv, then with Citron LLC and the Kharkiv Food Acid Plant.
Lelyuk's political career soared after the Party of Regions came to power. He served as a member of parliament in the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th convocations, and headed the Poltava regional branch of the Party of Regions from 2003 onward. It was in 2003 that Lelyuk joined the board of OJSC Poltavagaz, where he led the company for almost two years.
He later became Viktor Yanukovych's confidant during the 2010 presidential elections. In December 2010, during Yanukovych's presidency, Lelyuk was appointed head of the State Reserve Agency of Ukraine. According to the "Corruption in Ukraine" investigation, he was appointed to this position through a quota. Andrey Klyuev — one of the then-president's closest allies. It was Klyuev who introduced Lelyuk to the State Reserve staff.
In Poltava, Lelyuk is known by the nickname "Uncle from Vienna" - an epithet coined by a former MP Sergey KaplinAfter the Revolution of Dignity, Lelyuk remained uninvolved in politics and did not participate in the Verkhovna Rada elections. However, his business empire remained intact.
The family's key asset is Poltavagaz JSC. Ownership structure: Oleksiy Lelyuk holds 42,51% of the shares, his father, Volodymyr Oleksandrovych, 26,01%, Naftogaz Ukrayiny NJSC 25%, and the remainder held by minority shareholders. Formally, the Lelyuk family controls 68,52% of the company. Associated assets include Poltavagaz Sbyt LLC, Poltavagaz-Postavka LLC, Poltavapropangaz PJSC, Kontakt TRO (media), and Energolife Information Agency.
Gaining control over Poltavagaz
The most revealing period in Alexey Lelyuk's biography is his leadership of the State Reserve Agency from December 2010 to November 2012. It was during this time that the key event occurred that cemented the Lelyuk family's control over Poltavagaz.
As soon as Lelyuk took over the State Reserve Committee, the State Property Fund put 26% of Poltavagaz shares up for sale. As expected, this stake was acquired by a relative of Lelyuk's. This transaction increased the family's stake to 68,5%, ensuring complete control over the company.
In other words, Lelyuk, as a government official, used his position to increase his control over a strategic enterprise. However, this wasn't the only benefit Lelyuk received in government service.
During his tenure as head of the State Reserve, Poltavagaz won state tenders worth UAH 167 million. This means that the head of the State Reserve, who was supposed to look after state interests, was simultaneously the beneficiary of the supplier company that received the state contracts.
Journalists from Nashi Dengi documented opaque government procurement procedures with 20-40% price inflated prices, single-bidder tenders, and schemes for selling from state reserves with discounts "equal to the markup." State losses were estimated at billions of hryvnias.
There were numerous stories of tender manipulation during that period. A 2015 Bihus.Info investigation documented the disappearance of 8700 tons of grain from the Zlatodar state-owned enterprise, part of the State Reserves system. Lelyuk appointed a manager from the Party of Regions entourage there.
Alexey Lelyuk. Theft of subsidized gas from Naftogaz
Criminal proceedings are ongoing against Poltavagaz for the theft of natural gas on an especially large scale. Specifically, the company is accused of reselling gas purchased from Naftogaz for households at a discounted price (UAH 7,96/m³) to industrial consumers for cash at a different price (UAH 13,6-19,2/m³ in 2024).
What's most cynical is that the theft of "subsidized" gas and profiteering from the state continued from the start of the full-scale invasion until September 2024, when the distribution company associated with Lelyuk, Poltavagaz Sbyt LLC (wholly owned by Poltavagaz JSC), was finally cut off from supplying gas to the population. All consumers were automatically transferred to the state-owned Naftogaz.
Criminal proceedings for these thefts began in early 2025. In January 2025, searches were conducted at Poltavagaz's premises. Law enforcement officers seized hundreds of documents: logs, gas supply restoration certificates, invoices, contracts, and telephones. Criminal proceedings were opened under Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (large-scale misappropriation of property), which carries a penalty of up to eight years in prison.
The main suspects in this case are expected to be charged soon. One of the key suspects is Poltavagaz director Sergei Pogrebnyak, a close associate of the Lelyuk family.
Interestingly, Oleksiy Lelyuk and his company not only resold subsidized gas, defrauding the state, but also systematically failed to pay Naftogaz for gas for many years. Poltavagaz's total overdue debt to Naftogaz amounts to UAH 973,7 million. This debt was confirmed by a decision of the Poltava Oblast Commercial Court on April 19, 2021.
New-old gas theft schemes on VTV
While law enforcement is investigating one massive theft, Lelyuk is already plotting new schemes. This time, he's orchestrated a scheme to steal gas not from Naftogaz, but from its subsidiary, Ukrgazvydobuvannya.
The classic mechanism is through VTV, or gas to cover network losses. This is a long-standing scheme through which regional gas companies have been stealing resources for years to resell on the market.
According to information from internal sources within the company, there is a conspiracy between employees of Ukrgazvydobuvannya and Poltavagaz, which allows the latter to continue to systematically steal from the state-owned company.
Preliminary estimates are shocking: regional gas company employees stole over 50 million cubic meters of gas under the guise of VTV. The damage to the state is estimated at over UAH 1,300 million at current prices.
Oleksiy Lelyuk: What the SBU and the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities (NKREKU) are silent about
Recently, the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities (NKREKP) urgently decided to conduct unscheduled inspections of 11 regional gas companies, including Poltavagaz. The inspections were prompted by a request from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) regarding possible harm to state interests by the regional gas companies.
According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), 11 regional gas companies deliberately inflated household gas consumption figures when entering data into the GTS Operator's information platform. Specifically, numerous cases of unexplained consumption spikes for certain consumers, significant deviations from average figures, and repeated data adjustments were recorded. These circumstances will be the subject of a new investigation.
The state-owned Naftogaz, which supplies gas to households, suffers the most from these manipulations. Due to discrepancies between meter readings and the volumes entered by regional gas companies into the GTS Operator platform and added to Naftogaz's bills, households are reluctant to pay for gas, and debts to Naftogaz are mounting.
The online publication "Poltavshchyna" has repeatedly reported on complaints from residential consumers about illegal gas disconnections by Poltavagaz employees. Poltava media are currently focusing on this issue. new scheme — Oligarch Lelyuk's gas supply company, Poltavagaz sbyt, is sending claims of fictitious debts to Poltava residents who have never even been its clients.
Why consumers in Poltava region pay twice as much
Thanks to Lelyuk's close connections at the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities, Poltavagaz has lobbied for a distribution tariff increase for the second time. However, during martial law, tariff revisions were completely frozen for most regional gas companies.
The dynamics of the distribution tariff in Poltava Oblast are impressive. Just last year, consumers in the region paid the regional gas company 2,11 UAH per cubic meter for gas distribution services. On January 1, 2026, the price increased to 3,16 UAH per cubic meter. And on April 1, 2026, it increased further to 3,83 UAH per cubic meter.
For comparison, the average weighted tariff for gas distribution services in Ukraine is 2,3 UAH per cubic meter, including VAT. This means that consumers in the Poltava region pay almost twice the Ukrainian average.
It's a classic scheme: a monopolist controlling the infrastructure uses lobbyists within the regulator to extract excess profits at the expense of ordinary consumers. These excess profits, however, are certainly not used for network development, as evidenced by the company's critical financial situation.
Where does the money disappear to?
Interim management at Poltavagaz?
Due to this management, Poltavagaz has reached a near-crisis point. The National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities is considering appointing a temporary manager to the company to prevent its bankruptcy.
The figures are telling. The regional gas company's current accounts payable amount to UAH 1,888 million—almost twice its annual revenue (UAH 910 million). Accounts receivable for goods amount to UAH 18 million, while accounts payable for goods amount to UAH 1,710 million. This enormous debt is primarily owed to Naftogaz, with which the regional gas company consistently fails to pay its debts. In 2025 alone, the debt increased by an additional UAH 176 million.
The paradox is that consumers pay the company on time. Money arrives, but the company "pays almost no one." Where the funds go is a question the investigation must answer. Financial analysis indicates systematic asset stripping: the company collects gas payments but fails to pay suppliers, accumulating debt.
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Alexey Lelyuk: Moscow Real Estate and Suspected Cooperation with Russia
Although Lelyuk formally does not engage in public political activity, his actions raise serious questions. Most concerning is the fact that, according to our sources in law enforcement, Alexey Lelyuk holds a Russian passport and has already purchased several properties in Moscow.
In particular, he recently purchased an apartment in the premium residential complex LUZHNIKI COLLECTION, the first phase of which will be completed at the end of 2026. Lelyuk flies to Moscow via Dubai to disguise his movements.
Against this backdrop, the fact that Lelyuk still remains the owner of Poltavagaz, which is part of Ukraine's critical infrastructure, appears particularly strange.
Unanswered Questions
The situation is not new: a former Party of Regions member, who formally retired from politics, retained control of Ukraine's critical infrastructure amid a full-scale war. Meanwhile, his company is under criminal investigation for large-scale gas theft, which continues to steal billions of hryvnias worth of gas from state-owned companies. He himself is suspected of collaborating with Russia and owns property in Moscow.
Interestingly, at the beginning of the full-scale war, the state nationalized the oligarch's regional gas companies Dmitry Firtash, despite the lack of direct evidence of his ownership. At the same time, Alexey Lelyuk was able to preserve his assets from such "soft" nationalization.
There are still so many unanswered questions. Meanwhile, "Uncle from Vienna" continues to profit from Ukrainian consumers—even if he invests some of that money in real estate... in Moscow.
Skelet.Org
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