A year after his resignation, Vladimir Kudritsky was charged with a probable crime committed seven years ago because of the company "Vizin Rich", writes Vitaly Taranenko, "Glavcom».
Vladimir Kudritsky (pictured left) is a suspect in the State Bureau of Investigation's criminal case // Photo: Vladimir Kudritsky/Facebook
"If they're going to play the blame game and try to figure out who's to blame, then it's very easy for me to respond to any accusations. When I left Ukrenergo, the score was, roughly speaking, 60-0. (The point is that as of early September 2024, second-level defense facilities (against suicide attacks) were installed only at Ukrenergo substations. The number was stated— more 60The other state-owned companies, according to former Ukrenergo head Vladimir Kudritsky, did not engage in this – Glavkom). The amount of concrete used for the construction of storage facilities (for energy facilities – Glavkom) was 10 times greater than the amount of concrete used for the construction of the Burj Khalifa – the tallest skyscraper in the world.”.
This statement is made in a calm monotonous voice did Vladimir Kudritsky, former top manager of the National Energy Company Ukrenergo, in an interview with the YouTube project "There Are Questions." The day after the publication of this conversation, on October 28, Mr. Kudritsky was arrested by law enforcement. This is his second or third arrest in the past week. meeting with security forcesIt looks like Kudritsky will be staying in their company for a little longer this time. State Bureau of Investigation delayed He is being held on suspicion of fraud committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons on an especially large scale (Part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code). This is not about his shortcomings as head of Ukrenergo, which he held during the full-scale invasion, but about probable sins dating back to 2018.
The crux of the matter and Visine Rich
According to the State Bureau of Investigation, in 2018, the notorious Lviv businessman Igor Grinkevich organized a scheme to embezzle funds from the state-owned enterprise Ukrenergo. This name became well known to Ukrainians a year ago: Grinkevich is now accused of causing 1,2 billion hryvnias in damages to the state due to the failure to fulfill defense contracts. He and the elder Grinkevich have been in pretrial detention for almost two years. his son Roman is also sitting, also on similar charges.
Vladimir Kudrytskyi himself accuses him of colluding with Igor Grinkevich while serving as Deputy Director of Investments at Ukrenergo. Specifically, he signed contracts with the Lviv businessman's firm totaling UAH 68 million for the reconstruction of the external fencing of substations in the Southern and Western energy systems. Subsequently, the state-owned enterprise transferred over UAH 13,7 million in advance payments to the contractor, which law enforcement officials claim was embezzled.
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Separately, the investigation documented instances of forgery of documents submitted for state registration of a legal entity used in the criminal scheme. The defendants then carried out financial transactions with the proceeds, attempting to make them appear legitimate.
In connection with this episode, Igor Grinkevich was suspected under three articles of the Criminal Code: Part 3 of Article 27, Part 4 of Article 190, Part 2 of Article 205-1, Part 2 of Article 209 (organization of fraud, forgery of documents submitted for state registration of a legal entity, legalization (laundering) of proceeds from crime).
As Glavkom learned from its own law enforcement sources, the tenders cited in the suspicions against Kudrytsky and Grinkevich were won in 2018 by the Zhytomyr-based firm Vizin Rich. Its bids were several million hryvnias higher than those of other bidders, who were eliminated by the client. For example, the reconstruction of the external fencing of the Western Energy System substations was awarded to Vizin Rich LLC. appreciated At UAH 36,95 million, Ukrenergo was unable to meet the lower price offers from Ross Company LLC and Tendertreydstroy LLC (both offering UAH 33,9 million).
Excerpts from contracts signed by former Ukrenergo top manager Vladimir Kudritsky are now under investigation by law enforcement agencies // data: ProZorro
Excerpts from contracts signed by former Ukrenergo top manager Vladimir Kudritsky are now under investigation by law enforcement agencies // data: ProZorro
According to YouControl analytical systemAs of 2018, Lviv resident Yevhen Mykhaylyuk was listed as the founder and director of Vizin Rich LLC. It is his signature, along with Kudritsky's, that appears on the aforementioned contracts.
As Lviv media discovered, Mykhailiuk is Igor Grinkevich's "pound." He followed the businessman's orders without complaint. "He's a normal guy. He told me, 'Don't worry, Evgeny, everything will be fine. Everything will work out. We're working!'" - So characterized Igor Grinkevich, former director of Vizin Rich LLC, Mikhailyuk.
Another important detail: During the interrogation, Yevgeny Mikhailyuk confirmed, who is the formal director of Vizin Rich LLC. He added that he is not familiar with Ukrenergo, has not signed any documents for construction work with the said company, and that his company did not perform the work.
Another glaring fact: Yevgeny Mikhailyuk has been considered partially incapacitated for over eight years, suffering from mental disorders. In 2023, the court identified his wife's guardian.
According to public records, in October 2019, Igor Grinkevich transferred ownership of Vizin Rich LLC to himself, pushing Mikhailyuk out of the picture. In mid-November 2023, Grinkevich left the company. Its current ultimate beneficiary is listed as Kyiv resident Andriy Skidonenko.
It should be noted that since October 2018, the Main Investigative Department of the National Police is conducting an investigation regarding the theft of budget funds during repairs at Ukrenergo facilities. In the spring of 2021, the court lifted the arrests from the bank accounts of a number of companies, including those to which Grinkevich Sr. belonged. The reason is that the investigation failed to identify the culprits and no one was charged.
Political subtext?
Today, linking Vladimir Kudritsky to the notorious Grinkevichs is a simple matter. The likely explanation is that Kudritsky worked in the Ukrenergo system for almost ten years, and therefore could in any case possess information valuable to the security forces. This hypothesis confirms search of Kudritsky's car on October 21 of this year. in the words of the former official himselfThat day, he was stopped by patrol officers for an identity check. When he showed his Reserve+ details on his phone, a uniformed man snatched the device from his hands. The phone was then seized by State Bureau of Investigation investigators who began searching the vehicle.
Another reason for Kudritsky’s suspicion could be become his numerous public attacks towards the former Minister of Energy and now Minister of Justice German GalushchenkoIt's no secret that there's a long-standing conflict between the former head of Ukrenergo and the Cabinet member. Even during peacetime, the Ministry of Energy, under the leadership of Herman Galushchenko, sought to "bring down" the undesirable head of Ukrenergo (the Ministry of Energy is the founder and owner of 100% of Ukrenergo's shares). Vladimir Kudritsky himself called it an attempt by the Ministry of Energy To tap into the state-owned company's large financial flows. According to him, during the full-scale war, Ukrenergo attracted 3 billion euros in loans and guarantees from international donors.
DOSSIER: Herman Galushchenko: The Boss of Ukraine's Energy Corruption. Part 1
In addition, in the fall of 2023, the State Audit Service presented The results of the audit of Ukrenergo's operations for 2019-2023. The auditors calculated claims totaling 68 billion hryvnias. In response, the state-owned company promised legal action, and Kudritskyi appreciated the Audit Service's findings as "a profanation or some kind of attack."
Also, during 2024, the High Anti-Corruption Court ordered NABU to open several criminal proceedings against Kudrytsky. Specifically, this involved possible facts obtaining illegal benefits and laundering income obtained through corruption. In another case, a specific amount was announced The estimated damages amount to UAH 716 million. This concerns a scheme to seize electricity by the private trader United Energy, allegedly with the assistance of Ukrenergo management. The fate of these facilities remains unknown.
On September 2, 2024, the supervisory board of Ukrenergo finally fired Vladimir Kudritsky was removed from his position as Chairman of the Company's Board. This was preceded by a debriefing at the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Headquarters, where the resignation of Ukrenergo's CEO was discussed. The key complaints against Kudritsky are: unfinished Work to protect structures around Ukrenergo substations, which led to power outages following the Russian army's attack at the end of August last year.
Then, in unison with Kudritsky, two foreign members of the supervisory board of Ukrenergo went. They have been named the resignation of the chairman of the board of directors for "political reasons"...
As of the evening of October 28, Vladimir Kudritsky had not commented on the latest developments. The State Bureau of Investigation's official release states that investigators are preparing a petition to the court to remand the former Ukrenergo official in custody.
Skelet.Org
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Visine Rich
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