A 20-question parliamentary inquiry regarding the Ukrainian billionaire's business empire was sent to the Austrian Ministry of Finance. Members of parliament were interested in four villas, four Austrian companies, a Danube shipping company with a balance sheet loss of approximately €41 million, Ferrexpo's tax transactions, and the possible use of classified information in trading Voestalpine shares.
Konstantin Zhevago
The Austrian National Council has registered a large-scale parliamentary inquiry into the business ties and economic activities of Ukrainian billionaire Kostiantyn Zhevago and individuals associated with him. Document number 6494/J was submitted on July 3 by MPs Werner Kogler, Meri Disoski, and their colleagues. It is addressed to Federal Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer, who is required to respond by September 3. The inquiry was officially announced at a meeting of the National Council on July 6, according to Ukrrudprom.
The deputies are demanding information on whether the Austrian state has information about Zhevago's assets, whether his property has been frozen, whether companies associated with him have been investigated for money laundering, sanctions violations, and tax violations, and whether contacts between the Ferrexpo and Voestalpine groups were used to pass insider information. The request lists specific companies, the names of intermediaries, and the addresses of luxury properties.
The authors of the request cite an investigation by the Austrian magazine Profil, published on May 11 under the headline "Enemy of Ukraine." The article linked Ferrexpo's financial problems to the group's previous structure, years of profit siphoning, and the role of Zhevago, whom the authors describe as the company's main beneficiary.
The parliamentary document recalls that Zhevago was detained in France in 2022 and has been under personal sanctions by Ukraine since February 25, 2025. The first question to the minister is very straightforward: is he aware of Zhevago's business in Austria? The second is whether the ministry has taken any action since the imposition of Ukrainian sanctions and whether the businessman's Austrian assets have been frozen. The deputies then ask whether he owns real estate and whether he has direct or indirect stakes in Austrian companies.
Ferrexpo itself previously emphasized that the sanctions were imposed against Zhevago personally, not against the group's companies. The company also stated that Zhevago personally does not own shares in the Poltava Mining and Processing Plant: the company is 100% owned by the Swiss Ferrexpo AG, which, in turn, is wholly owned by the British Ferrexpo plc.
In April 2026, Ferrexpo disclosed a more complex control structure: Zhevago, along with two other family members, is a discretionary beneficiary of The Minco Trust, which owns Ferrexpo's largest shareholder. This means that the businessman has no formal direct ownership of the Ukrainian plant, but his connection to the controlling shareholder remains.
The debt to the Poltava Mining and Processing Plant was estimated at at least half a billion dollars.
One of the central themes of the inquiry is the alleged scheme for the sale of iron ore pellets within the Ferrexpo group.
The deputies cited the position of Ukrainian parliamentarian Oleksiy Movchan, a member of the working group on preserving Ferrexpo's facilities in the Poltava region. According to him, the Ukrainian plants sold pellets not directly to European end consumers—specifically, Salzgitter, ThyssenKrupp, and Voestalpine—but to their own parent company at reduced prices.
Under this structure, the Swiss Ferrexpo AG could retain its main trading margin, while Ukrainian companies would see their profits, which would be subject to taxes in Ukraine, reduced. Movchan claims that Ferrexpo owes its Poltava subsidiary at least $500 million. The authors of the inquiry also cite ongoing tax disputes in Ukraine related to transfer pricing within the group.
Ferrexpo, for its part, stated in its corporate reporting that related-party transactions were conducted on arm's length terms and that the group had procedures in place to identify, monitor, and disclose such transactions. The reporting also mentioned tax disputes over pricing in transactions between the group's Ukrainian and foreign companies.
The parliamentary inquiry poses another awkward question: why is Ferrexpo facing an acute cash shortage, given that it paid out over €1 billion to shareholders in the ten years before the full-scale war? The document's authors effectively propose examining whether the current liquidity problem is a consequence of the previous dividend policy and the transfer of profits outside of Ukraine.
Relations with Voestalpine are in question
A separate section is dedicated to the Austrian metallurgical concern Voestalpine, which has been purchasing Ukrainian iron ore products for over 20 years and, according to Profil, was one of Ferrexpo's most important European clients.
A Voestalpine representative told the magazine that Ferrexpo is just one of many ore suppliers, and that there were periodic delays in deliveries during the war. However, the parliamentarians are interested in more than just purchasing pellets.
In 2013, Voestalpine sold its stakes in the trading company VA Intertrading AG to Calexco Sarl, a Luxembourg-registered company attributed to Zhevago. The Austrian Ministry of Finance is now required to report whether these transactions were reviewed for tax compliance, sanctions restrictions, anti-money laundering regulations, and financial market regulation.
The deputies are also demanding disclosure of the nature of the current contracts between Voestalpine, its subsidiaries, the Swiss Ferrexpo AG, and other entities associated with Zhevago. The question is worded broadly and could cover the procurement of raw materials, transportation, trade finance, and brokerage transactions.
Danube carrier with losses of around 41 million euros
The request places particular emphasis on the Austrian company First-DDSG Logistics Holding GmbH, which is linked to the cargo business of the former Danube Shipping Company. The request alleges that Ferrexpo AG acquired 100% of the shares of this company, which for many years transported a significant portion of the group's iron ore pellets.
According to data cited by the deputies, citing the Austrian company register, First-DDSG has been posting large balance sheet losses for years:
- in 2022 - €44,799 million,
- in 2023 - €42,292 million,
- in 2024 - €40,985 million.
Judging by the wording, this doesn't necessarily refer to losses incurred individually in each year, but to the accumulated negative result as of the corresponding reporting date. Nevertheless, the deputies want to find out why the company, which transported the products of the international mining business, remained chronically unprofitable.
The minister is asked whether these losses were a result of transfer pricing – for example, when profits remained with one group company, while costs and losses were concentrated with the Austrian carrier.
The document also names the directors of First-DDSG: Viktor Gladkiy, Yaroslavna Blonskaya, and Nikolai Kladiev. The requesters demand information about who the Austrian authorities consider to be the company's true beneficial owner and whether the information entered in the beneficial owner register has been verified.
The question is also posed in a politically charged manner: whether funds are being withdrawn "at the expense of Austrian taxpayers." The deputies do not explain the specific mechanism of state support they suspect, but they demand that the Ministry of Finance investigate the tax implications of the long-standing losses.
Four companies, four intermediaries and four villas
The request lists individuals who, according to the deputies, may have represented Zhevago's interests or been involved in managing assets associated with him in Austria:
- Alexander Moroz,
- Hannes Lattenmeier,
- Katerina Lattenmeier
- Oksana Moroz, after marriage - Oksana Oksner.
The Minister is asked to report whether these individuals are known to the Austrian authorities in connection with Zhevago's business, assets or economic interests, whether checks have been carried out on them and what the results were.
The same question was posed for four Austrian structures:
- MAG Handels- und Transport GmbH,
- MAGferr GmbH,
- Eliomys Vermögensverwaltung KG
- Oxanikus Vermögensverwaltung KG.
Another interesting part of the request was the list of properties. The deputies are asking for confirmation or denial of whether Zhevago's Austrian assets include:
- Villa Schwarzenfels at Wörthersee-Süduferstraße 18 in Maria Wörth on the shores of Lake Wörthersee;
- villas at Krapfenwaldgasse 32 and Krapfenwaldgasse 19 in Vienna's prestigious 19th district;
- Villa at Wilhelm-Kress-Gasse 24 in Pressbaum, Lower Austria.
A separate question has been raised as to whether the origin of the funds used to purchase this multi-million-euro property was verified. The mere listing of addresses does not mean that the ownership of the villas has been established: the deputies are demanding that the government officially confirm or deny such a connection.
Possible insider trading
The last three questions take the story beyond taxes and sanctions. The deputies want to know whether non-public information about material contracts between Voestalpine and companies within Zhevago's sphere of influence was shared with third parties.
This concerns classified information about purchase volumes, delivery and transportation conditions, price changes, contract extensions or terminations, delivery disruptions, and other events that could impact the value of Voestalpine shares.
The minister is being asked whether the Austrian Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FMA) analyzed Voestalpine's transactions in shares, derivatives, and other financial instruments during the negotiations with Ferrexpo. Members of parliament want to know whether executives, employees, consultants, intermediaries, or persons associated with them made any unusual transactions immediately before important corporate events.
Alexander Moroz is specifically mentioned. The requesters ask whether he or anyone associated with him had any contact with Voestalpine executives and employees responsible for raw material procurement, and whether any classified information was shared during such contacts.
The Ministry of Finance must also report whether the FMA has received any suspicious transaction notifications under Article 16 of the European Market Abuse Regulation, whether any proceedings have been initiated for insider trading, unlawful disclosure of information or market manipulation, and whether any materials have been forwarded to the public prosecutor or foreign regulators.
Voestalpine and Ferrexpo in flames
The parliamentary inquiry came at a time when the question of Ferrexpo's survival ceased to be theoretical. In April 2026, the company reported that as of April 17, it had approximately $20 million in net cash, of which approximately $17 million was available for use. As of March 31, the Ukrainian budget's debt to the group for VAT refunds amounted to $90,3 million. Ferrexpo began preparing to issue at least $100 million in new shares to finance working capital and maintain production.
The company also announced the sale of the Iron Destiny transshipment vessel for approximately $7,7 million. In April, Ferrexpo warned that without capital raising, it might not have sufficient funds to continue operations and, in the worst case, the group might need to file for bankruptcy.
Subscribe to our X channel and Telegram channel!
Stay informed about who is doing business, in politics, and supporting corruption in Ukraine!
In the first quarter, Ferrexpo reduced procurement, investments, and administrative expenses, transferred employees to short-time work, and suspended non-essential projects. The company attributed the crisis to the war, power supply and logistics outages, production cuts, delayed VAT refunds, and legal disputes in Ukraine.
It is against this backdrop that Austrian lawmakers are demanding an investigation into how much money Ferrexpo previously withdrew in the form of dividends, where profits from pellet trading were concentrated, and what role Swiss, Luxembourg, and Austrian companies played in this system.
The Ministry of Finance's response is expected no later than September 3, 2026.
Skelet.Org
On the topic : Zhevago picked the pockets of Ferrexpo minority shareholders
Zhevago arranged Qatar with Lyashko
A difficult choice: what is Konstantin Zhevago betting on?
Voestalpine
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, Facebook , Twitter , VK - Only new faces from the SKLEP section!