The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on May 15 that Dmytro Firtash, a powerful tycoon indicted by the United States for corruption, along with managers of companies under his control had been served with "notices of suspicion" of embezzlement.
According to the SBU, the damage Ukraine's State Treasury suffered from the embezzlement activities allegedly committed by Firtash’s group in Ukraine's gas transit system are estimated at up to 18 billion hryvnyas ($484 million) between 2016 and 2022 as part of a "large-scale scheme."
Regional gas suppliers owned by the 58-year-old allegedly paid the state operator of the Ukrainian pipeline network for only around 30 percent of the gas taken, the SBU said.
"Effectively we are talking about the embezzlement of money from ordinary Ukrainians who paid their utility bills," the statement said.
Group DF, one of the companies under Firtash’s control, said it “firmly and categorically” denies all allegations.
Group DF said in a statement that recent series of searches, criminal cases, and the dissemination of “groundless suspicions and accusations by the SBU lack any legal foundation.”
Firtash, once an ally of ousted Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych, resides in Austria. He is wanted in the United States for bribery and racketeering charges in India. The United States has asked Austrian authorities to extradite him. He has denied wrongdoing and has fought extradition.
Ukraine has sought to reduce the political influence that some businessmen have enjoyed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The European Union has also made tackling corruption a priority for Kyiv as it tries to join the bloc.
Ukraine imposed sanctions on Firtash in June 2022, accusing him of selling titanium products that Kyiv said ended up being used by Russian military enterprises. Firtash at the time denied the allegations.
The sanctions against Firtash and his Group DF include an asset freeze, ban on capital withdrawal, revocation of licenses, restriction of resource transit, and other restrictions.