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Court arrests State Property Fund's ex-head in absentia

by Kateryna Hodunova and The Kyiv Independent news desk May 8, 2024 6:31 PM 2 min read

Dmytro Sennychenko, a former head of the State Property Fund, was arrested in absentia due to misappropriating over Hr 500 million ($12.7 million) from state-owned companies. (Dmytro Sennychenko/Facebook)

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The High Anti-Corruption Court on May 8 arrested in absentia Dmytro Sennychenko, the former head of the State Property Fund, Ukraine's Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) reported.

In March 2023, Sennychenko and his nine accomplices were accused of misappropriating over Hr 500 million ($12.7 million) from the state-owned Odesa Portside Plant (OPZ) and United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC) from 2019-2021.

The charges were updated in November 2023 after the group was additionally suspected of laundering worth over Hr 10 billion ($254 million).

If Sennychenko — who was declared wanted in April last year and is believed to be living in Spain — is detained, a judge in Ukraine will then determine pre-trial detention measures, the SAPO statement read.

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Ukraine Business Roundup

The United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC) is one of the world's largest producers of titanium raw materials, accounting for 4% of the global market in terms of titanium ore extraction, while the Odesa Portside Plant (OPZ), located in the town of Yuzhne in Odesa Oblast, is Ukraine's major producer of ammonia and urea.

According to an investigation, Sennychenko and his accomplices appointed their close people as directors of the enterprises. These people, in turn, passed contracts with predetermined companies and sold products at discounted prices.

The difference in cost was converted in the interests of the criminal group and brought it over Hr 10 billion ($254 million) in profit.

Sennychenko headed the State Property Fund from September 2019 to February 2022. He filed his resignation letter in November 2021, but Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, only approved his resignation on Feb. 17, 2022.

Authors: Kateryna Hodunova, The Kyiv Independent news desk

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