Law enforcement raid home of Ukraine's ex-energy grid chief, media reports
Officers are conducting searches at the home of the former head of Ukraine’s state-owned grid operator, Ukrenergo, over allegations of misappropriating funds, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Oct. 21, citing sources in law enforcement.
Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation is reportedly investigating Volodymyr Kudrytskyi for the alleged abuse of official position and misappropriation of funds of a state-owned company. Ukrainska Pravda reported that the allegations relate to overestimating the volume of forest felling and costs for contract work when building energy supply lines.
Searches are also being carried out at Ukrenergo, a contracting company, and other institutions thought to be a part of the scheme, according to Ukrainska Pravda's source.
The Kyiv Independent reached out to Kudrytskyi and the State Bureau of Investigation for comment, but had not heard back by the time of publication.
Ukrenergo was at the center of a recent power struggle that saw the company’s supervisory board attempt to oust Zaichenko, before reversing their decision after three days of court sessions. Zaichenko took over Ukrenergo in June, 10 months after Kudrytskyi departed.
The company’s supervisory board chairman, Daniel Dobbeni, and board member Peder Andreasen said Kudrytskyi’s controversial dismissal was over failures to protect Ukraine’s energy infrastructure amid Russian missile strikes. Much of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure still doesn’t have the necessary fortifications, leaving it vulnerable to attacks.
The two later said in a statement that the dismissal was "politically motivated" and had
"no valid grounds." They noted that they felt "political pressure” from the first days of their work at the company.
Like all state-owned companies that handle massive procurement of equipment and services, Ukrenergo is a lucrative target for stealing, siphoning, and inflated price schemes, Andriy Boytsun, an independent corporate governance professional, previously told the Kyiv Independent.
Controlling Ukrenergo could create opportunities to inflate the government’s compensation for subsidized household electricity tariffs and premium payments to green energy producers, he added.
Dominic Culverwell
