Case description
On 5 April 2024, the HACC sentenced former Member of Parliament Oleksandr Onyshchenko to 15 years of imprisonment. The verdict was delivered in absentia, as Onyshchenko has been evading justice abroad. However, on 20 May 2025, the HACC Appeals Chamber annulled the verdict and remanded the case for a new trial before the court of first instance. The former MP is accused of organizing a scheme to misappropriate UAH 740 million through gas procurement at artificially reduced prices.
Oleksandr Onyshchenko is a former MP and former deputy chair of the Verkhovna Rada's Fuel Committee. His case is one of the most high-profile in the NABU's work, and its investigation began in 2015.
Between 2013 and 2016 Onyshchenko organized a scheme under which gas produced by Ukrgazvydobuvannya was sold to his companies on fictitious exchanges at below-market prices. These companies then sold the gas to consumers at market prices, profiting from the price difference, which amounted to UAH 1.6 billion. As a result, Ukrgazvydobuvannya suffered losses exceeding UAH 740 million.
The scheme included 29 people — co-organizers, employees of Ukrgazvydobuvannya, lawyers, financiers, and other officials. In particular, the case involves former head of the State Fiscal Service Roman Nasirov, Kharkiv judge Tetiana Denysiuk, Onyshchenko’s mother Inesa Kadyrova, and Valerii Postnyi (the latter two are co-organizers).
Onyshchenko is also accused of organizing the scheme to unjustifiably defer tax debts for companies under his control, which resulted in the state losing UAH 2 billion. Total losses as a result of all criminal actions are estimated at about UAH 3 billion.
In 2016, the former MP left Ukraine and was hiding from justice in Spain and Germany. In the latter, he was detained, but later extradition to Ukraine was denied and the accused was denied political asylum. The former MP confirmed that he had Russian citizenship. In January 2021, the United States put Onyshchenko on a sanctions list for a possible attempt to interfere in the presidential election.
Onyshchenko was charged with establishing a criminal organization that, between 2013 and 2016, allegedly misappropriated UAH 740 million through the procurement of natural gas at artificially reduced prices. In addition, Onyshchenko was indicted for document forgery, money laundering of illicit proceeds, and unlawful possession of firearms.
Onyshchenko was convicted in absentia and sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of assets. His financial director, Olena Pavlenko, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. In May 2024, all parties to the proceedings filed appeals with the HACC Appeals Chamber — the defense counsel for the defendants, the SAPO prosecutor, representatives of Ukrgazvydobuvannya and FC Barcelona LLC, as well as other participants in the case.
The defense sought to have the verdict overturned and the proceedings closed, citing serious procedural violations — for instance, that during the deliberation of the verdict, the judges participated in educational events; one of them was on leave, while another chaired a meeting of judges, thereby breaching the secrecy of the deliberation room. Prosecutors requested the application of special confiscation to €6 million belonging to Onyshchenko, held in bank accounts in Latvia.
Following appellate review, the HACC Appeals Chamber annulled the verdict and remanded the case for a new trial before the court of first instance. The key grounds included violation of the secrecy of the deliberation room; breach of trial continuity; improper severance of cases involving co-participants in the criminal organization; and errors in the assessment of expert opinions. The decision was adopted by a majority of the panel, with one judge issuing a dissenting opinion.
The annulled verdict had sentenced Onyshchenko to 15 years’ imprisonment with confiscation of property, and financial director Olena Pavlenko to 12 years’ imprisonment. It also ordered special confiscation of a number of assets, including USD 7,369.91 in AS PrivatBank (Republic of Latvia) belonging to Ostexpert Limited; corporate rights in Fastilo Trading LTD; non-residential premises totaling 535 sq. m on Khreshchatyk Street, Kyiv; land plots in the Kyiv region; a Mercedes-Benz vehicle; corporate rights in several limited liability companies; and funds in bank accounts in Ukraine and abroad.
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