Case description
The HACC found former advisor to the CEO of the State Food and Grain Corporation of Ukraine (SFGCU), Anatolii Zavadskyi, guilty of abuse of office and bribery. However, upon review, the HACC Appeals Chamber overturned the verdict in part regarding the abuse of office charge due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for that offense.
According to the investigation, in 2014, Zavadskyi conspired with the CEO and other officials of State Food and Grain Corporation PJSC to enrich themselves by executing contracts for the supply of agricultural products worth $60 million at below-market prices.
The scheme involved selling grain through a series of intermediary private companies to a foreign entity controlled by Russian oligarch Fedorychev. The latter profited by reselling the grain, acquired cheaply from the Ukrainian state company, at market rates to private traders, mostly in Saudi Arabia.
In a separate episode, Zavadskyi and SFGCU CEO Vovchuk agreed with oligarch Fedorychev to receive a bribe disguised as a grain resale scheme. Grain was sold at reduced prices to a company controlled by the officials, which in turn resold it at a significantly higher price to Fedorychev’s affiliated structure.
The price margin, approximately $660,000, constituted the bribe shared between SFGCU officials. In exchange for the illicit benefit, they arranged a deferred-payment sale of grain at below-market prices, causing losses to the state-owned company.
As a result of this scheme, the state, represented by the SFGCU, suffered particularly large-scale damage. According to the investigation, the losses from the questionable contracts exceeded UAH 45 million.
Zavadskyi denied the charges, calling them unfounded and absurd.
Zavadskyi’s actions were qualified under Article 368(4) and Article 364(2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
He was sentenced to 10 years in prison with a fine of UAH 17,000, confiscation of all property, and deprivation of the right to hold certain positions. The court also partially upheld SFGCU's civil claim and ordered Zavadskyi to pay UAH 45.3 million in damages to the state company.
Later, the HACC Appeals Chamber overturned the verdict on the abuse of office charge due to the expiry of the statute of limitations, citing that the final shipment of grain occurred on November 30, 2014, making over 10 years since the offence by the time of the appeal. The prosecutor did not object to granting the defense's motion and confirmed that the statute of limitations had indeed expired.
The Appeals Chamber also modified the conviction for bribery, reducing Zavadskyi's sentence from 10 to 8 years, while upholding the asset confiscation and disqualification from office for 3 years. His legal qualification was changed to Article 27(5), Article 15(2), and Article 368(4) of the Criminal Code, indicating he acted as an accomplice in a completed attempt, rather than as a principal offender.
The court credited the time already served by Zavadskyi: from January 24, 2017 to May 28, 2020, and from October 1, 2024, to September 9, 2025. This was calculated under the so-called Savchenko Law (Article 72(5) of the Criminal Code), which counts one day in pre-trial detention as two days of imprisonment. As a result, Zavadskyi has served his sentence and has been released from custody.
Other individuals also appeared in this case. Previously, the HACC approved a plea agreement with Petro Vovchuk, the former CEO of the State Food and Grain Corporation of Ukraine, who was sentenced to 3 years of probation. In addition, the owner of the company, which was used to receive a bribe, and the head of the SFGCU Department, who signed contracts for the supply of grain to Fedorychev's structures, signed plea agreements. Both also received probation periods instead of real imprisonment.
