Case description
The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) found former Deputy Director General of the state-owned Eastern Mining and Processing Plant Ihor Holoborodko and Director of Eco-Service Trading House LLC Ihor Veduta guilty of criminal actions that caused losses of UAH 24.5 million to the enterprise.
The Eastern Mining and Processing Plant, located in Zhovti Vody, engages in uranium ore extraction and processing and is also a producer of sulfuric acid. Between February and May 2015, the Eastern Mining and Processing Plant and Eco-Service Trading House LLC concluded a number of additional agreements to the contract for the purchase of minerals (sulfur) for the needs of the state-owned enterprise.
Holoborodko was authorized to manage the plant’s structural divisions, represent its interests, and sign contracts. He received an additional power of attorney, further expanding his authority to conclude agreements on behalf of the enterprise.
The plant held a tender for the purchase of 30,061 tons of lump sulfur. The winner was Eco-Service Trading House LLC, which offered 22,000 tons at UAH 3,499.9 per ton, totaling UAH 78.57 million. Subsequently, Veduta sent letters demanding a price increase due to alleged currency fluctuations and additional expenses.
Holoborodko and Veduta signed the contract at the original price but later concluded supplementary agreements that gradually reduced the supply volume while raising the price per ton, leaving the overall amount almost unchanged. The sulfur price was gradually increased and the volume reduced through the involvement of three intermediary companies. As a result, the supply volume decreased first to 17,085.89 tons, then to 14,289.5 tons, while the price per ton rose to UAH 5,499 — 57% higher than the initial one. For the remaining volume, the price was lowered to UAH 5,400 per ton, still 54% above the initial rate. The total paid amounted to UAH 78.28 million.
The court found that there were no legal grounds for the price increase and that signing supplementary agreements was a deliberate action by the accused aimed at embezzling the funds of the Eastern Mining and Processing Plant in favor of a private company. These actions were explained by a sharp rise in the dollar exchange rate from UAH 15 to UAH 25, but the original agreement did not mention currency fluctuations. Subsequently, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) succeeded in getting the court to terminate the overpriced sulfur supply contracts for the Eastern Mining and Processing Plant. The authorities seek to recover the overpaid UAH 24.5 million from the private company.
By the way, Ihor Veduta is Ruslan Zhurylo’s close friend, who, along with former MP Martynenko, is a defendant in the case of embezzlement of EUR 6.4 million from Enerhoatom and USD 17.28 million from the Eastern Mining and Processing Plant.
Veduta and Holoborodko were hiding in the temporarily occupied Crimea, so they were put on the wanted list. The defendants were tried in absentia, and in 2020, Holoborodko was detained and arrested for 40 days in Simferopol. The Ministry of Justice did not file an extradition request, as this would have implied recognition of Russian jurisdiction over Crimea.
The court classified the actions of Holoborodko and Veduta (as an intermediary) under Article 191, Part 5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The HACC found the defendants guilty. Veduta was sentenced to 9 years in prison with confiscation of property and a ban on holding certain positions for 3 years, while Holoborodko was sentenced to 8 years in prison with confiscation of property. The judges also applied special forfeiture to UAH 20.85 million that the firm had received from the Eastern Mining and Processing Plant.
The appellate instance upheld the verdict. The Criminal Cassation Court of the Supreme Court also left the verdict unchanged but excluded the provision on special forfeiture, since the issue of compensation for damages to the state-owned enterprise had already been resolved through mutual offsetting of claims between the enterprise and the company based on commercial court rulings.
