The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) together with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) informed the former chairman of the board of Naftogaz of Ukraine NJSC Andriy Kobolev about the suspicion of embezzlement in 2018 of over UAH 229 million. This was reported by the NABU press service.
The investigation established that in May 2018, Naftogaz head Kobolev, contrary to the requirements of the law, issued an order to reward the company's employees, based on which he was paid almost UAH 261 million (equivalent to $10 million) for extraordinary achievements. It is about a favorable decision in the case regarding the contract for the purchase and sale of natural gas in 2009-2019.
According to NABU, this amount significantly exceeded the normatively determined amounts of such payments (UAH 37.48 million). In addition, for the same achievements, ex-service companies paid a bonus of UAH 12.49 million in 2017.
In general, during 2018, according to the investigation, more than UAH 229.25 million was illegally paid to the suspect at the expense of the company (the difference between the actually paid premium and its maximum permissible amount).
NABU notes that during the investigation, they faced obstacles from the former management of the state-owned company, who sent documents regarding the payment of bonuses to the chairman of the board to foreign legal advisers, who refused to issue them at the request of NABU for international legal assistance.
However, after receiving information about the return of these documents to the company's disposal in 2022, NABU detectives removed them, which helped provide a proper legal assessment of the actions of the former head of the company.
The sanction of the article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of seven to twelve years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years and with confiscation of property.
Andriy Kobolev reacted to the serving of the suspicion, saying that when the suspect was being prepared, he was abroad. In order not to give a reason for accusations of escape, Kobolev returned to Ukraine and is going to prove his case.
