KYIV. May 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Businessman Dmytro Firtash, the owner of Group DF, received a notice of suspicion from the Security Service of Ukraine and the Bureau of Economic Security, a source in law enforcement agencies has told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to information from the source, Firtash and eight top managers of his companies are being charged with suspicion. Since Monday morning, searches have been held at the heads of the oligarch’s firms [Regional Gas Company, Ye Energy] and regional gas supply companies.
Law enforcers exposed a scheme according to which structures controlled by Firtash bought fuel from his company, but in fact received 30% of the volumes. The artificial shortage was covered by state-owned gas, and Firtash appropriated part of the money.
According to the source, over seven years, such a scheme has caused damages of UAH 18 billion to the country’s budget.