Suspected of ties to Iran and state harm, Sergey Tishchenko is attempting to flee Ukraine while holding dual citizenship.

This is stated in an investigation by INFORMER, as reported by Informant.

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In 2014, Ukraine seized nearly 100 thousand tons of petroleum products from the structures of pro-Russian oligarch Sergey Kurchenko. The assets were supposed to be transferred to state ownership – these petroleum products were handed over for sale to the relevant state enterprise to replenish the budget. However, according to the investigation, the money "ended up" in the pockets of thieves.

The seized petroleum products were transferred for sale to the state enterprise "Ukrtransneftproduct" due to a court ruling. The head of the state enterprise was Vladimir Gavrilov. Investigation materials indicate that Gavrilov was essentially reporting to Sergey Tishchenko and even had an office in the premises of his company group "Factor".

Who is Sergey Tishchenko and his billion-dollar scheme

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Sergey Tishchenko is a Ukrainian businessman, the beneficiary of the bankrupt Fortuna Bank. On February 13 of this year, the VAKS supported the SAP's proposal to apply a preventive measure against Tishchenko in the form of detention with an alternative of posting 363.360 million UAH bail. Tishchenko is named as the main organizer of a criminal organization that seized petroleum products worth a total of 967 million UAH, which were arrested in the case of the owner of the so-called group of companies "Eastern European Fuel and Energy Company" (SEPEC).

According to law enforcement, at the direction of the defendants, the officials of the enterprise facilitated the sale of nearly 100 thousand tons of petroleum products at significantly undervalued prices to a group of companies owned by Tishchenko. "According to the investigation, these petroleum products were subsequently sold at gas stations of this group of companies and other network gas stations, with the proceeds concentrated among the beneficiaries of the scheme," said the SBU.

To create the appearance that the seized petroleum products were transferred for the needs of the Ministry of Defense, the state enterprise carried out corresponding supplies on a commercial basis, for which the Ministry of Defense paid in full. However, the Ministry of Defense received only 1.6% of them. At the same time, Tishchenko sold the same range of products to his group of companies at half the price charged to the Armed Forces.

In 2020, a court decided on special confiscation in favor of the state of the aforementioned petroleum products and the funds obtained from their sale. However, as the investigation revealed, by that time, the entire volume of petroleum products and all the proceeds from their sale had already been appropriated by members of the criminal organization, resulting in losses to the state budget of almost one billion UAH.

The scheme, "Fortuna Bank," liquidation, and bankruptcy

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Fortuna Bank was liquidated in 2014, and as of April 1, 2014, the bank's assets amounted to 3.4 billion UAH. Of these, 3 billion UAH, or almost 100% of the loan portfolio, were loans to legal entities. The debt to individuals exceeded 1 billion UAH. To pay off debts, the bank operated similarly to a financial pyramid – using new investments to return previous deposits. As a result, the bank went bankrupt and did not return funds to depositors. The bank was liquidated (however, in court, Tishchenko referred to the bank's liquidation as a "political decision").

The mentioned bank, whose real owner was Sergey Tishchenko, directly serviced the business structures of the "Factor" group of companies, also owned by Tishchenko. It was through accounts of companies associated with him, opened specifically in "Fortuna Bank" (LLC "Ukroilprodukt," LLC "Itaniks Strong," LLC "Trade Invest Company" (Tishchenko S.P.'s KBO)), that funds were embezzled from the illegal sale of petroleum products of the state enterprise "Ukrnaftotransproduct," which were supposed to be kept as evidence in the Kurchenko case. It has been established that 328.98 million UAH from the account of the state enterprise "Ukrnaftotransproduct" was transferred to the accounts of the companies associated with Tishchenko mentioned above.

Part of the funds was withdrawn through "Fortuna Bank" by entering into bank deposit agreements with LLC "Ukroilprodukt" for about 100 million UAH, which were used to provide loans to companies associated with Tishchenko. Subsequently, the bank was liquidated, and the obligation to repay the loans was not fulfilled.

Regarding these facts, NABU is investigating criminal proceedings under No. 32014100070000038 from May 8, 2014, for signs of criminal offenses provided for by part 1, article 185, part 5 of article 191, part 1,3 of article 212, articles 1,3 of article 382 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

That is, the bank was deliberately bankrupted and liquidated after all transactions for the sale of petroleum products were completed. Undoubtedly, playing a key role in this process. Shortly thereafter, Sergey Tishchenko himself declared bankruptcy.

"Our honor," I have both Ukrainian and British passports – Tishchenko

Tishchenko is currently under arrest in pre-trial detention based on a court decision, but he is filing numerous appeals to change the preventive measure. He claims that the bail amount is excessive and demands to be placed under house arrest. However, the prosecution has every reason to suspect that Tishchenko would simply flee abroad if his requests were granted. During the appellate court hearing regarding the change of preventive measure (AP VAKS, which took place on March 4, 2024), Sergey Tishchenko confirmed that he has held a British passport since 2015, which is already after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. If he were to escape to the UK, his return would be impossible – as the country, according to the law, does not extradite its citizens. Moreover, the prosecutor noted that during the investigation, materials relating to three other criminal proceedings against Tishchenko were found. The court, taking into account the investigation materials, denied the change of preventive measure for Tishchenko. Nevertheless, he continues to file numerous appeals with the help of a pool of lawyers...

Also, during the VAKS hearing, it became known that Tishchenko had traveled abroad more than 200 times in the last ten years, and his children live abroad and study in elite institutions, as evidenced by electronic receipts. Using the ZOOM program to organize press conferences, Tishchenko controlled the sale of petroleum products and continues to conduct business from pre-trial detention using IP telephony, although he complains that it does not allow more than five numbers, which is insufficient for conducting business...

According to prosecutors, Tishchenko is quite meticulous about his business. In particular, he even personally oversees the recipe for candies at "Zhytomyr Treat." At the court session, Tishchenko requests to be allowed to travel to Zhytomyr despite the pressure from Kyiv and the Kyiv region. However, officially, JSC "Zhytomyr Treat" is owned by another individual, which will be discussed.

The prosecution emphasizes that the suspicion against Tishchenko is justified, and there are no grounds for changing the preventive measure. After all, he directly managed the sale of petroleum products from the office of his bank "Fortuna" on Boricheva Tik Street. According to investigation materials, Tishchenko's steward received a power of attorney to register Gavrilov as the head of the state enterprise "Ukrtransneftproduct" in the unified state register. His managers were sent to work at the state enterprise, while regular employees – drivers and lawyers – were dispatched to the storage locations of the petroleum products to announce resolutions and sign acceptance-transfer acts.

"It was Tishchenko who, according to testimonies, appeared in the office of the Minister of Internal Affairs, and it was Tishchenko who was introduced, at that time, to the head of the Main Investigation Department as a representative of the state enterprise that would carry out the sale of petroleum products. This was in the spring of 2014, about six months before the issuance of the resolutions," the prosecutor stated during the session.