Viktor Medvedchuk, detained by the Security Service of Ukraine and suspected of treason and aiding terrorism, spoke about the scheme of withdrawal of part of the main oil pipeline Samara - Western Direction from state ownership for pumping diesel fuel through it.
Describing the scheme, Medvedchuk detailed the role of former President Petro Poroshenko in it. Namely, he not only asked Medvedchuk to contact russian leadership, but also ensured that the necessary decisions were made in all Ukrainian entities.
‘For this pipeline to become private property, and in fact - property of Poroshenko himself, it was necessary to carry out a number of actions… Courts, prosecutors, the Antimonopoly Committee, the State Property Fund - they all made decisions, of course, in favour of President Poroshenko’s private interests,’ Medvedchuk said.
Thus, the detainee assures that he dealt with the pipeline at the request of the former president. In a year of operation, the pipeline earned twice as much money for its owners than was invested in its purchase - up to USD 42 mln. And from May 2019, i.e. after the termination of Poroshenko’s powers, pumping of diesel through the pipeline was stopped.
In addition, Medvedchuk told the details of establishment in 2014-2015 of a mechanism for purchasing coal for Ukraine’s energy needs in the temporarily occupied territories of the so-called L/DNR – in effect, from the militants’ leaders.
‘In fact, the entire top of the state apparatus was involved in this, starting with the President and ending with ministers, law enforcement and those who implemented the scheme,’ the detainee explained.
Medvedchuk gave specific names of high-ranking officials involved in harming the interests of our state - former government officials, ex-leadership of the National Bank, MPs and law enforcement officials.
The SSU continues investigative actions with the detainee to establish all the facts, circumstances, organizers and participants of the crimes.
In April this year, the SSU detained Medvedchuk after his escape from house arrest at the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24.
In 2021, the SSU notified Medvedchuk of suspicion of several crimes. He is suspected of treason, aiding a terrorist organization and attempting to plunder national resources in the temporarily occupied Crimea.
One of the cases pertains to organization of illegal schemes of coal supply from the temporarily occupied territories. The fuel was bought for cash, and thus pro-russian terrorists were financed with a total of over UAH 200 mln.
Another case is the illegal seizure of a section of the state oil pipeline worth over UAH 200 mln by Prykarpatzakhidtrans LLC. In February 2021, the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine returned the pipeline to state ownership.