SPFU ex-head Sennychenko served with charges – which problems did it highlight

On March 22, the NABU served with charges the ex-head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, Dmytro Sennychenko, in absentia. He headed the SPFU from 2019 to 2022.

According to the version of the investigation, Sennychenko was a leader of a criminal group that caused losses to the state budget of UAH 500 million from the funds of state-owned enterprises. In particular, w are talking about about JSC “Odesa Port Plant” and JSC “United Mining and Chemical Company”.

According to the detectives, the SPFU officials, taking advantage of their official position, put “their” people in positions of power in state-owned enterprises, in order to later have illegal income from their activities.

In addition to Sennychenko, another 8 alleged participants of the criminal scheme became suspects in this case:

• person close to the head of the SPFU (co-organizer);
• adviser to the head of SPFU;
• two acting directors of JSC “Odesa Port Plant” (in different periods);
• acting head of JSC “United Mining and Chemical Company”;
• two owners of the LLC who was the winner of the auction of JSC “United Mining and Chemical Company”;
• two natural persons that are accomplices in the crime.

State property management is a sphere that has long been known for corruption scandals, and the path to privatization could solve many problems, both economic and with bribes. Our organization, with the support of international partners, contributed to the reform of the Fund, including during the chairmanship of Dmytro Sennychenko. Thus, one of the projects implemented with the participation of TI Ukraine was the launch of the Office of Sustainable Investments (OSI). It aimed at strengthening the work of the Fund where the it did not have sufficient capacity.

The investigation materials, published today by the NABU, once again highlighted a long-standing problem — where the assets are managed by the state, there will always be risks of inefficient management and abuses. For a long time, our organization has been advocating for the privatization of all possible state-owned objects, including the problematic state-owned enterprises such as JSC “Odesa Port Plant” and JSC “United Mining and Chemical Company”, which have been already appeared in criminal proceedings before. Therefore, TI Ukraine once again emphasizes that the state should continue the course of privatization and in every possible way contribute to positive developments in this area.

We hope for a transparent and objective investigation of this crime, as well as, in case of proof of guilt, a well-deserved punishment of the participants of the corruption scheme. For its part, TI Ukraine will closely monitor all stages of the investigation.