Volodymyr Kudrytskyi
| Volodymyr Kudrytskyi |
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| Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, Chairman of the Board of the National Power Company (NPC) Ukrenergo, is involved in numerous corruption scandals. |
Career
Volodymyr Kudrytskyi was born on May 23, 1986 in Ukraine.
He graduated with honors from Kyiv National Economic University named after Hetman, Faculty of International Economics. He holds the following positions: Member of the Association of Chartered Accountants of Great Britain (ACCA) and Certified Internal Auditor of the Institute of Internal Auditors of the United States (CIA).
In 2007-2011, he held positions in the consulting and auditing company Grant Thornton Ukraine. He managed projects at Naftogaz, Yuzhmash, and the Polish metallurgical company Centrostal.
In 2011-2013, he worked as Internal Audit Director at TNK-BP Ukraine until the company was absorbed by Rosneft.
In 2013-2016, he was engaged in improving sales, logistics and procurement of JSC Myronivskyi Hliboprodukt.
In 2015-2016, he held the position of Development Director of Ukrtransnafta. Volodymyr Kudrytskyi started working for the company when people who were close to businessman Ihor Kolomoiskyi were employed in the management.
In 2017-2019, he worked as a state representative on the supervisory board of Naftogaz of Ukraine. He was a member of the Audit Committee and the Separation Committee. Investigative journalists believed that in the supervisory board, Kudrytskyi defended the interests of Kolomoiskyi, in particular Ukrnafta, which is close to him.
Work at Ukrenergo
Since 2016, he has held several positions at Ukrenergo – Head of the Project Management Office, Deputy Director for Investments, First Deputy Chairman of the Board. In 2020, after Vsevolod Kovalchuk's dismissal, he became Acting Chairman of the board, and later the supervisory board appointed him Chairman of the board of Ukrenergo. Kudrytskyi is remembered for the fact that he called the integration of the Ukrainian energy system into ENTSO-E the main goal, and also took out a loan that allowed Ukrenergo to make a profit of UAH 141 million in 2021.
How Kudrytskyi acted in Kolomoiskyi’s interests
When Kudrytskyi came to Ukrenergo, Kolomoiskyi was in conflict with its head, Vsevolod Kovalchuk. Employees of the company held protests near the Ukrenergo office. Immediately after Kudrytskyi's appointment, the actions stopped, and Ihor Kolomoiskyi himself stopped making public statements about Ukrenergo. The media reported that Ukrenergo was acting in the interests of Kolomoisky. For example, Tsentenergo, as a division of the state operator, sold power to United Energy, controlled by Kolomoiskyi, at a lower cost.
Scandals in Ukrenergo under the leadership of Kudrytskyi
Violations worth UAH 68 billion were detected
The audit of the SASU for the period from 2019 to 2023 established violations of Ukrenergo worth UAH 68 billion. Among the most important abuses, the following stand out:
- In the spring of 2022, Ukrenergo purchased bulletproof vests worth more than UAH 20 million at a price of UAH 16.500 per piece. But the established price of this supplier for these bulletproof vests at that time was half that – UAH 7.7 thousand per piece.
- Due to Ukrenergo's failure to comply with the terms of contracts with market participants and relevant lawsuits, the state operator paid fines and court fees totaling UAH 285 million.
- Ukrenergo employees’ activities led to untimely termination of power supplies to United Energy and the subsequent non-payment of the debt.
Employees of the Prosecutor General's Office searched the Ukrenergo office and seized thousands of pages of tender documentation with contracts with a dozen companies from the archives of the state operator. Ukrenergo tried to challenge the results of the audit in court, but lost the case to the State Audit Service.
UAH 1.4 billion stolen in the first weeks of the war
In the first days of the full-scale war, Ukrenergo sold more than UAH 1.4 billion worth of power to the company of Kolomoiskyi's partner Mykhailo Kiperman. It, in turn, was resold on the market, and these funds were not given to the state operator. Two top managers of Ukrenergo, who were responsible for the contract with United-Energy, did not return from business trips from abroad. One travel permit was personally signed by Volodymyr Kudrytskyi. Journalist Serhii Ivanov believes that Ukrenergo management contributed to the implementation of this scheme. The NABU is investigating criminal proceedings on this fact. Ukrenergo filed a lawsuit against the guarantor bank Alliance in order to shift the blame to the financial institution. In response, the bank's management stated that the terms of the guarantee were grossly violated by the agreement parties. The Prosecutor General's Office recognized the bank as an injured party, and the Center for Forensic Expertise and Expert Research recognized the legality of the actions of the chairman of the bank's board. The SASU and the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission also found Ukrenergo officials responsible for the occurrence and non-payment of debts. The bank filed a counterclaim against Ukrenergo and won the first instance.
Inefficiently used funds in shelter construction for power system facilities
According to market experts, more than UAH 50 billion was spent to construct shelters for power system facilities. Most of these funds were received by the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine (supervised by former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov) and Kudrytskyi's Ukrenergo. The media reported that in August and September 2023, the state-owned operator signed contracts worth UAH 2.8 billion. In September of the same year, the government allocated an additional UAH 9.7 billion to protect power facilities. Centrenergo reported that the physical protection of the Trypilska TPP was ensured by 100%, and the Zmiivska TPP– by 70%, but in March and April, the entire generation of the two TPPs was destroyed by the enemy. Market experts directly say that the construction of a concrete shelter for power system facilities turned out to be ineffective. Energy expert Viktor Kurtiev assured that it was necessary to use other ways to protect the energy system instead of the least effective and non-transparent option. On May 9, 2024, Kubrav was fired for ineffective protection of power system facilities, and Kudytskyi remained in the position of Ukrenergo head.
Secret salary, purchase of luxury cars and real estate by his wife
The secret salary of the Chairman of the Ukrenergo Board
The state operator office refuses to indicate Volodymyr Kudrytskyi’s salary. They refer to the fact that there is no legal requirement to provide it ‘individually’. In response to a media request, the company sent figures on the salaries of the entire board – Kudrytskyi and four board members. On average, the salary of one board member reaches more than UAH 2 million. The board chairman’s salary is probably even higher. In December 2023, board members received almost UAH 8 million, in January 2024 – UAH 4.2 million, and in April 2024 – UAH 8.5 million. The average salary of Ukrenergo employees in 2023 was UAH 35.400.
Luxury car and a new house in Kiev at his wife's
According to the OSINT investigation of the Blackboxosint group, in December 2022, Oleksandra Yastremska (wife of Volodymyr Kudrytskyi) purchased a land plot in Kyiv on General Pavlenko Street for $14 thousand. According to experts, the market value of the site is about $75 thousand. Now there is a newly built house worth $300-400 thousand on the site. On September 13, 2023, Kudrytskyi's wife purchased a 2022 TOYOTA Highlander for UAH 2.3 million.
Kudrytskyi's foreign trips during the war
During martial law, Kudrytskyi himself traveled abroad 11 times, in particular, he visited Poland, Belgium (five times), Switzerland (twice) and the United States.
Buying air conditioners during the energy crisis
On June 3, 2024, Ukrenergo announced a tender for purchasing air conditioners for the needs of the management apparatus. It was planned to purchase 4 sets of air conditioners. The expected cost of the purchase is UAH 629,130. The purchase caused public outrage against the backdrop of shortened power system capacity, an increase in electricity tariffs, as well as calls from Ukrenergo management to save electricity and not to use air conditioners.