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Private companies that have entered into joint operating agreement with PJSC Ukrgasvydobuvannya and have been exploiting its wells own a total of UAH 1 billion in rent payments to the state for the use of mineral resources over seven months of this year, said MP from People's Front party Tetiana Chornovol at a press conference.
According to Chornovol, four out of five entities have entered into joint operating agreements with Ukrgasvydobuvannya. At this, three of them are associated with a member of Volya Narodu [Will of the People] parliamentary faction Oleksandr Onishchenko-Kadyrov, and one company is associated with MP Yaroslav Moskalenko.
Read alsoUkraine gas imports up 72%, Slovakia reverse flow onlyChornovol also noted that the mentioned companies sell their products through the so-called tax minimizers, enabling to radically reduce tax obligations of gas companies to the state budget.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine appointed Oleh Prokhorenko as Ukrgasvydobuvannya CEO. Prokhorenko previously served as a partner in McKinsey Ukraine consulting firm.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk initiated the change of Ukrgasvydobuvannya management following the analysis of financial and economic activity of the company. It turned out that a number of companies related to Continuum Group own UAH 373 million to the state enterprise, but its management has not undertaken any attempt to recover the debt.
Read alsoRussia ready to provide Ukraine with gas discount, but 'on certain condition'Former head of Ukrgasvydobuvannya Serhiy Kostiuk took over the company's leadership in early 2014. However, after he had joined the company, it developed active cooperation with companies controlled by Continuum Group. According to the Interior Ministry, Ukrgasvydobuvannya fell short of UAH 60 million as a result of selling gas condensate alone to Continuum Group of companies. In autumn 2014, law enforcement bodies reported that they were conducting investigation against Kostiuk suspecting him of causing damage to the state through the sale of liquefied natural gas at below-market prices.
The law passed by the Verkhovna Rada in late December 2014 envisages extraction tax rates for companies engaged in the production of hydrocarbons under joint operating agreements, regardless of the depth of resources deposits, at 60% in the 1st quarter of 2015; 65% - in the 2nd quarter, and 70% in the 3rd quarter.