REUTERS
The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine has opened criminal proceedings regarding a Cabinet decision to transfer the state-owned distribution gas networks to management by regional gas distribution companies 70% of which are controlled by Ukrainian tycoon Dmytro Firtash and his partners, according to liga.net.
A respective court ruling by Kyiv's Pechersky district court dated May 15 has been published in the court registry, liga.net wrote.
The criminal case is being investigated under the articles "abuse of power or misuse of office" and "official negligence," it said.
The Cabinet of Ministers, by Resolution No. 770 of August 20, 2012, transferred the state gas distribution networks to the regional gas distribution companies for economic management free of charge. Based on this resolution, relevant agreements were signed with the said companies, which are still in effect.
"... the actions of certain officials from Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers, the Energy and Coal Industry Ministry, the Economic Development Ministry, the Finance Ministry, and the State Property Fund have made the state sustain UAH 930 million [or US$35.2 million] in losses," the court's ruling said.
Read alsoWeek’s balance: "Yanukovych debt," Firtash’s profit, and Sberbank’s maneuverPossible involvement of managers from PJSC Gaztek whose major beneficiary is Dmytro Firtash is also being checked as part of the pretrial investigation.
The company is owned by Cypriot-based Porala Ventures Limited, Pasler Enterprises Limited, Nesiba Ventures Limited, and Krezer Holdings Limited.
Kyiv's Pechersky district court authorized access to the documents of Gaztek for the period from January 1, 2012, to the present.
In April 2015, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the law on the natural gas market, establishing that only "subjects of the public sector of the economy" can use gas networks on the right of economic management.