Tyshchenko and Moskalenko help Naumets circumvent sanctions

Ukrainian businessman Serhiy Tyshchenko, who is in pre-trial detention on the so-called "Kurchenko oil products" case, continues to run his business even while incarcerated. 

According to sources, his activities are now focused on saving the assets of exiled oligarch Ihor Naumets, who left Ukraine a week before the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.

NABU investigation and charges

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office have completed the pre-trial investigation into the case of seizing seized oil products worth UAH 817 million. 

The main suspects in this case are former People's Deputy Serhiy Pashynskyi and businessman Serhiy Tyshchenko. In February 2024, they were charged, after which both were taken into custody. However, Pashynskyi was soon released, with bail set at UAH 272.5 million. Tyshchenko remains in detention, but, according to the investigation, he continues to engage in commercial activities, now in the interests of Ihor Naumets.

Ihor Naumets' activities and sanctions

Naumets, who holds a Russian passport, has for many years simultaneously run businesses in Russia and Ukraine, even after the annexation of Crimea and the start of hostilities in the Donbas. His key asset in Ukraine is the "Yunigran" holding, which is engaged in the extraction of sand and gravel. 

In 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine announced the discovery of illegal activities by a structure involved in the industrial-scale illegal extraction of minerals. It later emerged that this referred to "Yunigran". According to the investigation, the company directed millions in revenue to finance Russian aggression and support the occupation administrations in Crimea and eastern regions of Ukraine.

In the spring of 2023, the Security and Defence Council imposed sanctions on Ihor Naumets, as well as his business partner, British citizen Elena Kalpa, who owns "Yunigran" assets. The restrictions also affected Cypriot companies linked to the holding, leading to the freezing of their Ukrainian assets. However, by the autumn of the same year, Pechersk Court judge Serhiy Volk cancelled the asset freeze, effectively allowing them to re-enter circulation.

Attempts to preserve assets

Against this backdrop, Serhiy Tyshchenko initiated a scheme to save Naumets' assets in Korosten Quarry JSC (EGRPOU code 00292422), where "Yunigran" holds an 18.75% stake. Relatives of the businessman were involved in resolving the issue: his brother Anatoliy Tyshchenko was appointed to the company's supervisory board by order of the Cypriot company E.S.Mining Company Limited, which is under Security and Defence Council sanctions. 

Just a few days later, on 16 December 2024, Anatoliy Tyshchenko headed the board, after which he replaced the company's director – instead of Oleksandr Yarmolyuk, his son Vsevolod Tyshchenko took up the post.

Possible involvement of local authorities

According to sources, Korosten mayor Volodymyr Moskalenko may be involved in these processes. He is linked to the Tyshchenko family not only by long-standing friendly relations but also by participation in the activities of the pro-Russian organisation "Allatra". According to the Security Service of Ukraine, this organisation was neutralised in 2023 as a destructive sect that justified Russian aggression and promoted the idea of a "union of Slavic peoples" under Moscow's leadership.

Previously, "Allatra" actively interacted with the "Yunigran" holding, and Ihor Naumets himself appeared at the organisation's events on several occasions. In particular, in 2015, he represented "Allatra" at a meeting of the "Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs" in Kaliningrad. Despite the holding's official statements denying any links with the organisation, sources claim that their cooperation was systematic.

Thus, the activities of the Tyshchenko family and their connection with Ihor Naumets go beyond business and touch upon the spheres of politics and religious extremism