National Police, Office of the Prosecutor General and SBI announced the detention of the actual owner of Krasnolimanske LLC, Vitaliy Kropachov, and his accomplices, who caused the state losses of more than UAH 2.2 billion in the coal sector.

The businessman once received part of the assets of the Yanukovych family and actual control over all state-owned mines and factories in eastern Ukraine. According to the investigation, the suspects, led by the coal businessman, operated under the cover of law enforcement agencies and created a tax evasion scheme worth almost UAH 1.2 billion. The suspects legalized a total of UAH 991 million by purchasing cars and luxury real estate.

The suspects also entered into unfavorable contracts with the state-owned enterprise Krasnolimanske Coal Company, blocking its main activity — coal mining. Currently, the debt for coal mining services is more than UAH 2.2 billion, UAH 1.1 billion of which is for electricity, and UAH 147 million for salaries of almost 1.7 thousand employees.

The beneficial owner of the company and three of his accomplices were detained in accordance with Article 208 of the CPC of Ukraine. The issue of choosing a measure of restraint is being decided.