Privatization of SE “Volyntorf” and accusations against the head of CE “Volynprirodresurs”, the SBI, the Prosecutor’s Office, and judges, voiced yesterday by LLC “Agrobiostandart”. Behind-the-scenes proposals and who stands behind this company?
Responding to the accusations voiced on November 13 at the press conference initiated by LLC “Agrobiostandart”, Anatolii Kapustiuk publicly commented on all the statements.
On November 14, 2023, at 3:00 p.m., a press conference was held by the head of CE “Volynprirodresurs”, Anatolii Kapustiuk, on the topic: “Privatization of SE ‘Volyntorf’ and accusations against the head of CE ‘Volynprirodresurs’, the SBI, the Prosecutor’s Office, and judges, voiced yesterday by LLC ‘Agrobiostandart’. Behind-the-scenes proposals and who stands behind this company?”
Who stands behind LLC “Agrobiostandart” and what happened with the privatization of SE “Volyntorf”?
From the very beginning of the press conference at the “Interfax-Ukraine” agency, the accusations of LLC “Agrobiostandart” were voiced by Kostiantyn Brovchenko, who, according to the “Opendatabot” system, is a co-owner of this company and a deputy of the Kyiv City Council from the Ukrainian party “Yednist” (Unity). Kostiantyn Brovchenko owns 20% of the company, while the remaining 80% belongs to the Cypriot offshore company SIDFOODS HOLDINGS LTD, whose founder and beneficial owner is directly Vyacheslav Suprunenko.
It is known that Vyacheslav Suprunenko was related by family ties to the former mayor of Kyiv, Leonid Chernovetskyi. According to media reports, this individual is a figure in numerous criminal cases concerning illegal seizures of land plots in Kyiv and was even wanted by Interpol.
As for the legality of the privatization and the legality of the source of funds spent on the privatization, this must be determined by law enforcement agencies. At present, a representative of the former “young team of Chernovetskyi” is hiding from justice abroad and does not appear in Ukraine. Companies of Vyacheslav Suprunenko and his brother Oleksandr are actively buying up state-owned enterprises. Their next target became SE “Volyntorf”. Currently, the sale of SE is being investigated by the SBI and the Prosecutor’s Office.
LLC “Agrobiostandart”, as the initiator of the press conference on November 13, independently presented the chronology of the privatization of SE “Volyntorf”.
The State Property Fund of Ukraine put SE “Volyntorf” up for privatization, which took place on October 6. The starting price of the enterprise was UAH 190 million. The investigation believes that officials of the Lviv Regional Office of the State Property Fund colluded with LLC “Agrobiostandart”, since the enterprise’s value should have been UAH 315–320 million, meaning that no preliminary valuation of SE’s assets was conducted before the auction.
It is obvious that “Volyntorf” is profitable, generating income for the community and working effectively for the benefit of the state, but it was sold at an undervalued price. Law enforcement officers opened a criminal case two weeks after the auction winner was announced. On October 23, a ruling was issued recognizing SE “Volyntorf” as physical evidence. On October 25, a motion was filed with the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv, and Judge Svitlana Smyk granted it, as was stated. On the same day, a motion for arrest was filed, and on October 26, an arrest ruling was already issued – at the request of the prosecutor, the Pechersk District Court arrested the assets of “Volyntorf”.
On November 1, LLC “Agrobiostandart” paid UAH 254 million – the price for the lot including taxes. According to LLC “Agrobiostandart”, on November 2 they learned about the initiation of the criminal case and the seizure. However, despite the court prohibition, on November 6 an agreement was signed with the Regional Office of the SPFU for the Lviv, Zakarpattia, and Volyn regions, which is yet another confirmation of a possible conspiracy.
Риторичне запитання, що виникає між датами «26 жовтня – арешт єдиного майнового комплексу ДП «Волиньторф» в межах кримінального провадження» та «6 листопада – підписання договору купівлі-продажу об’єкта малої приватизації – єдиного майнового комплексу державного підприємства «Волиньторф», незважаючи на судову заборону»: і чи це прямо не підтверджує, що дійсно є змова між ТОВ «Агробіостандарт» та окремими представниками Львівського регіонального управління Фонду держмайна України, які його підписали, будучи також ознайомленими з наявністю арешту та кримінального провадження?
Адже згідно фабули кримінального провадження та рішення суду випливає:
«Досудовим розслідуванням у провадженні встановлено, що службові особи Фонду державного майна України за попередньою змовою з керівниками / представниками / співробітниками / бенефіціарними власниками ТОВ «АГРОБІОСТАНДАРТ» (код за ЄДРПОУ 43065223), умисно, з метою одержання неправомірної вигоди для себе та/або інших фізичних або юридичних осіб, всупереч інтересам служби, що спричинило тяжкі наслідки, вчиняють зловживання своїм службовим становищем шляхом відчуження (приватизації) єдиного майнового комплексу державного підприємства «ВОЛИНЬТОРФ» (код за ЄДРПОУ 00426302) на користь ТОВ «АГРОБІОСТАНДАРТ» (код за ЄДРПОУ 43065223) за заниженою вартістю», – про це йдеться в ухвалі за посиланням: 🔗 https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/114434136
Звинувачення, які пролунали в адресу директора КП «Волиньприродресурс» та щодо діяльності підприємства
Анатолій Капустюк публічно заперечив обвинувачення на наступний день після пресконференції, ініційованої ТОВ «Агробіостандарт».
Перше обвинувачення, озвучене Костянтином Бровченко: «У 2016 році біля ДП була створена установа «Волиньприродресурс», ініціатором створення якої був Анатолій Капустюк. Він та його «покровителі» створили це підприємство, забрали на Волині всі ліцензії по торфу, а також усі ліцензії, які були на той час, по бурштину та міді. Таким чином вони не дали можливість ДП «Волиньторф» узяти собі ліцензії, тому ДП було змушено з ними працювати на кабальних умовах».
The Municipal Enterprise “Volynpryrodresurs” was established by the Volyn Regional Council in 2016 with the purpose of developing mineral resources and the legal extraction of amber, which envisaged the creation of new jobs and the replenishment of the budget—both of the Volyn Regional Council and of the state. Anatolii Anatoliiovych Kapustiuk began working as Deputy Director at the enterprise in February 2017 and was appointed Director of the municipal enterprise in February 2021.
“SE Volyntorf has its own licenses on its balance sheet, and ME Volynpryrodresurs in no way can prevent SE from obtaining new licenses, since 75% of Ukraine’s peat deposits are located in Volyn, and more than three thousand deposits remain freely available. As of 2023, ME Volynpryrodresurs holds four licenses for peat extraction,” said Anatolii Kapustiuk.
The second accusation: “He (referring to Anatolii Kapustiuk – ed.) came to me with a specific proposal that they—the authors of criminal cases—would close these cases, and we have to give away 50% of our company,” said Kostiantyn Brovchenko.
At the press conference, Kostiantyn Brovchenko accused the Director of ME Volynpryrodresurs Anatolii Kapustiuk of allegedly being able to influence the SBI, the Prosecutor’s Office, and the courts. The absurdity of these accusations lies in the fact that the head of the enterprise has no authority whatsoever to open or close criminal cases.
Anatolii Kapustiuk conveyed the essence of the negotiations:
“After the privatization auction on November 8, the co-owners of LLC Agrobiostandart invited me to a meeting to discuss future cooperation. I was not the initiator of this meeting, but Roman Yaroshenko—also a deputy of the Kyiv City Council, faction ‘Yednist’ (like Brovchenko)—who organized the meeting in Kyiv at 55 Khoryva Street. Kostiantyn Brovchenko came to the meeting, introducing himself as a business partner of Viacheslav Suprunenko and a shareholder of LLC Agrobiostandart.
And now, the most interesting part regarding behind-the-scenes proposals: the conversation began with the ‘fact’ that they knew I supposedly had influence over the SBI, the Prosecutor’s Office, and the courts regarding their criminal case, but they were interested in making friends and cooperating. After that, Brovchenko emphasized that he was informed that the municipal enterprise was in the process of reorganization and would become a joint-stock company, and that LLC Agrobiostandart in turn wanted to become its shareholder. I explained that the enterprise was being reorganized into a closed joint-stock company, where 100% of the shares belong to the Regional Council, and the entry of any other external shareholders is impossible.
The second proposal: “Then sell us the peat extraction license for ‘Koza-Berezyna’ near Soinne, and in exchange our company, on certain terms, will sell or transfer to you the Manevychi peat briquette plant with staff and equipment.” I replied that such a decision could only be made by the deputies of the Regional Council at a session, but under no circumstances would the deputies agree to the alienation of any special permits, nor to any other ‘deals’ concerning the municipal enterprise.
Then they proposed that we sell them raw materials from ‘Koza-Berezyna’ to the plant in Soinne, and in return, under lease or management conditions, they would give us the Manevychi peat briquette plant, and as long as there is raw material—we would rent it.
They suggested not to rush with refusal, to think it over, and to meet again the next day—November 9. In case of refusal to accept their proposals, they said they would start a war against us. On November 9 at 13:32, I called Roman Yaroshenko, saying that we had nothing to talk about or meet about, since their proposals were unacceptable.”
After receiving these answers and realizing that cooperation with the municipal enterprise on the proposed terms was impossible, LLC Agrobiostandart launched public accusations, apparently in order to discredit the law enforcement bodies—the SBI, the Prosecutor’s Office, and the courts—by accusing them of biased, ordered criminal prosecution together with ME Volynpryrodresurs, as was declared at their press conference on November 13.
The third accusation: “Today’s market price for 1 ton of peat is UAH 5,000. However, SE Volyntorf, not having a license, processes raw materials from Volynpryrodresurs and sells it at UAH 2,000 per ton of peat. This means that Volynpryrodresurs, in turn, through front companies, further sells it to the population and to various enterprises,” Brovchenko stated. It was also repeatedly voiced that ME Volynpryrodresurs allegedly earns UAH 500,000 in cash daily.
The absurdity of this accusation lies in the fact that today the real average market price of finished peat briquettes from the manufacturer is UAH 3,500 per ton, while Brovchenko claims that the price of peat as raw material is UAH 5,000. The question arises: then what should be the price of the finished product—peat briquettes?
Every day, SE Volyntorf produces about 100 tons of peat briquettes from the raw materials of ME Volynpryrodresurs, except for downtime days and scheduled maintenance days; the produced peat briquettes pass through the factory meter and scales with daily payments according to invoices for services provided by the factory. So where—and most importantly, from what—under such calculations should an additional UAH 500,000 in cash appear, if ME Volynpryrodresurs works exclusively via non-cash payments?
For information: in 2023 SE Volyntorf sold finished peat briquettes at UAH 2,800 per ton, and in the last few months—at UAH 3,030 per ton; ME Volynpryrodresurs sells peat briquettes at a single price—UAH 3,500 per ton of product on the terms of self-pickup from the factory.
“ME has been cooperating with Volyntorf since 2017. Since August of the previous 2022, concerning the ‘Manevychi peat briquette plant,’ the municipal enterprise switched from Volyntorf to a tolling scheme of work. Namely: SE, according to its calculations, carries out swamp-preparatory work, extraction, transportation, and processing of peat into peat briquettes, and we sell the finished product (peat briquettes) ourselves. Volyntorf, in the above-mentioned calculation for processing, includes profitability of 10%,” emphasized Anatolii Kapustiuk.
As of 2023, SE Volyntorf still had some of its own reserves: the “Soinne” plant still operates 100% on its own raw materials, while the “Manevychi peat plant” operates 100% on the raw materials of ME Volynpryrodresurs.
What was the purpose of the press conference initiated by LLC Agrobiostandart? The reserves at the “Soinne” plant remain for about another half a year, and the new owners, realizing this problem, wanted to obtain in any way the ability to independently extract peat or take control of ME Volynpryrodresurs. After receiving refusals, they decided to hold a press conference to put forward accusations as if the initiator of these criminal proceedings was Anatolii Kapustiuk. Since the municipal enterprise holds special permits for peat extraction, while LLC Agrobiostandart purchased only premises and equipment, the situation is such that they actually have nothing to extract, and their proposals at the meeting with the head of the enterprise to gain access to the sites look absurd, since such a decision can only be made by the Volyn Regional Council, and the regional council deputies are unlikely to agree.
Under these circumstances, the municipal enterprise has deposits but does not have the machinery and equipment for processing peat as fuel. Therefore, ME has the opportunity to sell peat as agricultural raw material for greenhouses and other agricultural needs, which is also provided for by the license. This activity may even be economically more profitable for ME Volynpryrodresurs, since the enterprise previously sold peat to Volyntorf at UAH 1,300 per ton, while the average price of peat for crop production is UAH 2,100.
The direction of peat extraction and sales is not particularly profitable for the municipal enterprise compared to amber extraction. During the 2023 extraction season, 88,119 tons of milled peat were extracted as a result of processing by SE Volyntorf, and products worth UAH 46.856 million were sold. With extraction costs of about UAH 43 million, the net profit from the sale of peat briquettes amounted to about UAH 3 million.
The main income of ME Volynpryrodresurs comes from amber extraction. In 9 months of 2023, the enterprise received UAH 101.172 million in revenue, with a net profit of UAH 32.228 million.
SE Volyntorf is an important, profitable, strategic enterprise for the region, ensuring the energy independence of our region, providing jobs for the local population (more than 300 employees), paying taxes to the Prylisne community, and supplying peat briquettes for heating numerous public institutions.
At the press conference, LLC Agrobiostandart accused the State Property Fund of Ukraine of allegedly being aware of the abuses of ME Volynpryrodresurs but taking no action. In fact, the State Property Fund of Ukraine, having full reliable information, draws conclusions about how the enterprise—in this case, Volyntorf—transformed from unprofitable to profitable. Unfortunately, this does not prevent false and openly manipulative accusations from being thrown at ME Volynpryrodresurs.
ME Volynpryrodresurs and SE Volyntorf constantly work in accordance with the terms of the contract—in the end, Volyntorf receives on average about UAH 1–2 million in revenue per week from cooperation with the municipal enterprise. It is precisely thanks to this that SE Volyntorf is profitable. Before cooperation, Volyntorf consistently suffered multimillion losses, and only after switching to the tolling scheme and the 10% profitability laid down in the contract did the enterprise become profitable. Open information on the Opendatabot service about net profit: 2020 – -UAH 2,112,000; 2021 – -UAH 1,329,000; 2022 – +UAH 10,640,000. Link: 🔗 https://opendatabot.ua/c/00426302
At the press conference, Anatolii Kapustiuk emphasized that ME currently fulfills all its contractual obligations and ensures the sale of peat briquettes as an energy resource for consumer needs. He also stressed that payment for peat briquettes is carried out exclusively via non-cash settlements, and by no means in cash, which was yet another accusation from LLC Agrobiostandart.
Reaction of ME Volynpryrodresurs to the accusations voiced by LLC Agrobiostandart
“The entire conference is built on accusations, and these accusations, I believe, are very serious,” noted the head of the municipal enterprise.
According to Anatolii Kapustiuk, by holding this press conference, LLC Agrobiostandart intended to damage his business reputation and that of the municipal enterprise. It is not excluded that by using media pressure, the company sought to influence law enforcement bodies and the court, accusing them of bias and being “ordered.” Hiding behind the slogan of fighting for a fair way of doing business, but in reality caring only about their own enrichment, LLC Agrobiostandart accuses deputies of the Volyn Regional Council of appealing to government representatives and even directly to the President to prevent the privatization of a profitable state-owned enterprise—especially during a full-scale war.
It was also suggested—during that same “performance”—that allegedly the ME intended to buy Volyntorf at the next auction, meaning at a reduced value, which is absolute ignorance, since according to current legislation the municipal enterprise cannot participate in such auctions.
It remains unclear for which audience or viewer the actual “performance” of LLC Agrobiostandart was intended, since at the end there was not a single clear answer to the journalists’ questions. And the accusations that someone is preventing honest investors from investing in Ukrainian business do not stand up to any criticism at all, given that they themselves are representatives of a Cypriot company—i.e., offshore. In fact, the public is much more interested in the origin of the funds with which the new owners purchased SE Volyntorf.
The head noted that he is ready to file a lawsuit, as this concerns the protection of honor, dignity, and business reputation, and that the funds obtained would be transferred to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Given the new circumstances—namely the irresponsible and essentially criminal decision to privatize a profitable state-owned enterprise, which may lead to its complete shutdown and thus the risk of losing peat briquettes for the region—Anatolii Kapustiuk sees the solution in attracting international grant funding to build a new modern peat processing plant.