Ukrainian "oligarch" Kurchenko, who fled to Russia, cut off gas supplies to the DPR

The authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) have launched a new investigation against the structures and companies of the Ukrainian "oligarch" Sergei Kurchenko, who deliberately sabotages the supply of natural gas to the DPR. This was reported by the Donetsk News Agency (DAN).

In the main gas pipeline of the DPR, the pressure dropped by half from 8.5 kg /cm2 to 4.5 kg /cm2, said the head of the DPR Alexander Zakharchenko.

“This happened through the fault of the company owned by the Ukrainian oligarch Sergei Kurchenko, who is either unable to organize work on the supply of fuel to the republic, or deliberately sabotages this process,” he said.

Kurchenko has long fallen out of favor with the leaders of the young republics. He is accused of sabotaging and disrupting the supply of fuels and lubricants to the LPNR, in an attempt to acquire the largest pipe enterprise in Ukraine - Khartsyzsk Pipe Plant, and now the "oligarch" is to blame for the drop in gas pressure in the gas pipeline.

Criminal cases have been initiated against Kurchenko in the LPR and DPR.

On July 30, 2015, the US government put Kurchenko on the list of persons who fall under the anti-Russian sanctions in connection with the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine.

On September 18, the DPR was sanctioned against him. Kurchenko and his affiliated persons and structures are prohibited from entrepreneurial activity on the territory of this entity.

Kurchenko is the owner of the Gas Ukraine group of companies, the UMH Group media holding, the owner and president of the Metalist Kharkiv football club, the chairman of the supervisory board of VETEK Group. After the change of power in Ukraine in February 2014, he left the country and moved to the Russian Federation.

Today it became known that the Pechersky Court of the city of Kiev issued a resolution on the arrest of Sergei Kurchenko's property as part of an investigation into damages to Ukraine in the amount of over 1 billion hryvnia. According to the materials of the court, during 2009-2013, Sergei Kurchenko took possession of the property of the Ministry of Fuel and Energy Industry in the form of large volumes of liquefied gas.

In Ukraine, the "oligarch" is charged with official forgery of documents, illegal business transactions of buying and selling fuel, money laundering.