The High Anti-Corruption Court has closed the case against two individuals accused of abuse of office at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Station

South Ukraine Nuclear Power Station. Photo: ua.depositphotos.com

The High Anti-Corruption Court has acquitted two defendants in a case relating to the embezzlement of funds at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Station.

The court closed the proceedings against them due to the expiry of the limitation period, as evidenced by the ruling of 26 August.

The charges relate to Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — abuse of power or official position resulting in serious consequences — under which Serhii Yurkevych, co-owner of «PivdenBudResurs» LLC, was charged.

Thirteen other individuals are also named as defendants in the case. These include the former president of NAEK «Energoatom», Vissarion Kim, and his son Artem Kim, as well as Oleksii Rybak, Oleksii Masolobov, Volodymyr Bohatchuk, Dmytro Lysenko, Anton Kostyantskyi, Svitlana Kostiantska, Yurii Dmytrenok, Dmytro Solovyov, Dmytro Sokolov and Eduard Samotkal.

The court granted the defence’s application and acquitted both men of criminal liability due to the expiry of the limitation period. The relevant part of the consolidated criminal proceedings was closed.

The High Anti-Corruption Court also lifted the seizure of Yurkevych’s assets. This concerns three flats and corporate rights in «Pivdenbudresurs» LLC.

It should be recalled that in November 2025, the High Anti-Corruption Court amended the preventive measure for three defendants in the South Ukrainian NPP case, replacing bail with a personal undertaking.

Embezzlement of ₴12.3 million at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant

It should be recalled that in 2021, law enforcement agencies announced that they had raised suspicions against Dmytro Sokolov, head of the production and technical procurement department at the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant, and an accomplice who was the de facto head of two companies.

According to the investigation, between 2011 and 2012, he facilitated the success of two commercial entities in tenders organised by the nuclear power station for the procurement of industrial air-conditioning systems. As the equipment was supplied at inflated prices, the state suffered losses of over 12.3 million hryvnias. The men are charged under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The official faces up to 12 years’ imprisonment.

It is worth noting that the first reports of possible embezzlement emerged in May 2014 following an audit by the State Financial Inspection in the Mykolaiv region.

In December 2021, the High Anti-Corruption Court scheduled the case of Dmytro Sokolov for hearing and decided to try him in absentia, as he has been in hiding abroad since 2016.

In July 2022, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) concluded their investigation into the case.