The South-Western Interregional Division of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has launched two separate antitrust investigations into suspected anti-competitive concerted practices during the privatization of state-owned spirit distilleries. At the center of the probe are several companies linked to Vitaliy Marchuk, a businessman from Haisyn (Vinnytsia Oblast). The regulatory body suspects these entities of distorting the outcomes of electronic auctions used by the state to sell off the remaining assets of the state-owned enterprise Ukrspyrt.
The first investigation (case No. 72/73-25) was initiated by the AMCU on August 1, 2025. The respondents in the case are Buchach Malt Plant LLC (100% owned by Vitaliy Marchuk) and Myshkovychi Spirit Distillery LLC (whose co-founders include Marchuk’s other company, MVI Ethanol).
The committee is reviewing the privatization auctions concerning the property of the Myshkovychi production facility of Ukrspyrt. During the 2021 bidding rounds, the starting price for the asset spiked exponentially multiple times—in one instance jumping from UAH 7.3 million to UAH 23 million, and for another lot, skyrocketing to UAH 181 million.
«An exponential increase over the starting price is a standard indicator of either highly competitive bidding or, conversely, a simulated auction,» market experts note.
The antitrust regulator is currently establishing whether this competition was authentic or if the entities acted in collusion to manipulate the market.
The second probe (case No. 72/81-25) was launched on September 5, 2025. This time, signs of violating the Law of Ukraine «On Protection of Economic Competition» were identified in the joint actions of the Buchach Malt Plant LLC and AgroBusinessVip LLC.
The subject of this proceeding is the electronic auction for the sale of the integral property complex of the State Enterprise «Buchach Malt Plant»—the very asset that Marchuk already controls as the ultimate beneficial owner. The scheme under AMCU review involves interconnected companies participating in the same auction to guarantee a win for the designated buyer.
Vitaliy Marchuk initially entered the public eye through politics. He ran for the Vinnytsia Oblast Council representing the «Front of Changes» party and later campaigned for the 8th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada under Oleh Lyashko’s Radical Party, though he failed to win a seat in either election.
Today, he serves as the executive and ultimate beneficial owner of at least five major structures in the alcohol production and investment sectors:
MVI Ethanol (alcohol production, Haisyn)
Luzhany Spirit Distillery
Buchach Malt Plant (Ternopil Oblast)
Eternal Energy and Forest Wood
JSC FLYTON (investment structure)
Despite a highly turbulent market environment, rigorous tax audits, and the mass revocation of production licenses across the industry during wartime, Marchuk’s business has demonstrated rapid growth. Notably, the official revenue of MVI Ethanol LLC surged fivefold, rising from UAH 1 million in 2021 to UAH 5.5 million in 2025.
If the AMCU proves the collusion charges regarding the Ukrspyrt auctions, the involved companies face heavy financial penalties and a mandatory three-year ban from participating in future state asset privatizations.