The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) is investigating Sergii Koretskyi, the head of PJSC Ukrnafta, who is widely regarded in political circles as a top contender for the post of Prime Minister of Ukraine. The company’s chief is suspected of involvement in the embezzlement of state funds during the procurement of fuel additives. As part of the criminal proceedings, law enforcement officials have already conducted searches at the top manager’s residence.
According to investigators, PJSC Ukrnafta procured fuel additives from a private company owned by Koretskyi’s business partner. NABU detectives allege that the head of the state-owned enterprise personally approved the disputed contracts, which total approximately $70 million.
During the investigative measures, law enforcement seized the official’s mobile phone, which was subsequently placed under asset forfeiture by a court ruling. Authorities are currently reviewing correspondence and internal documentation that may point to a coordinated inflation of prices in public procurement.
Parallel to the corruption scandal surrounding the head of Ukrnafta, a media controversy has erupted over the official’s public profile. A significant amount of complimentary information about the manager was recently scrubbed from the Ukrainian segment of Wikipedia.
Following prolonged debates among the platform’s moderators, the article on Koretskyi was cut by more than half. Editors purged the text of subjective praise and phrasings that unsubstantiatedly credited the manager with personal achievements in public administration.
The article was stripped of numerous complimentary phrases such as «on Koretskyi’s initiative» and «thanks to Koretskyi,» which personally attributed fabricated governance milestones to him.
Sergii Koretskyi took the helm of Ukrnafta following its nationalization in late 2022. Prior to this appointment, he spent years working in Ukraine’s private oil and gas sector.
Recently, political analysts viewed him as one of the Presidential Office’s favorites to lead the Cabinet of Ministers. However, the ongoing NABU anti-corruption probe and the resulting energy sector scandal could significantly impact his future political career and upcoming government reshuffles. At present, no official charges have been filed against the suspect, and the investigation remains ongoing.