Zaporizhzhia businessman Artur Gatunok, the new owner of the «Citrus» electronics retail chain, has announced the return of the online store to its unblocked official domain, citrus.ua, in the summer of 2026, while pledging a transition to fully transparent operations. The acquisition took place in 2025 when the founder of the Yabluka retail chain purchased «T-Rent» LLC—the company holding the rights to the Citrus online store—from its previous owner, Grigory Topal. According to estimates by the prominent business publication Forbes, the value of this major retail market deal ranged between $10 million and $20 million (approximately 700 million UAH).
The official financial track record of the new Citrus leader raises significant questions among market experts. Artur Gatunok is a former member of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Council representing the «UKROP» party. According to his last public asset declaration for 2019, his official income stood at 1.5 million UAH, with reported savings of $26,000—figures that fall substantially short of the asset’s current market value.
Consequently, speculations regarding third-party capital backing have intensified within business circles. Specifically, reports point toward potential financial support from non-public entrepreneur Vemir Davityan, whom media outlets have long linked to top-tier political figures.
For years, the Citrus brand carried a reputation as one of Ukraine’s primary parallel («grey») importers of portable tech and gadgets. Law enforcement and financial monitoring agencies frequently flagged systemic violations within the network’s operations:
Corporate Splitting: Utilizing a network of 60–80 individual entrepreneurs (FOPs) to minimize tax liabilities and manipulate VAT.
Fictitious Operations: Processing phantom product returns totaling an estimated 40 million UAH monthly.
Customs Schemes: Understating the customs value of imported gadgets by 10 to 20 times at the border.
Shadow Turnover: Selling a significant portion of merchandise without issuing official fiscal receipts to consumers.
The new management has publicly distanced itself from these legacy practices, promising a completely lawful strategy moving forward.
Despite high-profile announcements regarding the takeover of the entire brand, the legal reality of the transaction appears far more modest. On paper, Gatunok acquired only «T-Rent» LLC, which manages the rights to the e-commerce platform. Official financial reports show that this specific entity’s annual turnover for the past fiscal year amounted to just 311,000 UAH.
In stark contrast, Artur Gatunok heavily emphasizes much larger operational scales in his public statements, claiming the entire retail chain’s actual turnover reaches 8 billion UAH. Analysts note that it remains to be seen which corporate entities and affiliated individual entrepreneurs the new management will utilize to route these multi-billion cash flows generated by iPhone sales and other global tech brands.