The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption drew up a report on an administrative offence against the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Rostyslav Shurma. The NAPC reported that he had violated the requirements for preventing and resolving conflicts of interest.
In 2022, Shurma organised the Electricity Committee at the Presidential Office, where he chaired it. The meetings were attended by key institutions involved in the energy sector.
Shurma had a private interest in the sector and did not declare a conflict of interest.
"The NAPC has established that Rostyslav Shurma's brother Oleh is the ultimate beneficial owner of seven companies engaged in the production of electricity from alternative sources," the NAPC said in a statement.
From 2019 to 2021, Rostyslav Shurma himself was a member of the supervisory board of the Helios investment fund, which co-founded three of his brother's companies.
"As of July 2022, when the first meeting of the Committee was held under the chairmanship of Rostyslav Shurma, SE Guaranteed Buyer had significant debts for payments for electricity generated from alternative sources purchased from Oleh Shurma's companies. The amount of debt to the latter totalled almost UAH 254 million," the NAPC explained.
The source for settlements with these companies may be the funds of NPC Ukrenergo, which are received by SE Guaranteed Buyer as payment for services to ensure an increase in the share of electricity production from alternative sources.
"In an effort to provide SE Guaranteed Buyer with an additional source of funding and to help repay the debt to my brother's companies, Rostyslav Shurma, at the Committee's meetings on 23 August and 7 September 2022, encouraged NPC Ukrenergo and SE Guaranteed Buyer to sign and approve the acts of acceptance and transfer of services provided to ensure an increase in the share of electricity production from alternative sources for January, May, July, October 2021 and February-June 2022," the NAPC said.
Thus, the decisions taken at the Committee's meetings had an impact on satisfying Rostyslav Shurma's private interest, namely, creating conditions for the success of his brother's business by making the necessary decisions by government agencies and companies involved in the electricity market.
"The NACP report, drawn up under Art. 1, 2 of Art. 172-7 of the Code of Administrative Offences (violation of requirements for prevention and settlement of conflicts of interest), the report on Rostyslav Shurma's actions has been sent to court. If he is found guilty, the court may impose a fine, and the official's data will be entered into the Unified State Register of Persons Who Committed Corruption or Corruption-Related Offences," the agency added.
- The companies of Shurma's brother Oleh received payments from the state budget for electricity from solar power plants that were located in the occupied territory and were probably disconnected from the country's unified energy system.
- Rostyslav Shurma admitted this, but claims that his brother's companies "are registered in Ukraine, all employees work in Ukraine, and the fact that some of the sites are still under occupation, there are thousands of such sites." He considers the investigation into the solar power plants in the occupied territory owned by his brother to be "very manipulative and untrue".
- According to ZN.UA, the family of Rostyslav Shurma, deputy head of the Presidential Office, owns companies that pay millions of hryvnyas less to the budget through venture capital funds.