How the largest debtor of Odesa Port Plant became the frontrunner in its purchase.
The ongoing series “Privatization of Odesa Port Plant” is now in its fifth season. The climax arrives on November 25, 2025, when the auction for a 99.5667% state share will be held. The intrigue lies in the twist that someone appears to be challenging Firtash’s control over OPP — yet that someone might actually be Firtash himself. Our article provides all details, including an official response from Agro Gas Trading.
Loss generator
Selling an enterprise of the caliber of Odesa Port Plant during wartime seems, to put it mildly, a somewhat risky decision. Currently, the declared starting price for privatization is only 4.5 billion UAH, which is approximately $107 million. For comparison: in 2009, OPP was sold for 5 billion UAH, which at that time amounted to over $625 million. That sale, by the way, was canceled, allegedly due to an undervaluation of the enterprise’s worth.
On the other hand, in recent years, OPP has been a consistent generator of losses. According to documents published by the owner of OPP, the State Property Fund, ahead of the auction, as of July 30, 2025, the enterprise has debts: 184 million UAH in unpaid wages; 182 million UAH to the state budget; and accounts payable of 16.2 billion UAH (for context, in 2022, it was only 9 billion). Therefore, getting rid of such a toxic asset, which also has rather dubious earning prospects under wartime conditions (the plant is currently idle), might generally seem like the right option for the state.
Risky Investment...
Immediately after the privatization announcement in August 2025, some experts doubted that a buyer for OPP would be found even at such a "lenient" price.
"I don’t think anyone will agree to buy it. I believe no one today has any illusions that a bunch of investors will rush in," said Oleh Pendzyn, a member of the Economic Discussion Club, in a comment to "Telegraf." Firstly, potential investors may be deterred by the significant debts of the enterprise. Secondly, the new owner will have to organize robust air defense. And at their own expense, because otherwise, there is a huge risk of losing both money and the plant itself. (By the way, the plant has already been hit, which forced it to suspend even the limited activity it was engaged in—grain transshipment. – Ed.).
"These are additional billions in expenses that few are ready to bear under wartime conditions," Pendzyn noted.
It’s also worth recalling the enterprise’s debts: the lion’s share of the 17 billion UAH debt of OPP is owed to Firtash’s Ostchem Holding Limited. The companies began "cooperating" during Yanukovych’s era—in 2013, after which the state-owned enterprise rapidly accumulated debts. As journalists at "BusinessCensor" wrote in their investigation, in 2013, the plant’s loss increased to 1.14 billion UAH from 116 million UAH in 2012.
As for Ostchem, the company, on the contrary, only profited. According to journalists, at that time, it bought cheap gas from Gazprom at $265 per thousand cubic meters and then resold it to OPP for $430. At the same time, the exclusive buyer of the plant’s finished products, ammonia and urea, was also a company linked to Firtash—NF Trading AG, and most contracts between the plant and the trader were concluded at undervalued prices.
Earlier, in 2010–2011, according to journalists, Firtash, thanks to cheap Russian gas and an open Russian credit line, had already acquired "Styrol," "Severodonetsk Azot," "Cherkasy Azot," Nadra Bank, and the port "Nika Tera." This gave grounds to claim that OPP was deliberately driven into debt so that Firtash’s structures could later buy it for a pittance. The change of power in 2014 seemingly thwarted Firtash’s plans, so he appears to have decided to profit from it differently: through the Stockholm Arbitration, he billed OPP for $190 million, plus nearly $60 million in interest, which the plant allegedly owed him.
On July 25, 2016, the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce ordered OPP to pay Ostchem Holding Limited $193.26 million in debt and $57.98 million in penalties. However, in 2021, the Supreme Court of Ukraine refused Ostchem’s claim to recover these funds.
...Risky investors
Despite the existing risks, as events have shown, there are still those willing to buy OPP as of today. One potential contender is the agro-holding Kernel, owned by Andriy Verevskyi. In September, in response to a request from LB, Kernel stated that they "are considering such a possibility," though without further details.
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Kernel’s motives are generally quite clear—the holding is interested both in OPP’s main products, i.e., fertilizers, and in the plant’s well-developed transshipment infrastructure, which allows for handling grain and other agricultural products.
As for the second currently known participant, LLC "Agro Gas Trading"—a company engaged in commercial gas supply—has openly declared its participation in the privatization. For some time, the company’s main "source of income" was supplying gas raw materials to OPP as a tolling partner.
The company is not declaring its intention to acquire OPP for the first time; in 2020, its owners, Oleksandr Gorbunenko and Vladimir Kolot, stated that they were interested in purchasing at least part of the plant.
One might be tempted to rejoice for the state, the State Property Fund, and OPP itself that a company has finally emerged, ready to pay 4.5 billion UAH for a non-operational enterprise, despite wartime risks. If it weren’t for a big and glaring "but": according to law enforcement, these funds may have been "earned" by "Agro Gas Trading" by essentially "ripping off" Odesa Port Plant itself.
"AGT" as a likely central piece of a corrupt machine
In March 2020, NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine) initiated an investigation under criminal case No. 12020000000000236, during which covert investigative actions were conducted to check the actions of Odesa Port Plant officials in concluding and executing contracts for the processing of tolling raw materials.
Later, the top officials of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, other officials, and representatives of both OPP and, in particular, "Agro Gas Trading" became subjects of this investigation. In March 2023, NABU published interim results of the investigation. They turned out to be a real information bomb, later becoming known as the "Sennichenko tapes."
According to NABU’s investigation materials, in September 2020, the then-head of the State Property Fund, Dmitry Sennichenko, involved his associate Serhiy Bairak and began implementing a corrupt deal under the following scheme: OPP, whose management and supervisory board were fully controlled by Sennichenko, was to
produce products, including ammonia and urea. But not under conditions favorable to the enterprise, but at prices that allowed the tolling partner to profit. At the same time, the tolling partner was supposed to share the "profits" with the participants of the criminal scheme.
Sennichenko asked Bairak to find a commercial company that would agree to the deal, and for the search for the right company, he involved Andriy Hmyrin—a former advisor to one of Sennichenko’s predecessors as head of the State Property Fund, Ihor Bilous. Hmyrin, in turn, found a company to execute the deal, which turned out to be LLC "Agro Gas Trading." One of the founders of this company, Vladimir Kolot, is his relative.
According to NABU, as a result of the activities of the criminal group, damages amounting to hundreds of millions of hryvnias were inflicted. In legal terms, as presented in court case materials, it sounds as follows.
"During the period from 17.11.2019 to 02.03.2020, PERSON_9, exercising the powers granted to him by the Law of Ukraine ’On the State Property Fund of Ukraine’ and other legislative acts of Ukraine as the Head of the Fund, acted against the interests of the state by creating a criminal organization, acting to achieve the illegal goals of such a criminal organization" JSC "OPP") of persons controlled by him and the subsequent misappropriation by such persons within the criminal organization of JSC "OPP" funds by establishing contractual relations between JSC "OPP" and LLC "AGRO GAS TRADING" (hereinafter—LLC "AGT") on non-competitive terms for the processing of tolling raw materials at undervalued prices. In 2021, JSC "OPP" lost financial resources and incurred losses amounting to 390,970,234.42 UAH..."—as stated, in particular, in one of the court rulings related to the investigation of crimes in which, according to NABU, LLC "Agro Gas Trading" is implicated.
Fragment of a transcript published by NABU of a dialogue between suspects in the criminal case, where "AGT" or LLC "Agro Gas Trading" is mentioned
What is currently known about the whereabouts and activities of suspects in the OPP case
In October 2024, NABU officially announced the completion of the investigation into the case of a "criminal organization led by the ex-head of the State Property Fund." However, most of the suspects in the case (a total of 10 individuals) have not yet appeared in court, as they are hiding from law enforcement abroad.
Criminal scheme of embezzlement at OPP and OGHK, source — NABU website
On the NABU website, one can find an announcement dated April 2023 about the search for 7 out of the 10 suspects in the case.
Current information on the search for suspects in the criminal case of OPP and OGHK. Source – NABU website
The former head of the State Property Fund, Dmitry Sennichenko, who is the main suspect in the criminal case involving OPP, is on the international wanted list. It is known that at the end of 2022, he registered a company in Spain, but his exact whereabouts are unknown. In May 2024, the High Anti-Corruption Court issued a decision to choose a preventive measure for him in the form of arrest.
As for Serhiy Bayrak, some media reported that he allegedly became the main whistleblower in this case and an informant for NABU. It was mentioned that he had previously been one of the top managers of oligarch Dmitry Firtash (indeed, he is still listed as the owner of LLC "UA-MEDIA," which belonged to Firtash’s media assets) and had close ties with the former OPP director (also implicated in the criminal case) Peter Davis.
Regarding Andriy Hmyrin and his family, a large-scale investigation by "Schemes" was published a few months ago. It turns out that Hmyrin’s family began actively purchasing real estate in the Emirates immediately after NABU released its "Sennichenko tapes."
"Most of the apartments in Dubai have already been sold, but according to ’Schemes,’ relatives of Hmyrin still own apartments worth $5.5 million, as well as an apartment and office space leased until 2025-2026, which may indicate that the family of the former official likely currently resides in the UAE," the journalists write.
The "Schemes" investigation also features Vladimir Kolot, a relative of Hmyrin and one of the co-owners of LLC "Agro Gas Trading." According to the journalists, in 2021 alone, he spent $7.3 million on purchasing apartments in the Emirates, acquiring 910 square meters of real estate.
Threads lead to Firtash?
Some additional information about the suspects in the case was also provided by the well-known blogger and investigative journalist Vladimir Bondarenko. According to his data, the owners of "AGT" may be connected to Dmitry Firtash’s structures.
"The owner of 50% of Agro Gas Trading (AGT)—Gorbunenko Oleksandr (born 1986, Donetsk)—has a father named Gorbunenko Ihor Oleksiyovych (born 1959, Donetsk), who has a brother named Gorbunenko Vladimir (born 1948, Donetsk), who has a son named Gorbunenko Denis (born 1973, Donetsk). Denis Gorbunenko managed Rodovid Bank on behalf of Firtash’s associates and ’owned’ SICH Bank on behalf of Firtash’s associates. In other words, Denis Gorbunenko’s cousin, Oleksandr, is a ’co-owner’ of Agro Gas Trading (AGT) on behalf of Firtash-Levochkin," writes Vladimir Bondarenko.
As for Vladimir Kolot, a connection to Firtash’s structures can also be traced through him. At one point, Kolot was the owner of the company LLC "TARGET GROUP" (now LLC "SKYFLY+"), whose director for some time was a certain Vladislav Klishchar. Klishchar, by the way, is currently also on the wanted list in connection with the same criminal case related to the dealings of Sennichenko and Co.
As reported by "BusinessCensor," Klishchar, in turn, is connected through business ties to Pavel Prysyazhnyuk, whose connections lead to Firtash.
Visualization of connections within the company EPI Group s.r.o., data from the resource rejstrik-firem.kurzy.cz
The founders of the Czech company EPI Group s.r.o. on February 18, 2019, were three individuals:
Vladislav Klishchar (35%), Martin Sluchka (35%), and a native of "Karpatygaz," Pavel Prysyazhnyuk (30%). On August 19, 2022, Vladislav Klishchar stepped down as a manager and appointed his son Leonid in his place. Prysyazhnyuk exited as a co-owner in March 2021. Prysyazhnyuk is known in the media as the managing partner of AIM GROUP. Since 2014, Pavel Prysyazhnyuk has held the position of independent director of the supervisory board of Misen Energy AB, Sweden. This company owns "Karpatygaz" (in fact, it was owned by "Misen Enterprises AB," a subsidiary of Misen Energy AB. — Ed.), which the media linked to Dmitry Firtash. In 2011, Ukrgazvydobuvannya (UGV), when it was headed by Firtash’s manager Yurii Borysov, signed joint activity agreements (JAA) with "Karpatygaz" in the field of gas production. As a result, the company became the largest partner of UGV under JAA contracts. Additionally, Prysyazhnyuk also had joint business ventures with Valentyna Zhukivska, who once headed the board of Firtash’s Nadra Bank, — the publication notes.
In other words, it turns out that the owners of the company currently intent on acquiring OPP may be connected to Firtash through a system of business ties. If so, this entire saga with the privatization of OPP for nearly a quarter of its initial price (recall, initially it was over $600 million, and now just over $100 million) is nothing more than a rather original way to return the debt to the sanctioned businessman Firtash, a debt that the Supreme Court of Ukraine allowed not to be paid.
By the way, a few days ago, a large-scale interview with the owners of LLC "Agro Gas Trading," Kolot and Gorbunenko, was published on "RBC-Ukraine." In it, they argue that their company actually saved OPP (Odesa Port Plant) from complete collapse and that they are not hiding from the investigation at all. And if they live abroad, it is solely due to business interests.
In the interview, they also talk about "fairness to the ordinary investor" and complain that the state should, on the contrary, help rather than persecute people like them. They express hope that the upcoming privatization process of OPP will not turn into a "political show." It happens: entrepreneurs skillfully evade prosecutors and NABU detectives, believing that they will meet their beautiful and all-powerful "investor nanny" along the way.
"Telegraph" intends to continue monitoring the plot twists of the OPP privatization saga. And it will definitely reach out to the State Property Fund of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office to find out what they think about the prospects of such a controversial privatization participant as LLC "Agro Gas Trading." Stay tuned.
Official response from LLC "Agro Gas Trading"
Statements regarding the activities of Agro Gas Trading and its business relations with counterparties have been disseminated without proper verification of their accuracy, without obtaining the official position of the company itself, and without considering key facts of AGT’s economic activity and its contribution to stabilizing OPP operations in 2019-2021.
We emphasize:
- Under the cooperation with OPP, AGT provided the plant with approximately 1.42 billion m³ of natural gas; around 1.735 million tons of urea and 187 thousand tons of ammonia were produced at OPP facilities, with over 90% of this production exported, bringing foreign currency revenue to the country.
- The cooperation helped preserve over 3,000 jobs, increase employee salaries by more than 20%, resume payments and bonuses to staff, and repay 68.1 million UAH of debt to the "Naftogaz" group.
- The plant received payment for its production services as agreed in the contract, which included increased surcharges to the processing tariff specifically to support the operational stability of the enterprise.
The deliberate ignoring of these facts in the publication, while simultaneously attributing to AGT the role of a "structure through which money was siphoned off," creates an impression among an unspecified group of readers that the company as a legal entity or its individual representatives are guilty of committing a criminal offense.
The claim that AGT’s participation in the privatization auction could be a cover for a corrupt deal is a speculative assumption and is not supported by any fact, contract, corporate connection, or document indicating control or influence by Dmitry Firtash over AGT or its beneficiaries. AGT officially declares that the company is an independent private Ukrainian enterprise, not under the control of any financial-industrial group associated with citizen Dmitry Firtash, and has no joint assets, corporate structures, or business interests with him.
The authors’ references to multi-level family connections of third parties, constructed on the principle of "a relative of an acquaintance once worked in a structure that the media linked to Firtash," cannot be considered evidence and, on the contrary, are a classic example of speculative reputational manipulation. Such labeling effectively equates AGT with a sanctioned oligarch and makes a judgmental conclusion about the allegedly corrupt nature of AGT’s participation in the auction, directly harming the company’s business reputation and creating a false impression among readers about the illegality of its intentions.
The company submitted an official application to participate in the OPP privatization auction in accordance with the procedures established by Ukrainian legislation, provided a full package of documents, and paid the registration fee. The company’s intention is transparent: to restore production, modernize technological units, improve energy consumption efficiency, preserve and develop jobs in the region, and strengthen the country’s export capacity in the segment of mineral fertilizers and ammonia.
AGT particularly emphasizes: as of the date of this statement, there is no court verdict convicting any officials or beneficiaries of AGT. There is no court decision establishing the guilt of the company or its officials in causing damage to OPP. Any other presentation of information violates the principle of presumption of innocence.
