Aleksandr Katsuba, now a Ukrainian energy expert and ALFA GAS owner, was a bureaucrat and Deputy Chairman at “Naftogaz of Ukraine” 10 years ago. Linked to “Boiko’s Towers,” his journey was explored by UNN.
Recently, several anonymous Telegram channels accused you of trying to recover 100 million hryvnias, which you paid to the state as a bail to avoid imprisonment for the “theft of Boiko’s Towers”.
No, these 100 million that are being talked about are not the subject of consideration. They are not part of the court review, and there is no mention of it in the appeal. And I never intended, nor do I intend to get them back in any way. I am ready to confirm this publicly: this money will remain the property of the state.
What then is your goal?
To return the case to the first instance, to the Shevchenkivskyi Court. I was forced to make a deal with the investigation to appoint a guilty party. And that’s not right. My goal is to restore my business reputation, first and foremost. My business reputation suffers for something I’m not guilty of. It hangs over me, my business, my partners. If I were a criminal or had stolen something, I would have fled to Russia with that Yanukovych gang back then. And there are many precedents now, there is legal practice of cancelling deals with the investigation. For this, you don’t need to bribe anyone – neither prosecutors nor judges. You need competent lawyers who can take this case through court. My lawyers believe that our position is ironclad, correct, lawful.
Let’s go back to history a bit. Remind our readers, what is the case about? How did you become a subject of the case with “Boiko’s Towers”?
In 2012, Chornomornaftogaz purchased, installed, and equipped two oil drilling rigs. According to the investigation – at inflated prices. There was a high-profile criminal case. It very quickly descended from the level of real figures in the Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministry of Energy to the level of the Deputy of Finance of “Chornomornaftogaz,” that is, me. As a result, the investigation tried to pin everything on people who didn’t make decisions. Including me. At the time of purchase, I was the Deputy of Finance at “Chornomornaftogaz,” there were about 7 deputies in the company. Formally, I was involved in the deal, as was the entire team of the company. But – I remind you – the question was about 800 million dollars. Allocating this money for the purchase is a matter for the Cabinet of Ministers, Prime Minister Azarov. The Minister of Energy, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Economy (Poroshenko), Naftogaz, and other ministries. It was a very large sum, it was specifically laid out in the articles of the budget of Ukraine. Choosing a contractor to build the towers and determining the price of the deal – that’s a matter for the tender committee, which I was not a part of and whose decisions I did not approve. There are documents under all this. I was one of about 15-20 people who approved the documents after they went through all the approvals. I did not sign the contracts, the first persons of “Chornomornaftogaz” and “Naftogaz” were authorized to finalize the deal, deputies performed the executor role in their area of work.
What was your role as the Deputy of Finance?
To check the correctness of the details and the payment schedule. If I hadn’t properly paid the payment schedule, then that would have been my responsibility. But again, Naftogaz allocated the money to us, I could have banged my head against the wall trying to adhere to the execution schedule, but if Naftogaz didn’t give us the money, I definitely would not have met the payment schedule.
Why did you decide to prove your innocence just now?
I started thinking about it almost from the moment I signed the deal with the investigation. In 2016, I had no chance of doing it. So, with my lawyers, we decided to focus on ensuring that I could leave the country peacefully, having signed an absolutely absurd deal at that time. And then to counteract. Moreover, there are now almost 30 precedents similar to my case. There, people also signed absurd deals and managed to challenge them.
Why is it happening right now, in the fall of 2023?
We would have reached the stage of challenging the verdict and the results of the investigation earlier, probably. But first, there was the coronavirus, then a full-scale war began. In 2022, we were only busy with the war, setting up the supply of vehicles to the army, saving the business. Then there was definitely no time for it. Currently, volunteering is in full swing, the business – somehow we saved it, it’s time to think about justice.
If your goal is to restore your business reputation, then why do your opponents appeal specifically to the 100 million?
100 million – it’s understandable to people. Explaining the legal nuances of the deal, figuring out who is right – who is not, – why is that necessary? News about 100 million will gather more views and negativity towards me.
And who is the customer?
Those who would be disadvantaged if a real investigation started or the real subjects emerged. This could be a potential hit to the reputation of the former heads of the Cabinet, Naftogaz, etc. Possibly the Russians, who are “covering” for their own, and ordering all this to Shariy and other bloggers. And the fact that the texts of all “exposers” are similar, like two drops of water, proves to me the presence of a clear campaign. To fix the status quo.
So, you didn’t set the price?
It was determined by the tender committee. The Main Control and Revision Office of Ukraine, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and a bunch of other organizations checked it. The CRU at that time generally checked and approved all deals and contracts in Chornomornaftogaz. Their signature is also on the contract. They were then a mixture of the current State Audit Service and a conditional DBR. Everyone was scared even at the stage of approving the decision.
In your opinion as an expert in the gas sector, was the price inflated?
Probably. But we’re not talking about 100%, at most – from 10 to 15%. And the whole problem – in the urgency. Usually, the queue for such equipment is from 5 to 7 years, sometimes – 10. But then the government decided to build the towers urgently. To increase gas production. In principle, this was achieved. But I learned about this later. At that time, I approved a contract that was approved at the level of the Cabinet, the leadership of “Naftogaz” by the usual procedure. Such contracts passed through me as a financier by the thousands. Not as big in volume, but many. And the responsibility is the same. It’s 100 thousand hryvnias or 1 billion. I am sure that there is not a single contract still in Naftogaz where the contractor does not earn their 10-20% margin. Another thing is how to assess and control them.
So, “Boiko’s Towers” were actually stolen by Boiko?
The case is not about theft, it’s about inflated prices according to the investigation. The towers were not stolen by anyone, except the Russians. The equipment was brought to Ukraine, erected, and they worked, extracted gas for Ukraine until the occupation of Crimea in 2014. Recently, the special forces of the GUR cleared them of the Russians. And they can no longer exploit them. Regarding Boiko’s involvement – it’s hard for me to say. A proper investigation needs to be conducted. And what was done – a farce. What they made me sign – outright nonsense. That I received instructions personally from Yanukovych and almost brought cash to his office. I was too small a person in the structure of the gas industry. And such issues, in principle, were decided at the level of the Cabinet.
So, Boiko and Azarov?
Even more at the level of Azarov, probably. It’s hard for me to say, I’ve never seen Azarov in person and haven’t even been in the building of the Cabinet.
But could you have provoked them to make this purchase? Propose a scheme?
I couldn’t even go to Azarov with ordinary work issues. Especially – when I worked at “Chornomor.” Where’s the Prime Minister and where’s one of the deputies of a regional gas company? Or even formally write a letter to him “let’s buy towers.” In any state company, the head makes the decision, sets the task, and sends down directives.
Could Boyko have been involved?
I saw him three times at joint events of the Ministry of Energy and Naftogaz. There was a significant difference in our status.
But you testified against Bakulin, Boyko, and others.
No, I only testified against a person who is no longer alive, as the investigators recommended me to do. He was a professional and decent person. I also testified against Azarov and Yanukovych, even though I had no idea about their role in this deal. I had never seen either of them and never spoke to them. I just signed what was pushed in front of me.
Why did you agree to that?
I had been without proper justice for six months, with no chance of achieving fairness. So, I went for this deal with the investigation and was ready to sign anything.
Why should we believe your version of events?
Because it is confirmed by real documents and procedures that were in place at that time. And the investigation knows this better than anyone.
Why did Shariy attack you? You were friends before, right?
We communicated a lot when I went to Spain after all the injustice. During the investigation, he was the only media, so to speak, that was willing to present my view on the case. When I went to Spain, we met, had dinner, and communicated from time to time. Moreover, we shared a hatred for the previous government. I haven’t communicated with him since the change of government in 2019. And after the position he took in the war, I have no desire to.
This logic leads us to the question of energy independence. Is it possible, in principle?
Yes. Ukraine has a very rich energy potential. Especially when we regain control over the temporarily occupied territories. It is very difficult to find resources that Ukraine does not have. This includes hydrocarbons and waste that can be burned quite ecologically, as well as sun and wind in the south. We need to solve three global problems – adequacy of conditions for investment, security, energy efficiency of the economy.
What does adequacy of investment conditions mean?
First of all, it is transparent courts. For any investor, the key factor is the adequacy of the judicial system. Everyone sees even today how many searches are being conducted at IT companies. And who gives these permissions for searches, account arrests, corporate arrests? The investigation makes a request and judges always satisfy it. Well, which investor would like that? We all complain about the law enforcement system, but what about the judicial system? Here’s an example of the USA. It doesn’t matter there if you are a senator or a grandchild of the president, a famous singer or a billionaire. The court is an independent body, and there is no pressure on judges. Journalists, activists, officials, or business.
Is Ukraine doing something useful for energy now? Because sometimes it seems that we only count on allies and luck.
Yes, here I am more of an optimist. Energy companies are modernizing networks, distribution, protection systems against fluctuations. Private companies are increasing gas production, and the state is also trying. So this winter we will have enough gas from our own production, although the economy has already begun to recover after the catastrophic collapse of 2022. Communities, however, can focus on energy conservation.
By the way, speaking of winter. In your opinion, is Ukraine ready for winter?
Good question for early November. With the available resources – ready. But here the important question is whether Russia is ready to try to arrange such a test for us again, as a year ago. We and the Russians are competing, who can outplay whom. They try to launch as many missiles, drones, and so on. We try to shoot down drones and missiles, repair damage, reduce the level of centralization of heat and electricity supply. Our air defense has increased, whether they have more missiles and drones compared to last year, we will find out soon. As for the readiness of energy workers – I am confident in it. The system has adapted, rebuilt, there is a reserve of transformers and other equipment. So you can consider me a cautious optimist. Even if there are outages, they are unlikely to be long-term and systemic.
So until the end of the war, we have to live with this challenge?
Yes, no air defense has been invented yet that can shoot down 100 missiles. Firstly, the threat of outages should be expected in large and front-line cities. Because during large-scale attacks, energy workers will definitely resort to outages to avoid overloading the energy grid. Due to the risk of destroying transformers. It’s better to be safe and sit without light for 2 hours than to sit for a day.
Do you think Russians might try to regain their influence on Ukrainian energy?
So they are still trying to influence. Using methods of the same hybrid war. Political lobbying, unfortunately, still exists. Protecting their people – as we discussed above – as well. Moreover, Russia has attacked, is attacking, and will attack any projects in Ukraine for the extraction of oil, gas, coal, uranium. It will attack the construction of new nuclear reactors. Using the topic of ecology or politics for this. They know how to do this.
And what to do about it?
Here a state policy is needed. Explanation. Popularization of energy as an important and even key sector for the country.
Business during the war and volunteering
You returned to the gas market. Isn’t it scary to make such a decision during the war?
Our business can be destroyed by a missile, that’s true. But we don’t invest in the Armed Forces for nothing. My partners and I are confident that the further it goes, the better the Armed Forces will be able to ensure the protection of civilian and energy infrastructure. So our investments may be optimistic, but logical. Besides, entering the gas market now is easier than 5-10 years ago. Less regulation and bureaucracy, promising sites can be won at auction, there’s no need to “resolve” anything, and assets are cheaper. Now only taxes are high, but that’s logical – the state needs money to win the war. That’s why production is growing.
Why then don’t we see a queue of foreign investors?
Well, take Israel today, they have an acute phase of war. Do you think they have a queue of investors in the last month? The circumstances of the war, which are understandable to us, are still not very clear to foreigners. We’re talking here. The siren is wailing. We keep working. Well, we’ll move to the basement. We’ll take the laptop with us and work there. For us, this has already become part of everyday life. You understand that you need to work, I understand that I need to work, my employees understand. And we invest, develop, believe in the best.
How significant a player are you in the market?
Around the middle. We extract a million – one and a half million cubic meters of gas per month. Large ones extract a million and more per day.
You were attributed to having a connection with Pavel Fuchs. And shared interests in the gas market. You told ‘Economic Truth’ in an interview that this is not true. And even denied interest in the gas market.
Then, before the pandemic, it seems, I wasn’t planning to return to the market. 4 years have passed since that time, circumstances have changed and the old gas stories have let me go. As for Fuchs – nothing has changed here. I had no joint business interests with him and will not have.
What about other business directions?
We continue to develop the online lending business, it is now mainly developing abroad. Vietnam. Sri Lanka. Poland. Two car publishing houses – AutoBazar and AutoCenter – have reached self-sufficiency. Last year and this year, my team and I completely changed the business model, adapted it to the secondary market and the spare parts market. Both sites are profitable.
Did the topic of cars lead to volunteering?
To helping the army. The fear for the future led all of us to help the army, I think. The war caught me and my family in Kyiv. I took the children out, returned to the capital. And I worked here during the hottest days, and I work now. The city where I spent my childhood and youth – Kharkiv – was being wiped off the face of the earth. The city where I live – they wanted to surround and destroy it. So I started helping with what I could – money, then cars.
How many cars have you handed over?
I can’t even recall exactly. Over 80, probably. We are now at a pace of 1 car for the army per week. Plus tires. Plus repairs.
Do you work through some fund?
No, I work through friends, through the military I know. Registering a fund – immediately there are talks about politics. About something else. So we just help with what we can and what we understand. And if my business is in the field of cars, then why not deal with cars? The front consumes a huge amount of transport. From ordinary civilian SUVs to special equipment.
Did you perceive the war the same way before February 24th?
Honestly, no. For me, the occupation of Crimea was a strong blow, as were the events in the Donetsk region. But I truly understood what this war is and who the enemy is when missiles flew to Kharkiv and Kyiv.
Do you plan to help until the end of the war?
Yes. For us, this war is a matter of survival, existence, a normal future in our country. We have no choice but to win. And for this, the army still needs a lot of cars.
