20.05.2025 Agro

Deception of international partners by a former MP from the Tymoshenko Bloc

Corruption in Ukraine’s agricultural sector is gaining new proportions, and its threads stretch far beyond the country’s borders to international stock exchanges and offshore jurisdictions. The schemes of the Kernel agricultural company, which have been operating since at least 2016, have allowed hundreds of millions of hryvnias to be transferred abroad, avoiding taxes, manipulating stock markets and causing enormous losses to the state. Andriy Verevsky is a former MP from the Tymoshenko Bloc, European Choice, and United Ukraine, the ultimate beneficial owner of both companies, and is suspected of involvement in organized crime.

Entry to the Warsaw Stock Exchange

In 2007, Kernel Trade LLC, through a controlled company, listed its shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. This step was positioned as a breakthrough for the Ukrainian economy: the company became the world’s largest producer of sunflower oil, its market capitalization grew, and its shares attracted investors, including Polish pension funds.

As of 2022, about 13% of the shares were owned by these funds, which ensured a steady inflow of capital. During 2009-2014, the mandatory participation of Polish citizens in non-state pension funds contributed to the growth of their investments in Kernel Trade. Even after the change in the legislation, when participation became voluntary, Polish funds sold only 0.5% of their shares, maintaining a long-term interest in the company.

Manipulation of shares

The management of Kernel-Trade LLC, headed by Andriy Verevsky, took advantage of the Warsaw Stock Exchange’s lack of mechanisms to protect small shareholders, such as mandatory buyouts or investment insurance. Through his controlled company, Namsen Limited, Verevsky organized a scheme aimed at: ousting minority shareholders, artificially lowering the value of shares, and establishing full control over the company.

In March 2023, against the backdrop of a full-scale war in Ukraine, Verevsky bought 25% of the Kernel-Trade land bank for the officially declared amount of USD 210 million. However, the real value of the assets was much higher, which caused outrage among minority shareholders. They accused Verevsky of using the war as a pretext to acquire assets for a song.

Delisting and share dilution

In 2024, Verevsky switched to more aggressive tactics. At that time, more than 60% of Kernel Trade’s shares were owned by independent shareholders, including European pension funds. Through Namsen Limited, he offered to buy out the minority shareholders’ shares at a price of PLN 18.5 per share, while their real value was about PLN 100. The dissemination of information about the intention to delist the shares from the Warsaw Stock Exchange caused panic among investors, forcing them to sell shares at a reduced price.

In August 2024, Kernel-Trade held an additional share issue for USD 60 million, which was fully purchased by Verevsky. In September of the same year, another issue took place at a price of PLN 1.16 per share, which was also bought out by Verevsky. These transactions allowed him to increase his stake to 90% of the shares, and after further manipulations – to 93.67% of the votes. This allowed him to initiate the delisting of the company from the stock exchange, effectively depriving minority shareholders of their corporate rights.

Marek Dittl, Chairman of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, called Verevsky’s actions unacceptable from the point of view of international financial standards, pointing to the artificial dilution of minority shareholders’ shares. Investor Pavel Boyko united about 400 minority shareholders who filed a lawsuit in the District Court of Luxembourg, challenging the decision to delist. Poland’s Financial Supervisory Authority said it would not allow the shares to be delisted until the court proceedings are completed.

In fact, the use of the offshore company Namsen Limited allowed Verevsky to create a complex scheme for withdrawing funds from Ukraine and the EU. Transactions for the redemption of assets and the movement of financial resources through foreign banks have signs of money laundering. Therefore, the absence of an independent audit during the key operations of Kernel Trade only increases suspicions about the opacity of financial flows.

The role of Andriy Verevsky

Andrii Verevskyi, the ultimate beneficiary of both companies, is a central figure in both schemes. At PJSC Poltava Oil Extraction Plant – Kernel Group, he coordinated the logistics, storage and export of illegal products using elevators, offices and vehicles under his control. At Kernel-Trade LLC, he organized stock market manipulations that led to the monopolization of sunflower oil exports and violation of the principles of free competition.

New fictitious companies for oil exports

The most recent scheme, discovered in 2024-2025, is related to Kernel-Trade LLC and tax evasion through the export of sunflower oil. According to the ImportGenius system, from May 2024 to March 2025, 750 thousand tons of oil were exported through the ports of Odesa. However, Kernel-Trade declared only 325 tons, which is a tiny share for a company of this size.

The rest of the export volumes were processed through the companies Yadro-Trade and Yadro-Torg, which appeared on the market suddenly. These companies are registered at the address of Kernel-Trade in Kyiv, carried out one export transaction each and then ceased operations. This indicates that they are fictitious and used as transit pads to conceal income.

Official operations of Kernel-Trade were conducted through bank payments with billing checks. Instead, Yadro-Trade and Yadro-Torg used card-to-card transfers, which makes bank control impossible and allows them to avoid taxes. After export, these companies were liquidated, which made tax audits more difficult.

As a result, the scheme allowed the profits from oil exports to be shielded from tax control. According to preliminary estimates, the state budget lost UAH 1.5 billion. These funds could have supported Ukraine’s economy in times of war, but instead went into pockets.

We have already submitted relevant materials to law enforcement and regulatory authorities. In addition, we are appealing to our European partners to prevent further financial manipulations, including in the EU member states. We look forward to the results.

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