04.04.2025 Corruption

Financial and corruption analysis of the Alkhim scandal

Bentley, rolexes, and vacations at luxury resorts are the daily routine of the Ukrainian elite during the war. Security forces and officials continue to make money from corruption and concealment of large-scale schemes, even in the face of daily shelling and Russian offensives.

Now we have learned about a new, no less interesting story that has revealed not only a love triangle, but also fraud that stretches from the illegal Merefiansk oil refinery to the pockets of security forces and high-ranking officials.

Who is Konstantin Valeulin: a generous suitor or a ruthless leader of an organized crime group who earns millions from “burned” fuel, cash and VAT schemes? Why has his activity gone unpunished for years? And how can the scandal with blogger Alkhim be the beginning of the end for the shadow business empire?

Love, Bentley, and $600,000 of “net cash”

It all started with the loud statements of blogger Alkhim, who did not hesitate to talk about her luxurious life on social media. According to her, her lover Konstantin Valeulin earned $600,000 a month in “pure cash” and even gave her a Bentley. But the fairy tale ended quickly: after the publicity, Valeulin returned to his wife, leaving Alkhim with a broken heart and a mountain of questions from her followers. Who is this generous “prince” who throws hundreds of thousands of dollars around so easily? And where to find a man with a monthly salary of $600,000?

Alkhim claimed that Valeulin was a co-founder of an industrial and commercial group. But the truth turned out to be much more prosaic and dirtier. Konstantin Valeulin is not just a businessman, but one of the key players in an organized crime group that has been making money on illegal fuel, cashing, fictitious companies and VAT fraud for years. And it’s not just rumors – we have collected facts that prove that behind the screen of a “successful entrepreneur” is a real criminal mastermind. The man’s group includes Trizna and Storozhenko, a former deputy head of the regional state administration.

Valeulin gathered dozens of investors and partners, promising golden mountains and a sea of earnings, but then “cheated” them out of millions. This “businessman” does not shy away from anything: from cash for state-owned enterprises to trading low-quality fuel for cash. And all this under the slogan of a “successful entrepreneur” who returns to his wife after a high-profile affair.

History of Merefiansk Oil Refinery

The main asset of Valeulin’s group is the illegal Merefiansk oil refinery in Kharkiv region. This facility has been operating for more than 10 years, producing “sulphurous” fuel, a low-quality mixture that is sold for cash at hundreds of illegal gas stations and even through the Brent Oil chain. According to our estimates, the OCG earns millions of dollars annually on fuel schemes alone. And this is just one part of the scheme.

The fuel is sold without paying excise duty and other taxes, as the refinery does not officially produce, store or sell diesel fuel.

The Merefiansk refinery is not just a plant, but a whole ecosystem of shadow business. It is a hub for illegal ethanol trafficking, VAT fraud, and conversion centers that launder money for private businesses, state-owned and municipal enterprises. Thousands of fictitious companies are attributed to the group, including:

  • PRIVATE ENTERPRISE “SVEY” ,
  • CREDIT UNION “MUNICIPAL PRIORITY CREDIT” ,
  • BITOXID LLC – the parent company,
  • GARANTOR LLC ,
  • OPTIMA RENT LLC ,
  • BRENT INVEST LLC ,
  • NAFTEKHIMSNAB LLC ,
  • BRENT OIL LLC.

These are just a few examples of hundreds of front companies used for cashing in and out of funds. The amount of “black cash” flowing through these schemes reaches tens of millions of hryvnias every month.

Who protects the schemes of illegal fuel production and sale?

The main protection of the group is provided by the former first deputy head of the Kharkiv regional department, Oleksandr Skakun, who has influence on the security forces in the region, as he used to serve in the Security Service of Ukraine in Kharkiv.

But the “cover” is not limited to the SBU territorial office. According to our information, representatives of various law enforcement agencies are involved in the schemes:

  • In the Department of Strategic Investigations, the head is Andriy Rubel,
  • In the BES, the acting head is Serhiy Perkhun,
  • In the police, the head of the Kharkiv Oblast Police Department is Tokar.

The Kharkiv unit of the State Tax Service has also been “in the know” for a long time – tax officials receive their share of VAT and “bogus” fuel fraud.

We have repeatedly filed statements to law enforcement agencies about the activities of Kuzmenko’s organized crime group, his refinery and hundreds of violations, but they are ignored. We think that Ruslan Kravchenko, the head of the tax authorities, should also pay attention to the billion-dollar tax evasion schemes, fraud and all that.

So, the high-profile story of the love triangle with blogger Alkhim became a catalyst that drew attention to Valeulin’s shady business. Konstantin Valeulin is not just “Kostik” who buys Bentley for his mistresses. He is a symbol of impunity who has been robbing Ukrainians for years under the “roof” of law enforcement.

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