06.05.2025 Ecology Money laundering

Uranium fever: how the Servants of the People are dividing Ukraine’s mineral resources

Uranium fever: how the Servants of the People are dividing Ukraine’s subsoilUranium deposits, which can provide energy independence and billions in profits, are at the epicenter of the struggle between oligarchs, the state, and foreign players. The central figure in this confrontation is Gennadiy Butkevych, co-owner of ATB and founder of BGV Group Management. His company, Nuclear Energy Systems of Ukraine, started fighting for key uranium deposits two years ago. And now the oligarch is talking about personal conversations with the President to transfer the next special permits for uranium mining to his BGV Group Management.

Butkevych’s uranium ambitions: from ATB to the subsoil

Gennadiy Butkevych is not just a co-owner of the ATB chain, but also one of the most influential businessmen in Ukraine, ranked 16th in the Forbes Ukraine 2020 ranking with a net worth of $415 million.

Through his BGV Group Management, he is actively investing in the extraction of strategic minerals: uranium, beryllium, graphite, titanium, and zirconium. And his flagship company, Nuclear Energy Systems of Ukraine, which he owns together with Vitaliy Yakymenko (father of Servant of the People MP Pavlo Yakymenko), has been systematically increasing its influence in the uranium mining sector since 2015.

In the fall of 2022, his company, AESU, approached the central authorities with a proposal to hold tenders for production sharing agreements for three uranium deposits: Safonivske, Sadove and Severynivske. The company did not deny this information, stating: “Nuclear Energy Systems of Ukraine LLC considers the development of uranium ore deposits to be a promising area, as it will strengthen Ukraine’s energy independence. We are confident that the tenders will be transparent and the results will be public.”

However, the history of the NNEGC and its attempts to gain access to uranium deposits raises more questions than answers.

Uranium pause: Why did the Energoatom Company fail to start mining?

NNEGC was the only private company in Ukraine that had special permits for geological exploration of uranium deposits, in particular, Safonovskaya, Mikhailovskaya, Novogurivskaya and Surskaya sites. In July 2020, the company announced a breakthrough: a resource report for the Safonivske deposit was prepared according to the international standard, which estimated reserves of 4,700 tons of uranium. This could be the first step towards commercial production.

However, in October 2021, the State Service of Geology and Subsoil apparently denied NNEGCU a special permit for uranium mining at Safonivska due to “inaccurate data” in the submitted documents.

In November 2021, NNEGC’s special permits for geological exploration expired, and in December of the same year, the Supreme Court ruled that the company’s 2018 special permits were illegal. In fact, the company lost all rights to the uranium deposits, but did not stop trying to regain them through new tenders.

How Butkevych gained access to subsoil

Butkevych’s BGV Group controls not only uranium deposits but also a number of other strategic assets:

  • Beryllium: The Perzhanske deposit is the largest in the world, acquired in 2019 through an auction for UAH 76 million.
  • Graphite: Balakhovskoye deposit and Zarychansky area.
  • Granite: Zherevske deposit.

Butkevych’s company’s obtaining of special permits was often accompanied by scandals. For example, some of the permits were issued without transparent auctions, which became the subject of criminal investigations. The auctions were often won by companies with minimal capital, registered in private homes, and their founders were listed in several similar firms. This raised suspicions of collusion between the business and the State Service of Geology and Mineral Resources.

The case of the Perzhanske deposit was particularly resonant. The company Perzhanska Ore Company, controlled by Butkevych, had an authorized capital of only UAH 25 thousand and was registered in a private house. The Zhytomyr Regional Prosecutor’s Office tried to challenge the allocation of the site due to its location in the Polissia Nature Reserve, but the courts sided with the company.

Environmental threat: Are subsoil resources worth destroying nature?

The Perzhanske deposit is partially located in the Polissia Nature Reserve, the Mykytche Nature Reserve, and the Slovechansky Ridge Landscape Park. Beryllium mining is accompanied by emissions of toxic substances that can cause irreparable damage to the ecosystem. Similar risks apply to uranium deposits, where mining can lead to radioactive contamination of soil and water.

Environmental activists are sounding the alarm, but their voices are being ignored. The state, which is supposed to protect natural resources, is siding with business, which raises suspicions of corruption.

Will uranium save Ukraine?

Uranium deposits could become the basis for Ukraine’s energy independence, but corruption, non-transparent auctions, and geopolitical games stand in the way. Gennadiy Butkevych and his BGV Group are only a part of a bigger game, where the stakes are not only profits, but also the country’s sovereignty. Will Ukraine be able to protect its subsoil from internal and external threats? And why have the State Service of Geology and Subsoil and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources not been on the country’s side for a long time?

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