The Primorsky district court of Odesa has approved the request of the region's Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) to arrest an entrepreneur involved in the organization of fake oil deliveries via Odesa region in the so-called "Kurchenko scheme" corruption case. The individual, detained in Dnipro, has been placed in pretrial confinement.

The court's press service said the individual could post UAH 20 million in bail or remain behind bars.

As earlier reported, Serhiy Kurchenko is involved in the criminal case as the leader of a criminal organization, which from 2010 through the start of 2014 committed serious and very serious economic crimes involving the sale of gas condensate. For example, during this period Kurchenko is suspected of organizing an organized criminal group to seize control of PJSC Ukrgazvydobuvannia, and the public joint-stock company Ukrnafta, as well as gas condensate supplies belonging to the state worth UAH 2.2 billion. The criminal act was committed at state-run auctions by buying condensate gas for the population at lower than market prices. Simultaneously, condensate gas was sold by the criminal group to enterprises controlled by Kurchenko in Ukraine at market prices.

Kurchenko has been on the international wanted list since March 2014.

As reported on February 2, prosecutors in Odesa region together with police and Ukraine's SBU security agents in the "Kurchenko scheme" case established that the Odesa Oil Refinery was used to evade taxes in excessive amounts. Oil supplies were delivered to the enterprise for re-export of 800,000 tonnes of oil supplies. However, the oil products were not re-exported and remained in Ukraine. As a result, from 2012 through 2014 the state incurred losses amounting to UAH 1.2 billion.

Kurchenko's accomplices included customs workers, tax authority officials and businessmen. Three customs officials from Odesa have been charged with suspicion of abetting tax evasion, along with employees of two commercial companies.