Sergey Kurchenko

Serhiy Vitaliiovych Kurchenko (, , born 21 September 1985) is a former Ukrainian, Russian businessman and founder/owner of the group of companies "Gas Ukraine 2009" specializing in trading of liquefied natural gas. Kurchenko is also the former Since March 2014 Kurchenko has been on the international wanted list, and his property and other assets have been arrested. In October 2017, a Ukrainian court confiscated Metalist Kharkiv from Kurchenko and placed it under state property.

Currently Kurchenko lives in Moscow and handles from there his businesses in Russian occupied regions of Donbas and Crimea under the auspices of the FSB.

Career Kurchenko started working as a courier for Naftogaz, Ukraine's national oil and gas company, when he was 16. Per his official biography he advanced to deputy commercial director, by reorganizing the wholesale of liquefied gas within two years. Implementation of his projects increased Ekspogaz's profits. Kurchenko left Ekspogaz and started his own business in 2005 at the age of 19 years.

His official biography on "Metalist" states "The experience and attracted financing allowed him to carry out a few successful investment projects in the primary market building and the land market in the Kharkiv region. From 2005 to 2008, prior to the 2008 financial crisis, prices on the real estate market in Ukraine rose more than 30% per year." The biography does not mention any projects or the name of his firm.

Gaz Ukraine 2009 In 2009, Kurchenko founded a group of companies named "Gas Ukraine 2009". The group includes 55 companies of diverse activities, and all are registered in Kharkiv region and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

Early October 2017, a Ukrainian court confiscated Metalist Kharkiv from Kurchenko and placed it under state property.

On 26 February 2013, the VETEK group of companies bought 99.6% of the Odesa refinery's shares from Lukoil. Despite the plant's opening ceremony on 29 March 2013 it has not been operating.

In December 2017 Kyiv's Pechersky District Court seized corporate and intellectual rights along with part of the real estate owned by UMH holding.

Corruption allegations Media have described Kurchenko as the "wizard of gaz", the "gas king of Ukraine" and "business sensation of Ukraine 2012". He gives no interviews, no live comments, and makes no appearances on open business forums, releasing only prepared press releases.

According to investigative journalists, Kurchenko's achievements in the trade of liquefied natural gas, oil products and products for the oil and gas industry resulted from his connections to high-ranking officials in the government of Ukraine, namely Artem Pshonka, the son of former Prosecutor General of Ukraine and Party of regions MP Viktor Pshonka and Oleksandr Yanukovych, the eldest son of former president Viktor Yanukovych. Further connections are Serhiy Arbuzov, first Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Alexander Klimenko, Ministry of Finance (Ukraine). According to Ukrainian media reports, ICU acted as a broker in the purchase of government bonds worth over 2 billion UAH, through the use of Cypriot offshore entities.

In exile Following the 22 February 2014 impeachment

According to Ukraine's general prosecutor, Kurchenko is under investigation for failing to pay $130 million in tax and the theft of $180 million from bank investors.

According to Ukrainian and Russian media Kurchenko owns the coal company Vneshtorgservis in Ukraine's separatist entities, the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic. Kurchenko moved to luxurious are of Rublyovka, near Moscow, where he has a mansion worth of 2.1 billion rubles. In 2017, Kurchenko had already an active business life in Moscow visited and periodically visited the presidential administration and the Russian government, the offices of Rosneft, Lukoil, Gazprombank, VTB, the First Czech-Russian Bank, Roscosmos. His office located in Moscow City. He took active participation in "Committee for the Rescue of Ukraine" and met regularly former pro-Russian deputies of the Verkhovna Rada Elena Bondarenko and Vladimir Saldo, who in 2022 became the civilian leader of Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast.

The Insider told in October 2023 that Kurchenko is the mainly sponsor of FSB General Vladimir Petrovsky, who serves as the First Deputy Head of the FSB's Fifth Service Operational Information Department and leads Ninth ("Ukrainian") Directorate.

In January 2023 Japan imposed sanctions on Serhiy Kurchenko.