The Medvedchuk "pipe" case: from expert examination to court
How the state proved its ownership
The Samara-Western Direction oil product pipeline was built in 1957-1968 as a strategic facility. After Ukraine declared independence, it was supposed to become state property on the basis of succession.
In 2011, the Commercial Court of Rivne Region recognised the state's right to the part of the pipeline that runs through Ukraine. The appellate and cassation courts confirmed this decision in 2014-2015. In March 2015, the courts finally recognised the state's right of ownership to parts of the main oil product pipelines with a total length of 1,433 km and transferred them to the State Property Fund.
However, at the end of 2015, a review of the case began due to newly discovered circumstances.
The 2017 decision and key expertise
In 2017, the Commercial Court of Rivne Region, relying on the engineering and technical expertise of UkrDIAP, recognised the ownership of part of the oil product pipeline by Prykarpatzakhidtrans LLC.
In their conclusion, the experts noted that the pipeline is not a main pipeline within the meaning of the Law of Ukraine "On Pipeline Transport" and, after reconstruction, may be privately owned.
Subsequently, law enforcement agencies entered information into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations regarding the possible provision of a knowingly false expert opinion. An additional comprehensive examination refuted the previous conclusions and confirmed that the pipeline is a main pipeline and can only be state-owned.
The NSDC's decision and the return of the asset
On 19 February 2021, the National Security and Defence Council decided to return the oil product pipeline to state ownership.
On 2 April 2021, the President of Ukraine announced the implementation of this decision and the return of the strategic facility to the state. According to him, in 2017-2019, about 400 km of the pipeline was destroyed.
Since May 2019, the oil pipeline has been blocked during the process of returning the asset to the state, and law enforcement agencies have been checking the legality of its privatisation.
Indictment and referral of the case to court
On 3 March 2026, the Office of the Prosecutor General sent an indictment against Viktor Medvedchuk to court in the case of organising the privatisation of the oil product pipeline in 2015.
According to the investigation, in 2015-2018, he created and headed an organised group that took control of part of the main oil product pipeline. The value of the facility at that time was UAH 1.4 billion.
After gaining control of the pipeline, the group members legalised more than €29.9 million in income from its operation.
Medvedchuk is charged with organising the seizure of property on an especially large scale, money laundering, abuse of power, and falsification of expert conclusions.
Since he was transferred to the Russian Federation in the autumn of 2022 as part of an exchange, the investigation was conducted in absentia. The trial will also take place in absentia.
Final decision on ownership
In January 2024, the Supreme Court of Ukraine finally recognised the Ukrainian part of the oil pipeline as state property.
The transfer of the indictment to the court marks the end of the pre-trial investigation. The court must give a legal assessment of the circumstances of the privatisation of the oil product pipeline and the actions of the defendants.
