Head of Ukrainian regional gas company linked to oligarch Firtash steps down
Oleg Nikonorov, ex-CEO of the Regional Gas Company (Photo:РГК (RGK, Regional Gas Company))
A gas company linked to exiled Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash has dismissed its CEO Oleh Nykonorov, who reported the fact on his Facebook page on Feb. 18.
Nykonorov, who had been heading the Regional Gas Company (RGC) since October 2017, wrote that he has resigned from his position.
"Yesterday (Feb. 17, 2022 - NV Business) was my last day as the head of RGC," Nykonorov wrote, without giving any reasons or details about his decision to resign.
RGC's press service also declined to comment.
Nykonorov thanked the employees and partners he had worked over the years. "It hasn't been a cakewalk, but this journey has been incredibly interesting!" he said.
RGC is a technology company specializing in operational, production, engineering and R&D solutions for gas distribution. The enterprise oversees 20 gas distribution network operators (formerly regional gas companies) under the RGC brand.
RGC is owned by two offshore companies. Formally, RGC does not have a beneficial owner, but it has been linked to Dmytro Firtash, one of Ukraine’s richest businessmen. Firtash has lived in Vienna, Austria since 2014, fighting extradition to the United States on bribery and racketeering charges.
In May 2022, the State Bureau of Investigation seized the assets of 26 gas distribution system operators. These are mostly companies that cooperate with RGC.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, by its Resolution of May 28, 2022 (No. 429-r), transferred the gas distribution companies seized in criminal proceedings to the management of state oil and gas company Naftogaz.
However, as of last fall, the process was not completed. At the beginning of 2023, the assets of Dniprogaz and Kharkivgaz were transferred to NPC Naftogaz.
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