Andriy Teslenko and Trypilska TPP: How Law Enforcement Pressures Business

Lawyer Yevhen Solodko: Recently, I dealt with an interesting case, the details of which a colleague lawyer asked me to comment on. It concerned legal relations between two business entities. While reviewing the case materials, he experienced cognitive dissonance: on one hand, two business entities with a contract, signed acts of completed work, and no claims (as confirmed by an official letter from the customer). On the other hand – an open criminal proceeding. The reason, according to law enforcement, is an inflated contract price. At the same time, there are no lawsuits, no corresponding statements from the customer, nor complaints from third parties.

The question arises: how is it that economically everything is clean, but criminally there is suspicion? Who is the victim here? Where are the damages? What is their amount? And most importantly – do law enforcement agencies have the appropriate functions to decide pricing issues for any work?

The case is complicated also because it concerns repair work at a thermal power plant that suffered significant damage from Russian attacks and remains one of the main symbols of Russia's barbaric strategy to destroy civilian and energy infrastructure.

What happened

Trypilska TPP, which before the massive attacks supplied electricity to Kyiv and several regions, today figures in the aforementioned case as one of the business entities. Over three years of full-scale invasion – from 2022 – the power plant ordered services from the company LLC "ZTEP" for the manufacture and installation of environmental equipment (mainly electrostatic precipitators to reduce emissions) totaling over 292 million UAH.

There are official confirmations from the TPP management that the work was completed on time and in full: the filters are installed and operational. Thus, the subject of the crime is absent.

Instead, there is a criminal case in which the investigative department of the National Police of Kyiv region has charged Andriy Teslenko and several others associated with LLC "ZTEP," the contractor. The suspicion is under Article 209 of the Criminal Code – legalization of proceeds obtained by criminal means.

Legalizing pressure: how Article 209 of the Criminal Code works

I am confident that all my lawyer colleagues know well that Article 209 can only be charged when there is a fact of a predicate crime committed, as a result of which funds were obtained: embezzlement, misappropriation, fraud, etc. But to date, no predicate crime has been established in the mentioned criminal proceeding. There is neither an article, nor an amount of damages, nor a prior forensic economic examination.

That is, people were notified of suspicion of legalization of criminally obtained funds, but the crime by which these funds were allegedly obtained has not yet been identified. Complete chaos and arbitrariness!

A district court judge in Kyiv, considering a motion for a preventive measure, asked the investigator directly: what is the amount of damages? The answer: "We are conducting an examination." The court showed common sense and initially refused detention, then refused 24-hour house arrest, then night arrest, and finally released the accused under personal obligation. In fact, very illustrative and telling, because most likely the cognitive dissonance also arose in the judge while reviewing the case materials.

About "inflated" prices

Law enforcement believes the contract price was inflated by about 50 million hryvnias. But did they have anyone to compare with? After all, the market for modernization and installation of electrostatic precipitators of this class in Ukraine is practically represented by two or three players, and the products installed by LLC "ZTEP" are exclusive and manufactured according to individual engineering calculations (specific unit, specific emission parameters, specific pipe dimensions). Therefore, the cost of such work is calculated individually. So why law enforcement decided the price was inflated remains a mystery.

With the same success, they could try to find out how much our "Mriya" plane cost. A unique plane with no analogues. And its cost cannot be compared to any other plane. Only approximately. Therefore, it is logical that a law enforcement officer who monitored the market and found no analogues cannot establish the exact cost. And if this conclusion was made based on competitors' proposals, one should not forget another important criterion – quality and uniqueness of the product.

With the same success, one could accuse the Antonov plant of inflating the cost of the legendary "Mriya" and on this basis open a case under Article 209 – "legalization of funds obtained from creating a unique plane." Because "there are no analogues, so everything is suspicious."

Moreover, all tenders organized by Trypilska TPP, in which LLC "ZTEP" participated, were open and public. Therefore, all market participants had equal chances to get the contract. However, they lost due to quality or excessive price proposals.

What this means legally

In summary, I would say this: on one side of the scale, there is no established predicate crime, no defined amount of damages, no economic expertise. On the other – transparent tenders, completed work, no claims. It would seem common sense should prevail, but so far nonsense wins. And most likely, the actions of competitors who conspired with law enforcement.

In the current configuration, this is not a criminal case and not even a commercial dispute, but an economic discussion about the pricing methodology of a unique product in a unique market. In the worst case – it is something of a completely different level, something beyond the legal field. I do not exclude the redistribution of the country's energy market during the full-scale war amid statements about the privatization of "Centrenergo."

Energy context

I want to remind once again that Trypilska TPP is electricity and heat supply for millions of households and enterprises. The importance of each operational unit during wartime is critical. According to my colleague, LLC "ZTEP" always understood the situation and, amid economic and military risks, often worked without prepayment. At the same time, it honestly fulfilled its obligations both to contractors and personnel – paid salaries and taxes.

In response, it received a criminal case.

What this resembles

The situation fits a familiar context – market redistribution with the help of law enforcement. The scheme is not new: if you cannot knock out a competitor in a tender, you can knock them out of the market with the help of security forces. A criminal case, even without an indictment or arrest of management, paralyzes the company. Banks freeze accounts, refuse loans, partners refuse cooperation, creditors demand immediate debt repayment, staff disperse.

Therefore, if tomorrow another less qualified but "correct" company appears instead of LLC "ZTEP," it will confirm a classic raider takeover scheme involving law enforcement. Such actions effectively help the enemy. Because this is not just pressure on business, these are deliberate actions to weaken the Ukrainian energy system.

Conclusion

In my opinion, this case shows signs of using law enforcement mechanisms in the interests of certain business groups – to push out a company from the market that cannot be defeated in fair competition. Confirmation of this is not only the procedural weakness of the prosecution but also the fact that the customer (Trypilska TPP) has no claims against LLC "ZTEP."

It is very sad that instead of protecting the state and its critical infrastructure, law enforcement agencies unconsciously or for money become instruments of raider attacks. And this happens not somewhere on the periphery, but at an object of critical energy infrastructure of the country.

Therefore, maybe it is time to call things by their proper names: what is happening is not justice. It is a betrayal of the state's interests.

Subscribe to our Telegram channel t.me/sudua and to Google News SUD.UA, as well as to our VIBER and WhatsApp, Facebook page and Instagram to stay informed about the most important events.