Yanukovych’s son makes millions selling coal from occupied Ukrainian territories, IStories reports

A company linked to Oleksandr Yanukovych, the eldest son of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, has been exporting coal from the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, according to a report by the exiled independent investigative outlet Important Stories.

Viktor Yanukovych was Ukraine’s pro-Kremlin president from 2010 until 2014, when he fled to Russia with his family following the EuroMaidan Revolution. He and his son Oleksandr remain under sanctions from the U.S., the EU, and multiple other countries. In October 2024, reports emerged that Oleksandr had obtained Russian citizenship.

Yanukovych the younger — nicknamed “The Dentist” due to his medical degree in dentistry — has been involved in the coal business for years. During his father’s presidency, his company saw rapid growth, exporting coal from state-owned mines to Europe through the Swiss-based firm Mako Trading. In 2013, Forbes Ukraine estimated his net worth at half a billion dollars, placing him among the wealthiest individuals in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk.

Following the Moscow-backed occupation of Donbas, many mines were shut down, reducing coal production in the region to approximately five million tons per year. Using customs records, Important Stories identified a company called Energoresurs, which exported nearly half a million tons of coal from Russia in 2023 and 2024. The company is registered in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, with suppliers based in the occupied territories of Ukraine.

The official owner of Energoresurs is Alexei Ivanov, who since 2016 has worked for legal firms linked to Oleksandr Yanukovych. The company’s director, Pavel Zemlyakov, also appears to have ties to the former president’s son. Zemlyakov’s name appears in contact lists as “Pavel DRFC.” The DRFC, or Donbass Settlement and Financial Center, is a group of several mining and processing companies whose ownership has been attributed to Oleksandr Yanukovych by the Ukrainian media.

Energoresurs buys coal in Donbas and transports it to Turkey, where it receives payments from Energy Union, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands. The coal is sold at abnormally low prices — an average of $60 per ton in 2024 — to minimize export duty costs before reselling it at a higher price on international markets. Important Stories also found an eponymous Russian branch of the offshore company registered in Rostov-on-Don, with a director affiliated with Energoresurs.

Due to EU sanctions, Energoresurs' coal has mainly been shipped to Turkey over the past three years, though it was previously sold to Bulgaria, Estonia, the Czech Republic, and Romania. Between 2021 and 2023, the company earned 3.5 billion rubles (just under $35 million based on the current exchange rate).