UAH 1.53 trillion in Q3 2025: the impact of Cypriot co-ownership on Ukrainian business

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UAH 1.53 trillion in Q3 2025: the impact of Cypriot co-ownership on Ukrainian business

YouControl analysts examined the role of countries with simplified business registration procedures or low tax rates in the ownership structures of Ukrainian companies. Co-owners from Cyprus are present in 7,174 Ukrainian companies. A regional breakdown, affiliation with corporate groups, and a detailed analysis of the largest enterprises with Cypriot co-owners are presented in the second part of the YouControl study. 

The first part focused on a comprehensive analysis of co-owners linked to the United Kingdom.

Affiliation with the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia was determined based on both the place of registration of individuals and legal entities and the country of citizenship of participants, shareholders, and ultimate beneficial owners.

Regional electricity distribution operators, the food industry, and retail: the top ten largest companies with Cypriot co-ownership by revenue.

The largest concentration of companies with Cypriot co-owners is registered in Kyiv, 3,761 entities. Substantial numbers are also recorded in the Dnipropetrovska (588) and Odeska (415) Oblasts.

Overall, 3,126 companies with Cypriot co-ownership are affiliated with 509 corporate groups. Within the analysed sample, the highest representation is observed among the corporate groups Privat (293 companies), Dragon Capital (121 companies), and Serhii Khrypkov and Andrii Hordiienko Group (120 companies).

Note: In general terms, a corporate group refers to a set of companies operating in the financial and/or industrial sectors that are owned by one or more ultimate beneficial owners and interact to achieve shared objectives, such as generating financial returns or optimising production processes (hereinafter referred to as a “corporate group” or “group”). This is analytical information provided by YouControl.

Of the analysed entities, 1,595 companies with Cypriot residents among their participants, shareholders, or ultimate beneficial owners reported positive revenue for the first three quarters of 2025, collectively amounting to UAH 1.53 trillion.

The highest revenue, totalling UAH 42.21 billion, was generated by PrJSC MHP, a core entity within the eponymous corporate group. The company’s ultimate beneficiary is Yurii Kosiuk, who served as First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine from July to December 2014.

NOVA POST LLC reported nearly UAH 38 billion in revenue for the first three quarters of 2025. One of its shareholders is the Cypriot legal entity NP HOLDINGS LIMITED. The aforementioned companies form part of the Nova Post corporate group, led by key stakeholders Viacheslav Klymov and Volodymyr Popereshniuk.

The aggregate revenue of two entities within the System Capital Management (SCM) corporate group — DTEK ZAKHIDENERGO JSC and JSC PIVDENNYI MINING AND PROCESSING PLANT — reached UAH 53.63 billion. The ultimate beneficial owner of both companies is Rinat Akhmetov, a principal figure in the SCM corporate group, former Member of Parliament, and recognised as Ukraine’s wealthiest individual according to NV’s publication “Top 30 Wealthiest. The Top Three Billionaires — How Akhmetov, Pinchuk, and Yatsenko Generate Their Wealth,” dated December 6, 2025.

The top ten companies by revenue for the first three quarters of 2025 with Cypriot co-ownership include three major Ukrainian retail operators:

Rounding out the top ten companies by revenue is INVESTMENT CAPITAL UKRAINE LLC, a member of the ICU investment corporate group. Its ownership structure includes the foreign entities ICU Holdings Limited (British Virgin Islands) and Westal Holdings Ltd (Cyprus). According to the ownership disclosure of JSC BANK AVANGARD dated January 31, 2014 and published on the website of the National Bank of Ukraine, Valeriia Hontareva — who served as Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine from June 2014 to March 2018 — was a shareholder of ICU Holdings Limited.

Within the analysed dataset, 315 companies with Cypriot co-ownership are associated with sanctions notices linked to their participants or ultimate beneficial owners. Furthermore, 115 companies, in addition to representatives of the country under review, also include participants or ultimate beneficial owners from the Russian Federation in their ownership structures. For instance, JSC POLTAVAOBLENERGO lists four Cypriot companies among its shareholders, while Ihor Kolomoiskyi is identified as the ultimate beneficial owner. He was added to the sanctions list of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) in February 2025.

Additionally, a shareholder of PJSC INDUSTRIAL AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS — the Cypriot entity INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS LIMITED — is currently subject to NSDC sanctions.

Screenshot from the YouControl system, “Sanctions” section

According to the most recent ownership structure disclosures, PJSC INDUSTRIAL AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS is held by another Cypriot legal entity — Rissa Investments Limited. The indirect co-owners of this entity include key and affiliated individuals of the Alfa Group: Mikhail Fridman, Andrei Kosogov, German Khan, and Petr Aven.

The cross-border affiliations of the Cypriot company INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS LIMITED can be examined through YC World, an international platform for comprehensive search and visualisation of business networks, designed to uncover hidden insights. Among other features, the system highlights risk indicators associated with an entity’s connections, including exposure to high-risk jurisdictions, which, by default, include Russia, Belarus, Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Syria, and China. In this particular case, the aforementioned Cypriot company demonstrates a probable linkage to both Russia and Belarus.

Screenshot from the YC World system illustrating the business relationships of INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS LIMITED

Cypriot co-owners of Ukrainian enterprises have the highest aggregate revenue compared with their counterparts in the United Kingdom and the Baltic states. Specifically, 1,595 companies reported positive revenue totalling UAH 1.53 trillion for the first three quarters of 2025. Moreover, Cyprus ranks first among the five analysed jurisdictions, characterised by simplified business registration procedures or preferential tax regimes, in terms of the number of co-owners in the ownership structures of Ukrainian companies. Cypriot co-owners are involved in 7,174 legal entities.

For a detailed analysis of sectoral and regional trends concerning co-owners from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia within Ukrainian business, refer to the third part of the YouControl study.