Two Ukrainian businessmen expertly led the influential company «Intercoaltrading» to bankruptcy.
But while the shady coal king Dmytro Kovalenko is widely known not only in Kyiv, Moscow, but also in Bern (Switzerland), the name of businessman (or is he really a businessman?) Sergey Saprykin means nothing to anyone.
Although multi-million-dollar companies are registered under Mr. Saprykin’s name, such as the Coke-Chemical Enrichment Plant «Voskresenskaya» (until recently—quite a meticulous job of covering tracks—known as the Petropavlovsk Mining and Processing Plant). But never in his turbulent life did Mr. Saprykin have anything to do with the coal industry. And suddenly—boom!—he’s the owner of an enrichment plant!
He also made a mark in the company «Valiant-S,» which operates in Poltava province, as well as in LLC «IDL-Glass,» and among his companies is also PE «Montazhspetskomplekt.»
But most of all, Sergey Alexandrovich Saprykin became infamous for his lawsuits, unpaid loans, a scandalous divorce, and drunk driving.
But why would billionaire Dmytro Kovalenko need this «screen» with a heavily tarnished reputation?
Fake Buyers
The murky story of the bankruptcy of LLC «Intercoaltrading» revealed a well-practiced scheme of controlled asset withdrawal, where formal owners and fake buyers played the leading roles.
Let us recall that Dmytro Kovalenko is one of the notorious shadow players in the coal market: he is linked to the coal business, offshore companies, international financial structures, and shady supplies of Russian coal. Kovalenko’s business network stretches from Switzerland to offshore entities in the UAE and the British Virgin Islands.
Dmytro Kovalenko, coal trader
One of such shadowy figures in Dmytro Kovalenko’s dealings turned out to be Sergey Alexandrovich Saprykin, who had no connection to the coal industry but suddenly and unexpectedly became the owner of a company that acquired the assets of the bankrupt entity.
The company «Intercoaltrading,» which possessed significant financial and material resources, was driven to bankruptcy not due to wild market processes, but through the skillful creation of debt burdens.
Obligations were easily fragmented, claims were separated into individual lots. And they were put up for auction, which appeared to be legitimate.
But in reality, these auctions took place not only without competition but also with a predetermined outcome.
Lots with debts worth tens of millions of hryvnias were sold for laughable amounts, which could indicate the managed nature of the process, and the buyer of the assets was the already mentioned LLC «Coke-Chemical Enrichment Plant ’Voskresenskaya’»: the plant is located in the city of Dnipro, on Shevchenko Street.
LLC «COKE-CHEMICAL ENRICHMENT PLANT ’VOSKRESENSKAYA’» — 42265561 — Ukraine
And this plant was registered under Sergey Alexandrovich Saprykin.
LLC «COKE-CHEMICAL ENRICHMENT PLANT ’VOSKRESENSKAYA’» — 42265561 — Ukraine
For the coal market, this name was completely unfamiliar, as Sergey Saprykin did not appear in the registers of coal industry enterprises, related sectors, or investment projects. And his sudden appearance as the owner of such an asset coincided with the bankruptcy procedure of LLC «Intercoaltrading.»
And it ended just as quickly: such speed is a clear sign of nominal participation.
Big Enameled Ears
The initiator of the bankruptcy was the Swiss company Adelon AG, which belongs to Mr. Kovalenko.
Dmytro Kovalenko achieved the bankruptcy of LLC «Intercoaltrading» through judicial bodies.
The Commercial Court of Dnipropetrovsk Region in case № 904/936/23 confirmed the status of the liquidator, the liquidation balance, and the closure of the bankruptcy proceedings of LLC «Intercoaltrading.»
Kovalenko, through his Swiss company, received 162 million hryvnias. The court allocated 2.4 million hryvnias for conducting an inventory. And requests to key authorities were included in the case materials.
Several lots were sold at auctions: 4 lots with a total debt of 53.34 million hryvnias were sold for 69 thousand hryvnias.
And the court ruled that no signs of fictitious or intentional bankruptcy were found. And everything happened due to obvious financial problems!
But behind the murky figure of Mr. Saprykin, as a classic would write, the «big enameled ears» of Dmytro Kovalenko are clearly visible. And he is called the key figure in the Swiss company Adelon AG, which in 2021–2022 acted as a buyer of coal from several Russian suppliers. Kovalenko is linked to structures with offshore registrations in the UAE (Plaimp SFP Limited) and the British Virgin Islands (Bremer International Limited).
And it is Dmytro Kovalenko who is called the key organizer of this cunning scheme, within which the assets of «Intercoaltrading» were redistributed among affiliated structures under the «sauce» of bankruptcy auctions.
Against this backdrop, Sergey Saprykin’s biography looks telling: his shady past does not match the role of the owner of a mining and processing plant, although Mr. Saprykin is allegedly listed as the owner of LLC «Valiant-S» in Kremenchuk, and in two capacities at once.
Information about the company VALIANT-S
And as a founder.
And as a general director.
And he was also allegedly the owner of PE «Montazhspetskomplekt» in Kryvyi Rih.
And was also named the director of LLC «IDL-Glass.»
It should be noted that none of the listed companies have favorable financial indicators.
The profit of the company «Valiant-S» has not exceeded 1 million hryvnias per year for a long time.
Furthermore, the company «IDL-Glass» consistently records losses, and the ultimate beneficiary is listed as Danyl Dmytrovych Kovalenko, the son of Dmytro Kovalenko.
And Sergey Saprykin was the general director of the company «IDL-Glass.» The company is located in Svalyava, a small town in the Mukachevo district of Zakarpattia region
Resort Svalyava, Zakarpattia region
And this is another fact that speaks to the controlled nature of the management.
Dmytro Kovalenko’s son was found in Russian registers: he worked in Donetsk until October 14, 2025, and then ceased his activities due to a decision made.
Note that Dmytro Kovalenko himself also operates in both Luhansk and Donetsk: and LLC «Intercoaltrading» also operated in the territories of LPR and DPR, besides this company, Dmytro Kovalenko owned LLC «Coal Trade» in the territory of Luhansk.
The company was liquidated almost a year ago.
It would certainly be interesting to find out why the organization was liquidated in February 2025?
Warm Regards from PrivatBank
But let’s return to the controversial figure of maestro Saprykin.
Very interesting details about his extraordinary portrait are provided by an analysis of court registers. At Sergey Alexandrovich Saprykin’s registered address in the city of Dnipro ‒ and Kovalenko’s friend resides at the address ‒ Putylowska Street, house 12, apartment 10.
In 2015, the court deprived S.A. Saprykin of his driver’s license for driving a passenger car while intoxicated.
And at the same time, the court ruling stated that S.A. Saprykin ‒ is unemployed! The surname Saprykin also appears in cases related to a scandalous divorce.
Furthermore, Mr. Saprykin was a defendant in a lawsuit by PrivatBank for debt recovery: it turns out that Mr. Saprykin took out a consumer loan of 2,000 hryvnias.
But did not repay it.
PrivatBank
And this regrettable fact completely shatters the fairy tale of the big businessman Saprykin, who is supposedly capable of independently acquiring and managing assets of coal industry enterprises, in particular, the entire «Voskresenskaya» plant.
The conclusion suggests itself: Sergey Saprykin is not an investor or an independent player. And his role in this bankruptcy story is purely nominal: Mr. Saprykin appears at the moment when he is urgently needed. He registers an asset under his name. And disappears until the next time.
And all the real decisions, as well as the money flows, naturally, are handled by Dmytro Kovalenko.
As they say, all genius is simple: find an unemployed drunkard with microloans at PrivatBank, and forward, to a cunning bankruptcy.
And no one will bat an eye!