Life path

Maksym Kozytskyi was born in 1981 in Lviv. He received his secondary education at Mykolaiiv secondary school No. 1 in Lviv oblast. After school he entered Lviv National Medical University named after Danylo Halytskyi, where he specialized in surgery. From 2004 to 2006 he underwent internship, after which he qualified as a doctor. In 2006, he completed his full higher medical education, receiving a Master of Medicine degree.

Later, he obtained a Master's degree in Organizational Management in absentia from Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in 2007, and became an accounting and audit specialist at Ivan Franko National University in Lviv.

Professional activity

He started his career in January 2007 as Deputy Director at Ukrmedresurs LLC. In September of the same year, he started working as a methodologist at Lviv Regional Health Center. During the same period, he was a member of the Supervisory Board of Ukrnaftohazvest LLC, and in November 2010 he was appointed Deputy General Director for Administrative Issues at the same company. At the same time, since December 2009, he held the positions of General Director and Deputy General Director at Prykarpatska Energy Company LLC, working there until 2014. In 2016, he became Director of Eko-Optima LLC and hold that position until January 2020. This experience had a great impact on his future career in energy and entrepreneurship.

Political career

Kozytskyi started his political activity in 2015, when he ran for Lviv Regional Council from the Samopomich party. He did not receive a mandate, but continued to participate in political life. On February 5, 2020, he was officially appointed to the post of Chairman of Lviv Regional State Administration. He also became Head of the regional organization of the Servant of the People party and represented it in the elections to Lviv Regional Council.

Corruption investigations

Maksym Kozytskyi's name is often associated with corruption investigations.

Potential conflict of interest

The Kozytskyi family owns a group of companies in oil and gas and renewable energy sectors, united under the name Zakhidnadraservis. In 2019, shortly before Kozytskyi's appointment to an administrative post, his family sponsored the Servant of the People party. According to the portal Chestno, after Kozytskyi's appointment, the number of tenders won by his companies increased dramatically, reaching UAH 7.5 billion. The main clients were state-owned Ukrnafta and Ukrhazvydobuvannia.

It is also known that Finport Technologies Inc., the beneficiary of which is Zynovii Kozytskyi, has become the main contractor for the prosecution authorities since 2019, providing support for the websites of the Prosecutor General's Office and regional prosecutor's offices, and since 2022 - technical support for the Unified State Register of Declarations of the NAPC. Since 2019, Finport Technologies Inc. has provided more than UAH 60 million in services to state authorities. The Supreme Anti-Corruption Court obliged the NABU to initiate a pre-trial investigation into the activities of this company. Among other things, the NABU should check a possible conflict of interest related to maintenance by companies of the father of Lviv RMA Head Maksym Kozytskyi of the prosecutor's office websites.

Business relations with Gazprom partner Karel Komarek

Maksym's father, Zynovii Kozytskyi, is a partner of Czech billionaire Karel Komarek, known for his cooperation with Gazprom. Their joint ventures include three Ukrainian companies: Horyzonty LLC, TEK LLC and GBL LLC. The cooperation has continued since 2014 despite the fact that the SBU accused Horizons LLC of supporting separatist entities. In 2013 Komarek established Moravia Gas Storage a.s. together with Gazprom, where he holds a smaller stake. Komarek has also owned an oil terminal in Russia since 2011.

Cooperation between Komarek’s MND and Russia's Gazprom officially began in 2013 with the establishment of the joint venture Moravia Gas Storage a.s. (MSG), where Gazprom held more than 50 % of the shares and a smaller stake was held by the Czech MND under Komarek's leadership. The board of directors of Moravia Gas Storage a.s included Oleksandr Medvediev, Deputy Chairman of Gazprom's board of directors, as well as other Russian Gazprom managers - current or former members of the security services, according to opposition media. Komarek's business received loans from Russian state-owned banks, particularly VTB and Sberbank.

In 2011, Karel Komarek became the owner of the Samara oil terminal in Oktiabrsk, Russia. In 2018, the SBU and the State Finance Monitoring Service recommended that the State Geological Service of Ukraine restrict Komarek's Horyzonty company's access to mining licenses due to suspicions of supplying oil products to the so-called LNR and DNR. Despite MND's announcement of the terminal's sale in 2022, investigative journalists suggest that Komarek retained control of the facility until at least the end of 2023. A nominee is currently listed as the owner of the terminal, which keeps it likely that Karel Komarek still owns the terminal.

On August 21, 2024, the SBU, enforcing the decision of Shevchenkivskyi Court of Kyiv, initiated criminal proceedings to investigate into legality of cooperation between the Kozytskyi family and Karel Komarek, as well as possible conflict of interest and corrupt practices.

Cooperation with the sanctioned company related to Rosneft Corporation

The association linked to the Kozytskyi family includes Weatherford International, which the NAPC recognized as a sponsor of the war. In 2022, the company transferred more than USD 15 million in taxes to the Russian budget and has close ties with Rosneft. According to the information from the registers, Weatherford International is a co-founder of the association Oil and Gas of Ukraine. Until 2021, the beneficiary of the Oil and Gas of Ukraine Association was Maksym Kozytskyi, while today it is owned by his father Zynovii Kozytskyi. Within the framework of the Association's work, cooperation between the sanctioned company and the Kozytskyi family continues.

Manipulations with the Shlyakh system

In June 2023, allegations emerged that the regional administration under Kozytskyi's leadership facilitated the departure of military evaders through the Shliakh system. According to journalists, the administration issued more than 32,000 permits to travel abroad, refusing to disclose the lists of people who were granted these permits.

Building a road to his father's hotel with state money

Kozytskyi allocated UAH 25 million from the budget for constructing a road in the village of Skhidnytsia leading to the hotel owned by his father. The cost of this road was the highest among the projects financed by Lviv RMA in 2023. One section of the road was built at public expense, the other with private money. Maksym Kozytskyi personally approved continuation of the road reconstruction. In this connection, the NABU opened an investigation into possible abuse of office by the head of the RMA.

Offshore assets of the Kozytskyi family

On November 6, 2024, Hennadiy Sikalov, the former Head of Poltavanaftahazheolohiia and Head of the Last Bastion public union, made public documents concerning the Cypriot offshore companies through which the Kozytskyi family's ‘green’ energy business is conducted. These materials state that the family uses Cypriot offshore companies to evade taxes worth millions of hryvnias and to attract loans from state banks. Some companies received loans for more than EUR 57 million, guaranteed by Maksym Kozytskyi, the current Head of Lviv RMA. His connection with one of the offshore structures is confirmed in the report, although in his own declaration he did not indicate any affiliation with these offshore structures or any liabilities to them.

Obtaining loans from state-owned banks by the family’s companies

The Kozytskyi family’s business in the energy sector received multi-million dollar loans from Ukreximbank and Ukrgasbank. As follows from the documents, to secure these loans, collateral was provided in the form of assets and guarantees of Cypriot companies owned by the Kozytskyi family. In addition, Maksym Kozytskyi himself acted as a guarantor for such loans. For example, the Cypriot IVENA LIMITED pledged shares of the Ukrainian companies Orovska VES LLC and Samborska Solar Station LLC in the amount of EUR 42 million to secure a loan issued by Ukreximbank. In addition, IVENA LIMITED provided guarantees for two other loans totaling approximately EUR 15 million issued by Ukreximbank and Ukrgasbank.

Tax ‘optimization’ for millions of hryvnias

Hennadii Sikalov is convinced that the Kozytskyi family's green business scheme was designed specifically to avoid paying taxes. According to the publicized data, a significant part of the income of Ukrainian companies owned by the Kozytskyi family is transferred to Cypriot accounts and taxed at reduced rates. According to Sikalov's estimates, the Kozytskyi family’s companies evaded taxes by hundreds of millions of hryvnias. The funds were transferred to the accounts of IVENA LIMITED, which made further payments to other Cypriot offshore companies of the family and lent the funds back to Kozytskyi’s companies in Ukraine. In this way, excess profits were withdrawn from the companies and the money was returned as loans, thus reducing taxable profits in Ukraine. About EUR 20 million passed through IVENA LIMITED alone in 2020-2022, which is the minimum estimate of tax evasion for the Kozytskyi family through offshore.

Conflict of interest: Head of RMA as a loan guarantor

Maksym Kozytskyi was one of the guarantors of a EUR 5.1 million loan to IVENA LIMITED from Ukrgasbank. Sikalov believes that it was Kozytskyi's administrative position that could have helped him obtain the loan, which, in his opinion, indicates a potential conflict of interest. Legislation prohibits civil servants from participating in business management or resorting to such financial transactions, which casts doubt on legality of Kozytskyi's actions.

Hidden offshore assets in the declaration

DARVEST LIMITED, a Cyprus company affiliated with the Kozytskyi family, listed Maksym Kozytskyi as a person related to the firm in its statements. According to the norms, the existence of the company's debt to Kozytskyi should be reflected in his declaration. However, the financial documents submitted by the head of the regional state administration do not contain any information about his connection to Cypriot assets and obligations of DARVEST LIMITED to him.