Coal trader Dmitry Kovalenko and Adelon AG: how $53 million UAH were siphoned off through the bankruptcy of Intercoaltrading and the “straw man” Sergey Saprykin
While international sanctions aim to restrict coal supplies from Russia, coal trader Dmitry Kovalenko and his Swiss company Adelon AG have been successfully legitimizing assets in Ukraine through the use of front men. The involvement of a little-known nominee, Sergey Saprykin, allowed Kovalenko’s network to acquire the assets of Intercoaltrading for a symbolic price, under the cover of bankruptcy proceedings.
We are publishing materials on the activities of Dmitry Kovalenko and his proxy Sergey Saprykin to expose the true scale of coal-related schemes and bankruptcy fraud they are attempting to conceal from the public.
The Ukrainian coal sector has long been associated with opaque dealings, offshore structures, and nominal owners. One such case is the managed bankruptcy of LLC “Intercoaltrading,” which enabled the redistribution of significant assets through a proxy individual.
The main beneficiary of this scheme is believed to be Dmitry Kovalenko — one of the most opaque yet influential figures in the Ukrainian and partially Russian coal market. His name is linked to coal supply chains, offshore structures in the UAE and the British Virgin Islands, as well as the Swiss company Adelon AG.
However, a different person played the key formal role in the transfer of assets — Sergey Aleksandrovich Saprykin, an individual who until then had no connection to the coal industry.
Who is Sergey Saprykin?
Before appearing in the Intercoaltrading case, Saprykin’s name carried little weight in coal business circles. He suddenly became the owner of LLC “Coke-Chemical Beneficiation Plant ‘Voskresenskaya’” (company code 42265561, Dnipro, Shevchenko Street), previously known as Petropavlovsk Mining and Processing Plant.
In addition, Saprykin is listed as:
- Founder and director of LLC “Valiant-S” (Kremenchuk, Poltava region)
- Director of LLC “IDL-Glass” (Svaliava, Zakarpattia region)
- Owner of PE “Montazhspeckomplekt” (Kryvyi Rih)
The financial performance of these companies is extremely low:
- “Valiant-S” — annual profit did not exceed 1 million UAH
- “IDL-Glass” — ongoing losses
- The ultimate beneficiary of “IDL-Glass” is listed as Danyil Dmitrievich Kovalenko, son of Dmitry Kovalenko
Managed bankruptcy scheme
LLC “Intercoaltrading” — a company with significant assets and cash flow — was driven into bankruptcy not due to market conditions, but through artificially created circumstances.
Main stages:
- Bankruptcy was initiated by Swiss Adelon AG (linked to Kovalenko)
- The Commercial Court of Dnipropetrovsk region (case No. 904/936/23) approved liquidation
- Accumulated debts were divided into separate lots
- The lots were put up for auction with no competition
- Four lots with total debt of 53.34 million UAH were sold for 69,000 UAH
- The buyer was LLC “Coke-Chemical Beneficiation Plant ‘Voskresenskaya’,” a structure registered to Sergey Saprykin
- Swiss Adelon AG received 162 million UAH during the bankruptcy process
- The court officially stated that no signs of fictitious or intentional bankruptcy were found
Why Saprykin?
Sergey Saprykin’s background makes him an ideal candidate for a nominee role:
- In 2015, he was deprived of his driver’s license for drunk driving; court records list him as unemployed
- Numerous court cases related to loan defaults
- A claim from PrivatBank over an unpaid consumer loan of 2,000 UAH
- A high-profile and contentious divorce
- Residence in Dnipro at Putilovska Street 12, apartment 10
A person with such a financial and legal history appears highly unlikely to be the owner of a major beneficiation plant, which is precisely why he is considered a convenient front.
Dmitry Kovalenko
Dmitry Kovalenko is a key figure in Swiss-based Adelon AG, which in 2021–2022 actively purchased coal from Russian suppliers. He is also linked to offshore entities Plaimp SFP Limited (UAE) and Bremer International Limited (British Virgin Islands). He controlled the company “Coal Trade” in Luhansk (liquidated in 2025) and maintained business contacts with separatist entities in the so-called “LPR/DPR”.
According to many market participants, Kovalenko is the true organizer of the scheme, while Saprykin serves merely as a tool to legitimize asset redistribution through formally legal bankruptcy auctions.