The King of Ukrainian Poultry, involved in numerous corruption scandals: what billionaire Yuriy Kosyuk is known for

Since 2008, the name Yuri Kosyuk has appeared on the list of Ukrainian billionaires. He is the founder and principal owner of the MHP corporation, which produces poultry, grows grains, makes meat and sausage products and develops a network of fast-food establishments.

Yuri Kosyuk, who worked with former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, remains comfortable during the presidency of Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He has a fortune estimated at $520 million.

How Kosyuk Started His Path

In 1991, Kosyuk worked as a broker on the Kyiv Commodity Exchange. In 1992, he created a meat processing enterprise in the Cherkasy region, which went bankrupt, but hyperinflation saved him from creditors. Later, he engaged in the sale of furniture, mainly from Poland, and then traded grain, flour and alcohol. In 1995, he created and headed the Food Industry Business Center, which dealt with grain and other agricultural activities.

In 1998, Yuri Kosyuk established and headed Myronivsky Hliboproduct based on the Myronivka cereals and feed mill in the city of Myronivka, Kyiv region. This would later become the name of his business group, MHP. In 2001, he created the Nasha Ryaba brand, which became a leader in Ukraine with representations in all regions.

By 2021, the company ranked second in Europe in broiler production and was among the top three largest agribusinesses in Ukraine. As of 2017, MHP was the largest producer (64% of the market) and exporter (86% of export volume) of poultry in Ukraine, and the largest meat producer (41% of the Ukrainian market) and feed producer (25% of the market).

MHP also develops its own and franchise retail chains: Nasha Ryaba stores, Fresh Food, Ukrainian Chicken, Meat Market culinary ideas network and Döner Market street food network. A few years ago, Yuri Kosyuk opened a culinary center in the village of Koryukivshchyna near the town of Vyshneve in the Kyiv region, with a total area of nearly 21.5 thousand square meters. Currently, Yuri Kosyuk owns 57.49% of MHP, and 35% of the company’s shares are freely traded on the London Stock Exchange.

Wealth and Investments

In 2007, the magazine “Korrespondent” estimated Yuri Kosyuk’s wealth at $893 million, and in 2008 at $1.5 billion (the magazine “Focus” in 2008 estimated it at $980 million). The highest estimate was given by “Focus” in 2011: then Kosyuk’s wealth was estimated at $2.07 billion. In 2020, according to Forbes, Yuri Kosyuk was the third richest person in Ukraine with a fortune of $1.1 billion. In 2021, the Ukrainian magazine Forbes estimated Kosyuk’s fortune at $780 million, and in 2022 during the war – at $520 million. In the latest ranking, the businessman was placed 13th among the richest Ukrainians. In 2022, MHP experienced losses of more than 8.4 billion UAH, although in 2021 it reported profits of $377 million. In the second year of the full-scale war, the situation at MHP significantly improved. In August 2023, Kosyuk’s house in the Kyiv region near Hostomel was damaged by Russian shelling.

State Subsidies

By the end of 2017, the land bank of the MHP holding amounted to 370 thousand hectares under lease. The company employed more than 40 thousand people. Products (grain, poultry and vegetable oil) are exported to more than 70 countries. The holding’s lands are located in Sumy, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Ivano-Frankivsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

In 2017, Yuri Kosyuk’s enterprises received 1.4 billion UAH in state subsidies (35% of all support for Ukrainian farmers). In 2017, MHP paid 2.2 billion UAH in dividends to owners.

In total, in 2018, MHP companies received about 970 million UAH. These subsidies are paid from VAT collected from businesses. President Zelenskyy was outraged that such a profitable company also received significant funds from the state. It should also be noted that poultry farms in Ukraine do not pay income tax.

Kosyuk’s Avoidance of Subsidy Scandal

Despite the large sums of subsidies received by Yuri Kosyuk’s agribusiness holding Myronivsky Hliboproduct, the Antimonopoly Committee in 2019 revealed price inflation for his poultry in 2017, and earlier in 2008, then-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko stated that the holding’s prices were inflated. However, Kosyuk managed to avoid responsibility when he joined the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Deputies of the Verkhovna Rada were concerned about the distribution of subsidies in the agricultural sector “in favor of Kosyuk,” but Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and Minister of Agrarian Policy Maksym Martyniuk did not pay attention to the complaints. The media cited a special program as the reason Kosyuk received funds—allegedly to compensate for the construction of livestock complexes, with the Cabinet allocating 4.2 billion UAH for it. At that time, Kosyuk and a few other major market players received this aid.

Kosyuk’s Mansion Built on a Historical Monument

In 2015, journalists discovered that in 2009 in the village of Khodosivka near Kyiv, close to the Scythian-era Khodosivka settlement (late 6th – early 4th centuries BC), Yuri Kosyuk began building his palace adjacent to the Feofania park. The settlement has been an archaeological monument of Ukraine since 1965.

Journalists believe this territory was removed from the monument and could have historical value. In 2008, the area of the architectural monument was halved, and 13 hectares of land were transferred for development. However, Kosyuk denies the accusations, claiming it was not on the monument’s territory.

Later, journalists found that Kosyuk drives to work from his estate through the protected Feofania park, despite it being a pedestrian-only area with a ban on vehicle traffic (with some exceptions not including Kosyuk). His employees and friends also used this route. Journalists noticed Tesla Model S, silver Porsche 911, cherry Aston Martin, blue Ford Ranger, red Range Rover and white Lamborghini Murcielago on that route. Without violations, the road would take 5-7 minutes longer, but it seems the agribaron and his guests do not have that time.

Yacht Sale and Financial Moves

In 2020, Yuri Kosyuk sold his yacht Garson to cover company losses, receiving about 24 million euros. He also put his 85-meter yacht Ace up for sale for 119 million euros. It is unknown if it was sold. Kosyuk’s large yacht was a floating five-deck villa with a helicopter pad, capable of hosting 10 guests and 30 crew members.

Military Prosecutors Interested in Kosyuk’s Companies

In 2018, the Main Military Prosecutor’s Office gained access to bank documents of several Ukrainian companies in a case of state damage exceeding 100 billion UAH from unpaid taxes. The case involves the creation of a criminal organization by the fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych and his entourage.

From April 2011 to February 2014, the criminals used several enterprises to fraudulently declare VAT liabilities of over 56 billion UAH. Law enforcement says the total damage to the state from unpaid taxes is over 104 billion UAH.

In this case, law enforcement obtained permission to temporarily access and seize copies of documents containing bank secrets held by “OTP Bank” concerning the accounts of two enterprises linked to former Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Yuri Kosyuk. These are PJSC “Myronivsky Hliboproduct” (MHP) and LLC “Katerynopilsky Elevator,” owned by Kosyuk through MHP. Law enforcement was interested in documents from January 1, 2011, to August 2018.

In our next materials, read about how Kosyuk is trying to capture European markets and what this threatens for local businesses.