Company that bought stolen coal from Donbas invested into Pavel Durov's cryptocurrency

The Dutch company Stiron B.V., which bought coal from the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts through the scheme of Serhii Kurchenko, a pro-Russian Ukrainian metallurgical magnate, invested EUR10 million in Pavel Durov's Telegram Open Network (TON) blockchain platform. Source: The Moscow Times, as reported by independent Russian news agency Vazhnie Istorii Details: Stiron B.V. and ME Property Invest of the Netherlands were among the primary buyers of Kurchenko's coal and metals exported from Donbas.

Stiron B.V. made an investment of around EUR10 million in TON in 2018.

According to the reports, the company got capital for investment in the form of targeted loans from three other firms, two from the United Kingdom and one from the Czech Republic. According to the journal, these firms show indicators of fictitiousness: they are registered under figureheads from Ukraine, do not own big assets, and have had millions of euros flowing through their accounts. Two of them have been dissolved, including Commercial Standard Systems of Edinburgh, which also engaged in Kurchenko's plans to export coal from Donbas.

After Russia occupied Ukraine's southeastern provinces, Alexander Zakharchenko, the previous head of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" , oversaw the sale of local resources [DPR is a self-proclaimed and non-recognised republic in Donetsk Oblast - ed.].

In 2018, he was killed by an explosion in a Donetsk cafe. As a result, Serhii Kurchenko, also known as the wallet of Viktor Yanukovych, a fugitive former Ukrainian president, established a monopoly in this industry. Companies managed by him purchased raw materials for a pittance and then exported them overseas, particularly to Europe, thanks to the FSB's and Kremlin officials' encouragement.

Durov secured US£1.8 billion for his TON project from various funds and individuals throughout the world. The list includes Russian billionaires Roman Abramovich, Yuri Milner, and Said Gutseriev. At the same time, the businessman insisted that all investors went through a rigorous selection process.

Background: Toncoin collapsed and lost US£2.7 billion in value after the reported arrest of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov

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