Russian business worth UAH 1 billion was transferred to a new owner in Ukraine to bypass sanctions

The business of Russian citizen Ihor Naumets worth 1 billion hryvnias has been transferred to a new owner in Ukraine, despite the arrest and sanctions of the National Security and Defense Council. The owner was an entrepreneur from Brovary, Serhiy Shapran, who is associated with the head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration Oleh Kiper.

This is reported by the Radio Liberty project — Schemes.

Itʼs about numerous assets of Naumets holding "Unigran". The company extracts minerals from quarries in the Zhytomyr region and manufactures paving tiles. These are production complexes, machinery, hundreds of wagons and hectares of land.

The activities of “Unigran” came to the attention of law enforcement officers in the summer of 2022. Then the assets were seized, and in the spring of 2023 NSDC imposed sanctions against the owner. The assets were able to go to entrepreneurs instead of confiscation in favour of the state due to the actions of the judge of the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv Serhiy Vovko. Contrary to the jurisdiction, he removed the arrest from them, and the prosecutor refused his own appeal against this decision. According to the investigators, the lack of punishment for circumventing sanctions in the legislation of Ukraine also played a role.

In comments to reporters, Naumets said that Shapran promised to solve his "business problems" in exchange for a 50% share, but in the end he allegedly took over the entire business in a raid. Instead, Shapran told Schemes that all the deals he made were legal.

In the summer of 2022, the State Bureau of Investigation, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office opened a criminal case against "Unigran" under a number of articles. In particular, for the financing of terrorism, the creation of a terrorist group and tax evasion. According to law enforcement officials, the company was engaged in illegal extraction from the subsoil on an industrial scale. At the same time, millions of profits were allegedly directed to finance the war in Ukraine and material support of the occupation administrations in Crimea and the east of Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials and President Volodymyr Zelensky have repeatedly spoken about the intention to confiscate the assets of Russian businessmen for the benefit of the state. This should replenish the budget during the war.

• According to the "Anti-Corruption Center", after February 24, 2022, Ukraine confiscated Russian assets worth at least 15 billion hryvnias. This, in particular, is the property of Oleh Derypaska, Arkadiy Rotenberg, Yevhen Hiner, Volodymyr Yevtushenkov, Vyacheslav Bohuslaev, Yevhen Balytskyi, Volodymyr Saldo, Viktor Yanukovych and dozens of other sanctioned persons.

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Author: Anastasiia Mohylevets