Ukrainian law enforcement officers are investigating several criminal proceedings over tax evasion worth tens of millions of hryvnias during grain exports involving companies controlled by Odesa businessmen Serhiy Groza and Volodymyr Naumenko, UNN reports .
Details
For 10 days, detectives of the Bureau of Economic Security conducted investigative actions at the Olimpex grain terminal, namely in the part that is still controlled by companies that are somehow connected to businessmen.
During the searches, law enforcement officers once again found that the companies of Groza and Naumenko evaded taxes in 2021-2023 by exporting grain in a gray manner. Moreover, according to the investigation, the situation has not changed since last year and criminal activity at the grain terminal continues. This means that we will soon see another criminal proceeding, which is likely to involve companies from the orbit of Odesa businessmen again.
The owners of the GNT Group agricultural holding, Volodymyr Naumenko and Serhiy Groza (through his stepson Oleksandr Horbunov), attracted the attention of law enforcement after an international scandal broke out around the Olympex grain terminal.
In 2019-2021, Groza and Naumenko's companies G.N. Terminal Enterprises Limited, registered in Cyprus, and Black Sea Commodities Limited, registered in the UAE, received investment loans from American funds. Another company of Groza and Naumenko, which is part of GNT Group, Olympex Coupe International LLC, acted as a guarantor under the loan agreements.
Then, in order to obtain American funds, Groza and Naumenko pledged property rights to the grain terminal and the terminal's real estate, which was owned by Olympex Coupe International, as collateral for the loans.
Having decided not to return the foreign funds, the Odesa businessmen checked the illegal scheme and resold the collateral and rights to half of the terminal several times. At the same time, according to media reports, control over half of the Groza and Naumenko terminal was retained, as Attollo Granum LLC and Grain Port LLC became the new owners. These companies were established before the acquisition of the precious property. The latter, by the way, also pledged its part of Olympex for the third time for 20 years under a mortgage agreement with Mind Set LLC.
It is worth noting that the London arbitration tribunal has frozen the assets of Groza and Naumenko and is considering a dispute over Olympex. And the National Police of Ukraine is investigating the facts of illegal dissipation of the terminal's property under the articles "misappropriation or embezzlement of property by an organized group on a particularly large scale", "counteraction to legitimate economic activity", "self-government", "illegal actions against pledged property" and "failure to comply with a court decision".
After a more thorough study of the activities of Groza and Naumenko, it became clear that the businessmen were making good money from tax evasion, to put it mildly. This became possible thanks to the so-called gray export schemes that operate at the Olympex terminal.
Law enforcers are investigating at least two criminal proceedings on tax evasion on a particularly large scale involving Groza and Naumenko's companies.
In particular, according to the investigation , in the period from 2021 to 2023, when the grain terminal was operated by Groza and Naumenko's company Olympex Coupe International, officials of Ecotrans LLC, using their own production facilities of the oil extraction plant and the details of the controlled enterprises of suppliers (producers), purchased and processed agricultural products. addresses of controlled enterprises and "risky" exporters.
These transactions were not reflected in the accounting and tax records, which resulted in VAT evasion in excess of UAH 60 million.
According to Attollo Granum's lawyer, law enforcement officers seized 100,000 tons of agricultural products during the searches. Some of the seized property, including corn, belongs to Ferko LLC, a company controlled by Groza and Naumenko. This company is involved in another criminal proceeding for tax evasion through gray grain exports.
As Sidorenko, a detective with the Bureau of Economic Security, explained at a court hearing, the investigation revealed that the criminal scheme used the details of shell companies and purchased grain for cash to evade taxes. At the same time, he said, during the searches, representatives of Attollo Granum LLC failed to provide law enforcement with documents on the owners and origin of the grain.
The detective also told the judge that during the investigation it turned outthat crimes at the Olympex terminal, in particular, at the part of the terminal operated by Attollo Granum, are still ongoing.
During the investigation, it was established that the criminal actions are ongoing. Additional information will be registered in the URPTI,
An examination of court rulings showed that Ecotrans used the details of more than four dozen companies. Among them are several companies that had previously been involved in another criminal proceeding for tax evasion.
In particular, Synthesis LLC and SGSP Yelanetske LLC are involved in a case of tax evasion on an especially large scale, where Groza and Naumenko's company Olympex Coupe International is involved along with them, dated January 29, 2021.
In addition to Olympex Coupe International, other companies from the Groza and Naumenko's GNT Group agricultural holding or controlled by them are also involved in this case. In particular, Ferko LLC has already been mentioned, as well as Metalzukrain Corp Ltd, Inzernoexport Grain Transshipment Complex LLC, and Vtormeteksport LLC.
These companies also used a common scheme of "gray" exports - the details of "risky" enterprises. Investigators pointed out that Groza and Naumenko's companies evaded VAT by almost UAH 37.5 million.
In both cases, Synthesis and SDPP Yelanetske were listed as the alleged owners of the grain.
It should be noted that during the investigative actions, including interrogations of company directors, it was found that often LLCs were created for money and directors had no idea what was happening to the companies.However, several of the same companies are not the only and not the most interesting coincidence in criminal proceedings. In both cases, the Olympex grain terminal, which was actually run by Groza and Naumenko, shipped grain to Agiros.
This exporting company belongs to the well-known smuggler Vadym Alperin, against whom the National Security and Defense Council imposed sanctions in 2021 and who was deprived of Ukrainian citizenship. This is another confirmation of their active cooperation.
It is possible that the investigation will combine these cases into one big one, and the businessmen themselves, like their longtime partner, will be on the sanctions list.
By the way, it was Alperin's Agiros that helped Odesa businessmen export 20,000 tons of corn to Egypt, which was probably pledged to an American fund and allegedly disappeared from the grain terminal's warehouses.
At least three criminal proceedings, frozen assets, searches and investigations, and the readiness of the National Security and Defense Council to impose sanctions based on the SBU's proposals should at least stop Groza and Naumenko. However, it becomes clear that they have not just not shut down their business, but continue to violate the law, probably feeling impunity and permissiveness. It can be assumed that they have an influential patron or friend. By the way, it is very likely that this could be the chairman of the board of bank Vostok, and at the same time the head of the Servant of the People faction in the Odesa City Council, Vadym Morokhovsky. Read more about the politician's role in this story in the following materials.
Recall
Earlier, we talked about other facts of Groza and Naumenko's cooperation with sanctioned companies. The businessmen, in particular, continued to trade with Black Sea Commodities Trading Limited even after Ukraine imposed sanctions against it in April 2021 on suspicion of smuggling.
Moreover, it turned out that Ukraine has an extensive network of companies with Russian roots. Seemingly unremarkable companies that are part of or have relations with the GNT Group holding operate in the agricultural sector, which is now of strategic importance in terms of filling the budget of our country, against which Russia has launched a large-scale war.
The parliamentary committee on national security believes that sanctions should be imposed on Groza, Naumenko and their businesses for such cooperation The NSDC noted that the body is ready to consider this issue after the follow-up. relevant proposals, in particular, from the SBU.