"Olympex is again at the center of a scandal. Court in Kyiv will decide the fate of “gray” grain
Kyiv • UNN
A court in Kyiv will decide the fate of “gray” grain.
On June 14, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv will consider a motion to arrest grain seized during a search at the Olympex grain terminal as part of a case of tax evasion through "gray" grain exports. UNN learned about this from its own sources.
The motion in the criminal proceedings opened on March 27, 2024, will be considered at 11:40 a.m. with the participation of investigating judge Maryna Antoniuk.
It is worth noting that the case was opened by the Bureau of Economic Security under Part 3 of Article 212 of the Criminal Code (tax evasion committed by a person previously convicted of this crime, or if it resulted in actual non-receipt of funds to budgets or state trust funds in particularly large amounts).
The rulings contained in the Unified Register of Court Decisions state that in the period from 2021 to 2023, when the grain terminal was operated by the company of Odesa businessmen Serhiy Groza and Volodymyr Naumenko, 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 for cash, which were subsequently sold to controlled enterprises and "risky" exporters.
It is noted that these transactions were not reflected in the accounting and tax records, which led to VAT evasion in the amount of more than UAH 31.7 million.
"Ecotrans used the details of more than four dozen LLCs. Among them are several companies that have previously been involved in another criminal proceeding for tax evasion.
In particular, Synthesis LLC and Yelanetske SGVP LLC are involved in the case on tax evasion on an especially large scale, where Groza and Naumenko's company Olympex Coupe International appears along with them on January 29, 2021.
In addition to Olympex Coupe International, other companies belonging to or controlled by Groza and Naumenko's GNT Group agricultural holding are also involved in this case. In particular, we are talking about Ferko LLC, Metalzukrain Corp Ltd, Grain Transshipment Complex Inzernoexport LLC, and Vtormeteksport LLC.
These companies also used a widespread 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 Yelanetske were identified as the alleged owners of the grain.
However, this is not the only coincidence in the criminal proceedings. In both cases, the Olimpex grain terminal, operated by Groza and Naumenko's company, shipped grain to Agiros LLC.
This company is owned by a well-known smuggler, Vadym Alperin, who was sanctioned by the National Security and Defense Council in 2021 and stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship.
This is another confirmation of the active cooperation of Groza and Naumenko with the sanctioned Alperin.
As UNN found out, it was Alperin's Agiros that helped Odesa businessmen export more than 20,000 tons of corn to Egypt, which was allegedly pledged to an American fund and allegedly disappeared from the grain terminal's warehouses. By the way, another criminal proceeding has been opened against Groza and Naumenko for embezzlement of pledged property.
Recall
Earlier, we reported on other facts of Groza and Naumenko's cooperation with sanctioned companies. In particular, the businessmen 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 do business 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 waged a large-scale war.
The parliamentary committee on national security believes that sanctions should be imposed on Groza, Naumenko and their business for such cooperation. The NSDC noted that the body is ready to consider this issue after the relevant proposals, in particular, from the SBU.
