An accountant of a corporation from Pervomaisk conducted business in Crimea

In Mykolaiv region, the chief accountant of a corporation that managed the finances of enterprises in Crimea, the occupied part of Kherson region and Russia was convicted. Along with declaring millions of dollars in income in Ukraine, the corporation's affiliated entities paid taxes to the aggressor country and financed its security forces.

This is evidenced by the verdict of the Pervomaisk City District Court.

The investigation found that it was an extensive network of companies under the Svarog brand that operated simultaneously in Ukraine, the EU, Russia, and the occupied territories. In Ukraine, this group is represented by dozens of legal entities, including, in particular, Ait-76 LLC and Retail West-Pivden LLC, registered in Pervomaisk and Kherson.

In 2024 alone, they declared more than UAH 930 million in revenue, and the total income of the Ukrainian part of the chain since the beginning of the full-scale invasion is estimated at about UAH 3 billion. This structure includes stores operating under the Vesunchyk, Green, Green Express and Nectar brands.

In parallel with the Ukrainian business, the same owners controlled enterprises in Russia and occupied Crimea through proxies, often using identical or similar names. For example, LLC "Retail Kherson" appeared in the Russian register next to the Ukrainian "Retail Kherson".

Among the largest assets are the Crimean Dakort-Krym LLC with a revenue of 4.2 billion rubles in 2024, Partner-Yug LLC with a revenue of 4 billion rubles, and Krasnodar-based Dakort-Yug LLC with a revenue of 3.9 billion rubles. According to the investigation, these companies annually paid hundreds of millions of rubles in taxes to the Russian budget, and also financed Rosgvardia units by paying for the protection of their facilities.

A key role in the functioning of this business network was played by the chief accountant, who at the time lived in Pervomaisk.

She remotely supported the activities of enterprises in Crimea and Russia: She prepared financial statements, calculated employee salaries, audited companies and managed the accounts of the owners, who were in Spain at the time. Using ordinary computer equipment and corporate mail, she actually supported the integration of the business into the economic system of the aggressor state.

The court decided to approve the plea agreement concluded by the accused together with her lawyer and the prosecutor.

The woman was found guilty and sentenced to 4 years in prison. She was also banned for 10 years from holding positions related to management or economic activity in government, as well as in state and municipal institutions. At the same time, the court released her from serving her sentence with a probationary period of 1 year.

A deputy of the Genichesk City Council was also convicted for collaborating with the Russian occupation authorities. He turned his own business into a tool to serve the interests of the aggressor state.

Анна Бальчінос