ARMA received 3,000 seized Russian containers from the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant

The assets of a Russian company, which had been under seizure for years, began to lose their value due to prolonged storage and damage. The court concluded that selling them would be a more effective way to preserve the asset’s economic value and would benefit the state.

This was reported by Intent, citing a ruling by the Central District Court of Mykolaiv.

The court authorized the transfer of more than 3,000 specialized containers belonging to the Russian joint-stock company “Novitni Tekhnologii v Perevozhennyakh” to ARMA for management and subsequent sale. The value of the seized property is estimated at 304,500 U.S. dollars, or more than 11.1 million hryvnias at the exchange rate at the time of seizure.

These consist of 3,045 reusable soft textile containers for transporting bulk products, which were imported into Ukraine under a temporary import regime and were used at the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant. According to the investigation, the owner is a Russian company, and the property itself has become material evidence in criminal proceedings regarding the possible financing of actions aimed at overthrowing the constitutional order and seizing state power in Ukraine.

The SBU has been investigating this criminal case since July 2022. Investigators believe that certain companies in the Mykolaiv region, whose ultimate beneficiaries are citizens of Russia and Belarus, may have funneled profits to Russia through dubious commodity transactions and other schemes, and that the funds obtained were allegedly used to finance Russian aggression against Ukraine.

The containers were seized back in October 2022, and in August 2023, they were transferred to the ARMA for safekeeping. However, during inspections in 2023 and 2026, it was determined that the property was gradually deteriorating. The containers are stored on the grounds of the Dnipro-Buzkyi Sea Trade Port; all of them are loaded with approximately 36,500 metric tons of alumina and stacked in three tiers. Some of the containers are already damaged, and certain ones have become unusable, particularly due to shrapnel damage.

The prosecutor noted that continued storage of such specialized property entails significant costs and does not preserve its economic value. In contrast, selling the containers through ARMA will prevent further deterioration and preserve the asset’s value.

Separately, the case file states that the State Property Fund is preparing to sell alumina and bauxite—which have already been confiscated as state revenue—at electronic auctions. It is this alumina that is currently stored in the aforementioned containers. After the sale, the plan is to remove the goods, empty the containers, and return them for further use or sale. The relevant auctions are expected to take place in the second half of 2026, following the government’s approval of the terms of sale.

The judge agreed with the prosecution’s arguments and authorized ARMA to proceed with the sale of the seized containers. 

In June 2023, the High Anti-Corruption Court confiscated the plant from Russian oligarchOleg Deripaska in favor of the state. In total, based on evidence from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR), assets worth over 10 billion hryvnias were nationalized. In March 2024, the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant officially became the property of the State Property Fund.

Анна Бальчінос