Captain of a vessel confiscated in Odesa region gets off with a fine for transporting grain stolen by Russia

The Shevchenkivskyi Court of Kyiv has approved a plea agreement between the prosecutor and the captain of the USKO MFU vessel, which was confiscated after being arrested in the port of Odesa region in the fall of 2024, which kept the captain out of jail.

The captain, according to the court' s verdict, pleaded guilty to violating the procedure for entering and leaving the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, committed repeatedly or by prior conspiracy by a group of persons or by an official using his official position.

In general, under this paragraph of Article 332-1 of the Criminal Code, the captain was facing imprisonment for a term of three to five years with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years, but the agreement with the prosecutor allowed him to get off with a fine of UAH 102,000, although he was deprived of the right to engage in activities or hold positions related to the management of maritime transport for a period of 2 years.

The USKO MFUbulk carrier flying the flag of Cameroon was confiscated in October 2024. The reason was illegal entry into the ports of the temporarily occupied Crimea. The court decided to transfer it to state ownership.

The detention took place in July 2024 in Odesa region, when the Maritime Security units detected violations of navigation in the waters under temporary occupation.

The Dnipro District Court of Kyiv decided to transfer the vessel to the National Asset Management Agency (ARMA). At the same time, the Dniprovsky District Court of Kyiv authorized the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) to seize the Russian tanker Nika Spirit. This asset was transferred to ARMA for management, but during the war, ARMA saw it expedient to focus on the sale of expensive seized assets, such as the Nika Spirit, instead of finding managers.

Кирило Бойко