Court keeps equipment under arrest in Mykolaiv money laundering case

In Mykolaiv, the court refused to lift the seizure of a recycler purchased for work at the National Military Memorial Cemetery. The court concluded that the interests of the investigation currently prevail over the new owner's claims to use the machine.

This was reported by Intent with reference to the decision of the Mykolaiv District Court.

The judge refused to cancel the seizure of the road construction machine, a recycler, from Brovary Road Construction Department No. 50. The equipment remains under restrictions as part of criminal proceedings opened in 2021 under a number of articles of the Criminal Code, including money laundering, illegal use of subsoil, environmental pollution and abuse.

The vehicle in question was previously owned by SPMK-17 LLC. It was seized in October 2023. Nevertheless, in January 2025, Brovary Road Construction Department No. 50 PJSC purchased the equipment through an electronic auction of the state enterprise Setam. The company won the auction by offering the highest price of UAH 6 million.

The company explained that the recycler was needed to perform work at the National Military Memorial Cemetery in Mykolaiv. According to the company's representatives, without specialized equipment, some construction work is either impossible or significantly complicated. That is why the company asked the court to lift the arrest, believing that the restrictions violate its right to use legally acquired property.

However, after the purchase, it turned out that the equipment remained encumbered by several arrests and was wanted. In May 2025, the Main Directorate of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection in Odesa Oblast refused to deregister the machine, citing existing arrest records and a search warrant for the equipment.

The prosecutor in court opposed the motion and insisted that there were no grounds to cancel the arrest. The court agreed with this position.

According to the YouControl analytical system, SPMK-17 LLC was registered in Odesa region in 1998 and is owned by Seda Amirkharyan. The company's activities are focused on the lease and operation of its own or leased real estate.

According to the ruling of the Mykolaiv District Court, the investigation found that after the publication of the article about the asphalt plant in 2021, law enforcement officers checked information about air pollution. According to their data, asphalt plants in the village of Myhia and near the village of Horokhivka regularly released industrial waste into the air, which could pose a threat to the environment.

According to the SBU, SPMK-17 LLC operated without mandatory environmental documents: no environmental impact assessment, no emission permits, and no confirmation of compliance with sanitary standards. According to the investigation, this is a violation of environmental legislation.

In addition, the company is suspected of violating the rules of state accounting in the field of air protection: the company had to be registered in the relevant state accounting, pay environmental tax and submit mandatory reports, but did not comply with these requirements.

The judge noted that the applicant had not proved that the arrest was groundless or that it was no longer needed. Also, the investigation in the case is ongoing, and the seizure of the equipment is associated with possible confiscation and compensation for damages. Therefore, the recycler was left under arrest.

Also in Mykolaiv, law enforcement officers are investigating a tax evasion scheme involving grain exports, a network of offices in different cities and accounting abroad. According to the investigation, the state budget could have lost tens of millions of hryvnias due to these actions.

Анна Бальчінос