Court seizes assets of Russian billionaire Deripaska at Mykolaiv Alumina Plant

The SBU has blocked the supply of strategic raw materials for the Russian military industry. At the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant, the court seized raw materials worth more than UAH 2 billion belonging to Russian substation oligarch Deripaska.

Based on the SBU materials, the court ruled to seize a large batch of industrial products and raw materials belonging to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who is under sanctions.

It is about 500 thousand tons of bauxite and alumina used for aluminum production. This raw material was produced before the full-scale invasion and stored in the warehouses of the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant, which was previously controlled by Deripaska. The total value of the assets amounted to 2.1 billion
rivnias.

These products were intended for Deripaska's Russian enterprises Rusal, which manufacture parts for Russian military equipment, including components for Iskander ballistic missiles, combat drones and radar systems.

The investigation found that the raw materials formally belonged to a European company that was just a front for a Russian businessman. It was a customer of the Mykolaiv plant's products for further supply to Russia.

In early 2023, Ukrainian special services exposed the scheme and blocked the export of raw materials to Russia. The Ukrainian authorities also decided to nationalize all companies associated with Deripaska that operated in Ukraine.

As a result of the investigation, the SBU notified the oligarch of suspicion under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, including financing Russia's war against Ukraine.

In January last year, the state budget of Ukraine received the first sanction money - more than UAH 32 million. In June 2023, the High Anti-Corruption Court finally confiscated the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant owned by a Russian oligarch. According to the SBU and the State Bureau of Investigation, Ukraine has nationalized the sanctioned businessman's enterprises for a total of UAH 10 billion.

In August last year, the State Property Fund announced plans to privatize the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant (MPZ). The High Anti-Corruption Court ruled to transfer 100% of the company's corporate rights to state ownership. More than 150 buildings and more than 200 vehicles were also confiscated.

It is worth noting that Mykolaiv Alumina Plant is one of the largest non-ferrous metallurgical enterprises in Europe. Deripaska took control of the plant in the early 2000s, and in 2016 Ukraine imposed sanctions on its companies.

In addition, the state budget received assets of other pro-Russian figures, including collaborator Volodymyr Saldo and former official Dmytro Vorona, who defected to Russia after 2014 and later became the so-called "senator" of the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region. The Ukrainian budget also received funds from the company of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

Анна Бальчінос