Entrepreneurs stole $20 million for grain transportation through Odesa port

A criminal group, which included beneficial owners of non-resident companies and the CEO of a Ukrainian company that controlled the activities of grain transportation companies in the Odesa seaport, entered into a number of loan agreements with a foreign investor secured by grain and lured him.

This was reported by the press service of the National Police of Ukraine.

In fact, according to the police, there was no such grain, but to mislead representatives of the American company, the criminals entered false information about its availability in official documents, thereby increasing the credit limit.

To create the illusion of compliance with obligations, the debtors paid interest on the loan, while the principal amount remained outstanding. The operatives of the Strategic Investigations Department found that later the criminals even imitated the damage and subsequent utilization of the pledged grain, which was not actually in the warehouses. To do this, they engaged the director of the utilization company, and to confirm the legality of the operation, they transferred UAH 200 thousand with the purpose of "payment for utilization services," although the company did not issue the relevant invoices.

The police conducted searches in Odesa, Sumy, Kirovohrad, Lviv regions and Kyiv in the offices of legal entities, grain terminals, residences of the suspects, notaries involved in the illegal re-registration of collateral, a banking institution and the company that allegedly recycled agricultural products. As a result of the investigation, documents and data storage devices were seized, and grain samples were taken for examination to determine their origin.

The police investigators served the company's CEO and two beneficial owners of non-resident companies with a notice of suspicion of fraud (Article 190 (4) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and forgery (Article 366 (2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The defendants face up to twelve years in prison and the right to hold certain positions with confiscation of property.

On May 13, 2025, one of the organizers of the criminal scheme was taken into custody with an alternative of bail in the amount of over UAH 557 million.

Кирило Бойко