Fraudsters Steal ₴22.9M and 1,390 Tons of Soybeans in Mykolaiv

In Mykolaiv region, fraudsters posing as an agricultural enterprise seized millions of hryvnias and tons of soybeans by opening a fake account. The court allowed investigators to seize documents of a company that may be involved in the fraud.

According to a ruling of the Central District Court of Mykolaiv, investigators were granted temporary access to the original documents of one of the companies that may have evidentiary value in a large-scale fraud case.

The case is a criminal proceeding under Part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - misappropriation of property by deception or breach of trust committed on a particularly large scale under martial law.

According to the investigation, in November 2024, representatives of the agricultural enterprise received an offer to buy a soybean crop of 1,390 tons on behalf of another company. Negotiations were conducted by email, after which the agricultural company was sent an invoice for payment. The terms were clear: the buyer had to pay UAH 22.9 million within five days.

The company made the payment - 86% of the amount - but later discovered that the money had been transferred to a different account than the one specified in the contract. After that, communication with the seller's representatives disappeared.

As investigators found out, the criminals, using a forged passport and an electronic digital signature of the company's director, opened a bank account without the company's knowledge. It was to this account that the funds were transferred.

Thus, an unidentified group of people took possession of both the money and the company's grain crops. The amount of damages is being clarified, but it definitely exceeds 22 million.

During the pre-trial investigation, it became known that another company with which the agricultural company had business relations may be involved in the crime. That is why the investigator applied to the court for permission to access the original documents related to the cooperation between the two companies.

The court granted the motion. The documents may be seized, in particular, for expert examination. Law enforcement officers are currently identifying the range of people who may be involved in the crime.

Also in Mykolaiv region, a court seized property in a case of embezzlement of funds and agricultural machinery. According to the investigation, the ex-director and her accomplices illegally took the equipment from the company. Some of the equipment, according to the victim, was purchased with his personal money, while others were purchased at the expense of the company.

In February, the court extended the term of procedural obligations for the man suspected of fraud of more than UAH 1.3 million. According to the investigation, he misappropriated the company's funds by promising to sell agricultural products that he did not actually have.

Анна Бальчінос