In Odesa, company director avoids prison for exporting parts for SAMs to Egypt

The director of a freight forwarding company, who was accused of illegally supporting the export of military goods to Egypt, was sentenced in Odesa. The investigation found that the company organized the transportation of parts for anti-aircraft missile systems.

This was reported by Intent with reference to the verdict of the Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa.

The director of Alphatrans LLC was found guilty of violating the procedure for the international transfer of military goods. The case concerns the organization of the export of parts for the Volga and Pechora anti-aircraft missile systems and the Shilka self-propelled gun for the Egyptian Ministry of Defense without the necessary permission from the State Export Control Service of Ukraine.

According to the case, in July 2017, Alphatrans signed a contract with the French company Geodis Projects Sas for the forwarding of military cargo. Spare parts for Soviet air defense systems and military equipment were to be transported through the Odesa Commercial Sea Port.

The investigation found that the company's director knew about the need to register with the State Export Control Service and obtain a special permit to provide such services to foreign customers. Back in 2016 and 2017, he sent official requests to the SEC of Ukraine and received responses about the mandatory registration of the company to work with military goods. Nevertheless, the company continued to fulfill the contract without the relevant documents.

In court, prosecutors stated that Alphatrans LLC organized the entire cycle of port forwarding: booking containers, processing applications, coordinating cargo transshipment, interacting with customs and the container terminal, and shipping the container by the MAERSK KARACHI to Alexandria.

The case also involved international and Ukrainian companies, including a container terminal in Odesa and French Geodis Projets Sas. At the same time, the investigators found the employees who were directly involved in the clearance of cargo at the port to be unaware of possible violations of the law by the company's management.

The cargo included electric motors, transformers, amplifiers, and other spare parts for Soviet anti-aircraft missile systems. The formal exporter was the state-owned enterprise Ukroboronservice, which had the relevant one-time permits for the export of military products. At the same time, the investigation believed that a separate permit should have been obtained by the company that provided international forwarding of these goods.

The defendant himself pleaded not guilty. He insisted that he considered the company's activities to be ordinary freight forwarding, not an international transfer of military goods. He also referred to a scientific and legal opinion and a specialized export control handbook, where brokerage and forwarding services were treated as ancillary activities that only accompany exports.

Nevertheless, the court concluded that the company's director was aware of the requirements of the law and deliberately violated the procedure for the international transfer of goods subject to state export control, and found him guilty.

At the same time, due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, the accused was released from punishment. The court ruled to cancel the arrests of material evidence in the case and leave some documents in the criminal proceedings.

In February, the former deputy director of the Department of Municipal Security of Odesa City Council was investigated for purchasing overpriced sea containers for defense. He was charged with embezzlement of budget funds.

Анна Бальчінос