In Odesa, investigators received documents in the case of gas supplies from Russia

A court in Odesa allowed the SBU to obtain documents in the case of possible financing of Russia through gas purchases. The investigation believes that the funds of a Ukrainian company could have been transferred to the budget of the aggressor state through a foreign intermediary.

This is evidenced by the ruling of the Peresypskyi District Court of Odesa.

The investigation concerns a Ukrainian citizen who is a co-founder and director of a limited liability company specializing in the wholesale of gaseous fuels. According to the investigation, after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she could have organized a scheme to finance the aggressor country's economy under the guise of legitimate business activities.

Investigators found that in July 2023, the director of a Ukrainian company entered into a foreign economic contract for the purchase of liquefied petroleum gas with an Austrian company. Formally, the supplier was a company registered in Austria, but the actual gas producer, according to the SBU, was a company from the Russian Federation.

Law enforcement officials believe that the suspect was well aware of the Russian origin of the fuel. Moreover, the Austrian intermediary company, according to the investigation, was controlled by the same person who managed the Russian producer. As a result, the funds paid by the Ukrainian company for gas actually went to Russian business and, as a result, replenished the financial system of the aggressor state.

Investigators also noted that to disguise the real origin of the fuel, the contract explicitly stated that the gas originated "from all over the world, except Russia." This, according to law enforcement officers, indicates deliberate actions to conceal cooperation with Russian suppliers under sanctions and martial law.

According to the pre-trial investigation, in 2023, at least more than USD 2 million and more than EUR 730 thousand were transferred from the accounts of a Ukrainian company to a foreign counterparty. These funds could have been subsequently transferred to Russia as payment for gas and in the form of taxes and mandatory payments.

Criminal proceedings over this fact were opened in August 2023 under the article on aiding the aggressor state. Investigators are currently trying to establish the full range of persons involved and possible additional episodes of activity.

As part of this case, the court allowed the SBU investigators to access the registration file of another company whose documents are stored in a state institution. The materials obtained should help law enforcement officers check the links between the companies and their use in a possible Russian financing scheme.

As the Center for Public Investigations wrote, the SBU found that after the outbreak of a full-scale war, the head of the Odesa enterprise, realizing the effect of martial law and the ban on economic activities that could finance Russia, decided not to stop purchasing Russian liquefied gas. To do this, she used the Energoimpex company, of which she was a co-owner and director.

According to the investigation, the scheme worked through intermediaries: the Ukrainian company transferred funds to an Austrian company, which transferred them to a Russian company. As a result, the money was transferred to the Russian budget in the form of taxes, effectively replenishing the economy of the aggressor state.

Анна Бальчінос