Minister of the occupiers stole grain from Kherson region farmers and received 10 years in prison

The minister of the occupied Kherson region was sentenced to 10 years in prison for collaboration and financing of illegal structures. He robbed local farmers, organized the accounting of stolen agricultural machinery, and facilitated the export of grain and products to Russia.

This was reported by the press service of the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office.

The occupation Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries of Kherson region was sentenced to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property for collaboration. The verdict was handed down by a court under the public prosecution of the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office.

According to the investigation, the man voluntarily agreed to cooperate with the occupiers, heading first the Department of Agricultural Complex in June 2022, and later the so-called Ministry in the temporarily occupied region.

In these positions, he organized and coordinated the financing of illegal structures of the occupation authorities and controlled the accounting of seized agricultural machinery.

The pseudo-official also collected information about the activities of farmers and harvest and facilitated the export of products to Russia. He also exercised general management of the so-called department, hired and fired employees.

We are talking about Igor Grigoriev. According to media reports, before the arrival of the occupation authorities, Ihor Hryhoriev avoided publicity and was developing his own agricultural business. His company, the Kherson Agricultural Exchange, was investigated by journalists who found that the exchange was used to sell wood left over from large-scale forest fires in the Kherson region in 2018 caused by arson.

In addition to 10 years in prison, the court deprived the collaborator of the right to hold positions in state authorities, local governments and law enforcement agencies, as well as to engage in public services for 15 years. The investigation was conducted by investigators of the SBU Office in Kherson region.

In March, Ukrainian special services detained a collaborator who, during the first months of Russia's full-scale invasion, headed the occupation police in Nova Kakhovka in Kherson region. In this position, he organized street patrols, persecuted Ukrainian activists and collaborated with the so-called commandant of the Russian Federation. After his dismissal in April 2022, he fled to Crimea, and from there to the European Union, where he was hiding for a long time.

Анна Бальчінос