Money laundering scheme worth 230 million exposed in Odesa

In Odesa, the BES launched an investigation into an organized group that laundered money through fictitious transactions. Law enforcers have identified questionable transactions worth over UAH 230 million.

This is stated in the decision of the Kyiv District Court of Odesa.

The Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine has launched a pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings against a group of people suspected of money laundering, tax evasion, illegal financial transactions and forgery.

The investigation established that the criminals acted in concert and used controlled companies and individual entrepreneurs to conceal the origin of the proceeds of crime.

According to investigators, in 2025, the suspects did not pay income taxes and VAT in particularly large amounts, reflecting in their tax reports non-commodity transactions or fictitious transactions with companies with signs of transitory nature. As a result, the funds were actually diverted from the companies to the shadow economy. The scheme included legalization of funds by transferring them to the accounts of other companies for the alleged supply of goods and services that were not actually provided.

Officials of a number of companies were involved in organizing the illegal activities, including Sales Wholesale LLC, Mash Trakt LLC, Pavolia LLC, Agro Business Solutions LLC, Octa Prime LLC, Retels LLC, Potestas LLC, and Brock VIP-Inter LLC.

Between April 10 and July 15, 2025, more than UAH 233 million was transferred from the accounts of Sales Wholesale and Mash Trakt to the accounts of other legal entities, allegedly for the supply of goods, including vehicles, frozen salmon and chicken. In reality, these transactions were fictitious, and the funds received were quickly transferred to the accounts of companies with signs of transitory nature. This made it impossible to trace the source of the funds.

Investigators noted that the companies did not file tax returns, register tax invoices, or pay taxes on actual transactions. The funds on the bank accounts were recognized as material evidence. The court granted the prosecutor's motion and seized the accounts and funds of the companies.

In late June, law enforcement officers uncovered financial fraud with agricultural products worth almost half a billion hryvnias. The schemes involved entrepreneurs from Mykolaiv and Odesa regions. According to the investigation, they exported grain abroad through fictitious companies and did not return the foreign exchange earnings to Ukraine.

Анна Бальчінос