Mykolaiv Alumina Plant Investigation: Oligarch Ties and Nationalization

Law enforcement officials are investigating the financial activities of the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant, which was previously owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

This was reported by the UA.News news and analysis website.

The controlling authorities are collecting data on the company's bank accounts, including closed accounts, fund balances, financial transactions, and identification of counterparties. Information on telecommunications associations in the Bank-Client system is also being analyzed.

The company ceased operations on March 1, 2022. At that time, its owner, the Russian corporation Rusal, explained this by logistical difficulties in the Black Sea region. In July of the same year, the court transferred the plant's corporate rights to the ARMA, but the agency was unable to take control of the enterprise.

Mykolaiv Alumina Plant is the largest in Ukraine and one of the key non-ferrous metallurgical enterprises in Europe. In connection with its operations, it is planned to build a new storage facility for waste from bauxite processing and alumina production - red mud - near Mykolaiv.

In March 2024, Mykolaiv Alumina Plant became the property of the State Property Fund of Ukraine. Previously, its corporate rights were owned by Aluminium of Ukraine (13.96%) and Guardon Ukraine (86.04%), but they were excluded from the list of founders. Currently, four companies control the company: Okhoda MGZ, Kharchovyk, Mykolaiv Local Charitable Foundation Center for Social Programs, and Metallurg-MGZ. In 2023, the plant generated revenue of UAH 18.5 million.

In June 2023, the High Anti-Corruption Court finally confiscated the plant from Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Based on the SBU and the State Bureau of Investigation, Ukraine nationalized enterprises owned by the sanctioned businessman for a total of UAH 10 billion. The investigation found that in 2000, the plant was privatized by the oligarch's holding, one of the world's largest aluminum producers. This group of companies still supplies products for the military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation, in particular for the production of missile systems and other weapons.

At the end of January 2025, the SBU blocked the supply of strategic raw materials to the Russian military industry. The court seized more than UAH 2 billion of raw materials belonging to Deripaska. It was found that these products were intended for Russian Rusal plants, which manufacture components for Iskander ballistic missiles, combat drones and radar systems.

Анна Літман