Mykolaiv resident pulls off seed scam and steals millions

The court extended the term of procedural obligations for the defendant in the fraud case. According to the investigation, the man seized the company's funds using a debt scheme and a forged contract for the supply of seeds.

This is evidenced by the decision of the Central District Court of Mykolaiv.

The court extended until August 5, 2025, the term of procedural obligations for the suspect in large-scale fraud, a native of the village of Liubomyryivka, Kazankivskyi district, Mykolaiv region.

According to the investigation, the man, being the ultimate beneficiary of EC Vikerkaar LLC, organized a scheme to seize funds of Venol Group LLC in the amount of UAH 1.3 million. It involved the sale of non-existent sunflower seeds under a fictitious contract signed on behalf of another company, SMA Logistic LLC, which at the time had a debt to another company.

In January 2023, the Commercial Court of Odesa Region upheld the claim of EC Vickerkaar against SMA Logistic LLC and ordered the latter to pay more than UAH 1.4 million in debt.

Subsequently, in February 2024, the suspect misled a representative of another company using a fictitious contract for the supply of agricultural products.

The company's director was unaware of the suspect's fraudulent intentions. According to the contract, the payment was to be transferred to bank accounts that were actually controlled by the suspect himself.

The funds transferred by Venol Group to the account of SMA Logistic were automatically written off in favor of the suspect's company as part of the enforcement proceedings. Thus, he actually legalized the money, which, according to the investigation, was the implementation of a fraudulent plan.

On December 9, 2024, the man was served a notice of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - fraud on a large scale. Subsequently, the court imposed on him a pre-trial restraint in the form of detention with the possibility of bail in excess of UAH 3 million.

The court has now ordered the suspect to

• appear before the investigator or court when summoned;
• report any changes in his place of residence or contact details;
• not to communicate with other defendants in the case;
• hand over their passports.

The decision will be valid until August 5, 2025 inclusive.

In early June, the Korabelnyi District Court of Mykolaiv considered the case of Oleh Afanasiev, a city council member from the banned OPFL party. He is accused of involvement in the fraudulent misappropriation of a shipment of soybeans worth more than $800,000.

Анна Бальчінос