Russian oligarch's seized ore in Chornomorsk put up for sale at a discount

The National Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) has re-put up for sale assets in the form of 10,772.3 tons of iron ore pellets located at the Chornomorsk steel mill in Odesa region.

The relevant announcement was published in the Prozorro.Sale system.

This ore belongs to the group of companies Holding Company Metalloinvest Joint Stock Company. The Bureau of Economic Security is conducting a pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings, which established that unidentified persons, by prior conspiracy with officials of enterprises of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, during 2020-2022, using railway rolling stock, by illegally using the customs regime of "transit" when crossing the customs border of Ukraine, actually unloading and selling inventory on the territory of Ukraine without proper reflection in tax reporting, intentionally evaded taxation of

The future winner of the auction will have to pay customs duties in the amount of UAH 11 million 321.4 thousand.

The starting price of the new auction is UAH 7 million 739.8 thousand, while in the previous auction it was UAH 15 million 480 thousand. However, the previous auction did not take place due to the lack of bidders.

In 2023, law enforcement officers discovered and seized almost 2,500 tons of iron ore pellets belonging to the Russian group of companies, the Joint Stock Company Holding Company Metalloinvest, on the territory of one of the railway stations of the Odesa Railway.

This was not the first cargo of iron ore to be smuggled through Odesa region. Prior to that, detectives of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BES) handed over almost 170,000 tons of iron ore with an estimated value of UAH 1.8 billion to the National Agency for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA), in accordance with a court order.

Кирило Бойко