Ukrainian entrepreneur sentenced for business in Crimea

While Ukraine is fighting for the de-occupation of Crimea, some businesses continued to operate on the peninsula under Russian rules, paying taxes to the budget of the aggressor country. The court approved an agreement with one of the participants in the scheme, who agreed to cooperate with the investigation.

This is evidenced by the verdict of the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv.

According to the investigation, after the occupation of Crimea in 2014, a Ukrainian businessman, the actual owner of the 33 Square Meters construction supermarket chain, decided to keep his business on the peninsula. To do so, the store in Dzhankoy that he controlled was re-registered under Russian law and renamed Stroy MAH.

In June 2014, a company called Maxi Crimea LLC was registered, which actually continued the work of the Ukrainian business in the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. The formal founder was a fictitious person, and a former employee of related companies was appointed as the head.

At the same time, the Marketing and Analytical Company Monopoly operated in Ukraine, which ensured the functioning of the network: analysis of suppliers, formation and approval of applications, accounting support and organization of the supply of goods, including to the occupied territory.

After the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, despite the direct ban on economic relations with the aggressor state, the organizer created a stable group to continue its activities in Crimea. It included employees of related companies who were assigned roles ranging from approving payments and applications to administering software and monitoring the operation of stores.

Closed chats on Telegram, Viber, and WhatsApp were used for coordination. In addition, special software was developed to manage applications, financial transactions, and internal processes of the company.

The scheme also involved the company Novostroy Krym LLC, which was registered under Russian law and registered with the Russian tax service. The company paid taxes to the budget of the aggressor country and sold construction materials in the occupied territory.

One of the group members was responsible for preparing applications for the supply and sale of goods. Law enforcement officers classified his actions as collaboration. In October 2025, he entered into an agreement with the investigation. Under its terms, the accused undertook to give incriminating testimony against other participants in the scheme and transfer UAH 500 thousand to the UNITED24 platform.

The court approved the agreement and sentenced him to imprisonment with a probationary period of one year.

Also, as Intent wrote, in Odesa, the founder of the company pleaded guilty to cooperation with the aggressor state during the occupation of Crimea. The investigation found that during 2022-2024, these structures acted in favor of the Russian Federation, providing services of ports, marinas, piloting, mooring and berthing of vessels.

Анна Бальчінос