Court disrupts deal in Odesa grain export corruption case

In Odesa, a court considered a case of possible interference with the results of a phytosanitary examination, which allowed thousands of tons of corn to be exported abroad despite the violations. The court refused to approve the official's plea agreement and decided to continue the case.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.

During the preparatory hearing, the court examined the plea agreement in the case of the head of the phytosanitary security department of the regional unit of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, who is suspected of abuse of influence.

According to the investigation, the case involves the export of almost 6,000 tons of corn, which was provided by the companies Evenrise, Banners and Teca Petroleum together with the foreign forwarding company WESTBRIDGE Prague S.R.O.

The contract also involved VIKING INTERNATIONAL TRADING CORP, Phytotek Ukraine and Graincom Shipping, which were engaged in fumigation, preparation of phytosanitary and veterinary documents, as well as organization of export support for the shipment of grain to Egypt through the port of Izmail.

The investigation established that all these companies acted according to a coordinated scheme that covered the full export cycle - from cargo handling to its transfer to a foreign buyer.

In accordance with Ukrainian law and the requirements of the importing country, a phytosanitary certificate is required to export grain. To do this, exporters submitted a package of documents to the regional office of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, including an application for sampling for examination.

In May 2023, a state inspector took corn samples in the port of Izmail, which were immediately sent to the Odesa Phytosanitary Laboratory for examination.

Subsequently, a representative of Graincom Shipping LLC received three expert opinions, which recorded an excess of the permissible level of the quarantine weed, ragweed. This made it impossible to issue the certificate.

After that, on May 22, 2023, the company applied to the Central Phytosanitary Laboratory in Kyiv with a request to review the results and re-examine.

During the discussion of the situation, the company's representatives reported the violations. On the same day, they received a call from a person involved in a separate criminal proceeding who offered to "resolve the issues" related to the HASAN vessel.

It turned out that the results of the initial examination could have been deliberately overstated due to the refusal to pay a bribe to officials of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection and laboratory staff.

There was also a proposal to influence the results of the second examination in the Kyiv laboratory to obtain a positive conclusion. For this, they demanded $0.4 per ton, which amounted to $2,400 in cash. In exchange, they promised to ensure a positive examination result.

To avoid downtime of the vessel with a cargo of more than 5,800 tons, the company representative agreed to these conditions. This would allow them to obtain a certificate and export corn to Egypt without hindrance.

The scheme involved a former employee of the regional office of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection who was well versed in the procedures and had the necessary connections.

The head of the analysis department of the Central Phytosanitary Laboratory learned about the application for re-examination and showed the management the correspondence discussing the desired result. Based on the protocols with false data, he prepared three falsified conclusions.

These documents were later signed by the head of the institution. After that, the state inspector, relying on the forged conclusions, issued certificates for the export of grain from the port of Izmail to Egypt.

In June 2023, in the Odesa restaurant of the London Hotel, $2,400 was transferred for influencing the laboratory staff.

In June 2025, the defendant entered into a plea agreement with the prosecutor, admitting her guilt. The parties requested a fine of 51 thousand hryvnias. However, the court did not agree to approve this agreement and decided to consider the case in a general manner.

The SBI served the official with a notice of suspicion in April 2024. According to the investigation, officials of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection in Odesa and Zaporizhzhia regions created a scheme to extort money for issuing certificates for the export and import of agricultural products. Their monthly income was estimated to exceed $160,000.

In March, the BES exposed a tax evasion scheme involving corn exports through the port of Odesa. The defendants bought grain for cash and tried to legalize it through controlled companies, planning to ship it to Malaysia.

Анна Бальчінос