The SBU has exposed residents of Odesa who were helping Russia sell stolen grain

SBU officers detained two executives of a local company in Odesa who were helping Russia legalize Ukrainian grain stolen from Mariupol. They are suspected of forging laboratory reports claiming the wheat was of Russian origin.

This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine. 

The detainees have been remanded in custody. They face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

Law enforcement officials believe that the detainees—the director of the Odesa branch of a foreign company specializing in the certification of agricultural products and his subordinate, the laboratory manager—helped Russia sell the stolen Ukrainian grain for over 60 million hryvnias. 

Law enforcement officials established that in 2024, the Russians loaded 7,857 metric tons of Ukrainian wheat onto the sanctioned vessel “Alfa M” at the port of Mariupol. From there, the stolen cargo was transported to the port in Temryuk, Krasnodar Krai, where fictitious documents were drawn up claiming the grain was of Russian origin. The agricultural products were then delivered to a country in the Middle East for further sale through a local export company.

To conceal the true origin of the goods and ensure they could be sold, representatives of the Russian Federation contacted the management of a specialized enterprise in Odesa and ordered forged documents.

Subsequently, the branch director and his subordinate, knowing that the stolen wheat was of Ukrainian origin, organized a “paper” inspection and issued a fraudulent report claiming the grain was of Russian origin.
 

Юлія Калабайда