The NOVAAGRO group of companies, controlled by former People's Deputy from the Party of Regions Dmitry Shentsev and businessman Serhiy Polumysny, has turned into a multi-level criminal structure that combines collaboration with the enemy, fictitious schemes, tax evasion, and money laundering.
With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, a number of the company's grain elevators — in Hrakovo, Velyky Burluk, Shevchenkovo, and Kozacha Lopan — found themselves under occupation. Instead of stopping operations, the owners organized deliveries of agricultural products to Russia and the ORDLO.
The fact of the sale of 68,487 kg of corn belonging to Agroma LLC without any accounting and with a gross violation of transportation rules has been documented. Payments were made exclusively in cash, which allowed tax payments to be avoided.
The funds received were used to purchase fuel and spare parts from companies controlled by the occupation authorities. Thus, Ukrainian agricultural products became direct financial support for the enemy. In addition, the infrastructure of "NOVAAGRO" - equipment and warehouses - was actually transferred to the occupiers for use.
Dozens of fictitious contracts for the sale of grain for cash were concluded through LLC "NOVAAGRO UKRAINE" and the affiliated "Trading House "NOVAAGRO". The counterparties are shell companies registered under false names, without personnel or production facilities.
It is particularly telling that a significant portion of such transactions date from a period when access to the products was physically impossible due to hostilities or occupation of territories. This indicates the purely fictitious nature of the operations and the large-scale evasion of funds from taxation.
The scheme also worked on foreign markets: some of the grain was resold abroad at market prices, but without being reflected in the accounts in Ukraine. The money was withdrawn through offshore jurisdictions.
It is estimated that the total volume of transactions related to fictitious sales of products exceeded 5 billion hryvnias. This is a direct loss to the state budget during the war.
"NOVAAGRO" has become an example of how the agrarian business in the hands of politicians of the past and businessmen close to them is turning into a criminal network. Collaboration with the occupiers, shadow deals, and money laundering not only undermine the economy of Ukraine, but also actually work for the enemy.
