The Ukrainian Bureau of Economic Security (BEB) has started an investigation into three criminal proceedings related to the facts of the "grey" export of grain crops from the grain terminal "Olympex".
This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
"We inform you that according to the data of the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations, 3 criminal proceedings are being investigated for the facts specified in your request (gray export of grain from the terminal "Olympex" - ed.)," says the response of the OGP.
At the same time, the agency clarified that criminal cases are being investigated by detectives of the Bureau of Economic Security. And the procedural management is carried out by the Office of the General Prosecutor and the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office.
Earlier it became known that the Bureau of Economic Security is investigating several criminal proceedings related to the gray export of grain. According to law enforcement officers, the most common scheme for such tax evasion for tens of millions of hryvnias is the purchase of grain, which does not have documents of origin, for cash and its subsequent export abroad using the details of "risky" or shell companies.
One of the vivid examples of gray exports are criminal cases related to gray exports from the grain terminal "Olympex" in 2021-2023, when it was actively managed by Odesa businessmen Serhiy Groza and Volodymyr Naumenko.
In particular, in January 2021, law enforcement officers became interested in a number of companies that export grain and are connected to the GNT Group agricultural holding of Serhiy Groza and Volodymyr Naumenko. LLC "Ferko", LLC "Metalzyukrain Corp LTD", LLC "Grain Handling Complex "Inzernoexport" and the enterprise "Vtormetexport", which belong to the GNT Group, actively used the details of "risky" enterprises to conduct export operations. During the investigation, the territorial administration of the BEB in the Odesa region discovered at least three such "risky" enterprises: "OUTSTAFF 19" LLC, "ALICENTA TRADE" LLC and "SOLTEK PRODUCT" LLC. In addition, the investigation established that the exported grain was stored, in particular, in the warehouses of "Olympex Coupe International" LLC, which is also under the control of Groza and Naumenko.
According to the results of the investigation, the law enforcement officers found that none of the mentioned "risky" enterprises had confirmations of the purchase of grains that were planned to be exported - more than 2,000 tons of corn, barley, and wheat (this is only what was discovered by the law enforcement officers during the searches). In addition, all these enterprises violated the requirements of financial and tax reporting, demonstrated zero profitability, and understated income tax.
Only within the framework of this criminal proceeding, according to the calculations of the law enforcement officers, the Groza and Naumenko companies caused losses to the state in the amount of almost UAH 37.5 million. At the same time, the exporter of "gray" grains was "Agyros" LLC, which belongs to the well-known smuggler Vadym Alperin, against whom the NSDC imposed sanctions in 2021 and who was deprived of Ukrainian citizenship. According to the media, another company controlled by Groza and Naumenka, Attollo Granum, shipped these grains.
Currently, this criminal proceeding is still under investigation.
Another criminal proceeding, in which Grozy and Naumenka's company "Olympex Coupe International" LLC appears, is being investigated by the territorial administration of the Kyiv City Security Service. It was opened a year later, in 2022, but it also applies to "grey" grain exports.
The case is being investigated under articles on tax evasion, falsification of documents for state registers, legalization (laundering) of proceeds obtained through crime and illegal handling of weapons or ammunition.
The scheme under which Groza and Naumenko's company operated is identical to the one used before, only the names of the fictitious companies differ, and even then not all of them. In particular, "OUTSTAFF 19" LLC, already mentioned in another criminal proceeding, appears in it.
In addition to this company, they also used the "risky" enterprises "EXPRESS VSI" and "AGROTRANS-GRUP". With their help, according to the investigation, at least 40,000 tons of grain and oilseeds disappeared from the terminal in 2023.
In addition, BEB detectives believe that criminal activity related to tax evasion through the gray export of grain continues at the "Olympex" terminal.
