The Security Service of Ukraine is investigating the activities of companies controlled by former MPs Mykhailo and Dmytro Dobkin on suspicion of aiding an aggressor state, land pollution, and illegal financial transactions. These include a number of companies that conduct business under the brand name "Epikur" - among them PrJSC "Volodymyr-Volynska Poultry Farm", JSC "Volodymyr-Volynska Trading Company", LLC "Lutsk Agrarian Company", and JSC "Volodymyr-Volynska Agrarian Company".
The investigation claims that the management of these companies during 2019–2021 supplied a large part of poultry products to the temporarily occupied territories of the Luhansk region, selling them for cash. In addition, according to secret investigative actions, the products were exported to Turkey and Uzbekistan with subsequent re-export to Russia. All these operations, as suspected by the SBU, brought the companies significant amounts of cash, which could then be used to finance the military formations of the aggressor country.
In criminal proceedings No. 42024110000000287, there is evidence confirming the coordination of efforts of officials in carrying out financial transactions that bear signs of legalization of proceeds from crime. The mechanism included the circulation of securities and the subsequent cashing of funds, presumably with the aim of supporting the Russian army.
In addition, within the framework of the same proceedings, the SBU is investigating the episode of using 11 hectares of communal land in Volodymyr-Volynskyi for illegal industrial waste settling tanks. According to the investigation, the management of the Volodymyr-Volynskyi Poultry Farm, together with city council officials, exploited this land without permits during 2021–2024, which caused environmental pollution.
Against this background, a conflict continues between the Dobkin brothers and businessman Alex Kovalenko, who accuses them of illegally depriving him of his share in the poultry farm and illegally using the Epicure brand.
Despite these accusations, in public, Dmitry Dobkin told Forbes that 96% of products are sold on the domestic market, and only 4% are exported.
Mikhail and Dmitry Dobkin are former people's deputies from the "Opposition Bloc", formerly the "Party of Regions". After the full-scale Russian invasion, Mikhail Dobkin unexpectedly declared himself a deacon of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Currently, the SBU suspects officials of the aforementioned enterprises of committing crimes under Part 1 of Article 111-2 (aiding an aggressor state), Part 1 of Article 239 and Part 2 of Article 239-1 (environmental offenses) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
