OSINT researchers Molfar and animal rights group UAnimals have found that the Ukrainian dolphinarium network “Nemo” likely has ties to Russia, operates in Crimea, and involves former United Russia deputies. This information was revealed in an investigation published on the Molfar web portal.
The Nemo Dolphinarium Network provides a franchise for the creation of such institutions around the world. The first Nemo Dolphinarium was opened in Odessa in 2005 with the support of the Sevastopol-based Biological Station Private Enterprise, which financed the construction and leased the marine animals. Nerum LLC leased the dolphinarium with the animals and later appropriated it along with the building and land. It is Nerum LLC that indicates the connections of the Ukrainian Nemo network with Russian branches.
In the Russian cities of Anapa, Dzhubza and the village of Golubitskaya, there are dolphinariums that are likely cooperating with the Ukrainian network “Nemo” through two Russian legal entities: OOO “Chudne more” and OOO “Ecological Center”. According to investigators, the founders of the latter company are citizens of Ukraine, who are also co-founders of the Odessa LLC “Nerum”. In 2022, “Ecological Center” paid taxes in Russia in the amount of 500 thousand rubles, and losses amounted to 13.7 million rubles.
