How Russians illegally earn in Ukraine and withdraw their money: a study
15 October 2024 21:59
Over the past three years, 621 companies in Ukraine have lost their Russian owners or beneficiaries and continue to operate in Ukraine. This is reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to data from OpenDatabot.
The point is that despite the restrictions, these companies still win millions of dollars in government tenders. The Ministry of Justice conducted inspections in 8 out of 10 cases and found violations and illegal registration actions. However, no changes have been cancelled, and companies with bleached reputations continue to operate in the Ukrainian market.
Meanwhile, the relevant law in Ukraine stipulates that the Ministry of Justice should monitor and control registration actions. Opendatabot contacted the Ministry with a list of companies to make sure that their changes were legal. The checks revealed violations and illegal registration actions in 8 out of 10 cases.
Some of the companies, including Ravetti Ukraine and Domofon. Engineering. Okhrana, won government tenders and made significant profits last year. However, the companies were re-registered illegally, and those responsible for this were prosecuted.
However, even after several inspections by the Ministry of Justice confirmed the violations, no registration changes were cancelled and the companies continue to operate. OpenDataBot’s request to the Ministry of Justice showed that registration changes can be cancelled based on a court decision or upon a complaint from a person whose rights have been violated. However, the deadline for filing a complaint has passed for most companies.
So far, there is no specific authority that would control the re-registration of Russian assets and cancel the statute of limitations for such transactions. Russian companies are still withdrawing their funds, and their businesses are making money off Ukrainians and public tenders. Responsibility for illegal re-registrations has been assigned to some notaries and state registrars who participated in these changes. However, it is unclear who will initiate further proceedings in cases where the state of Ukraine is actually the victim.
