Belarusian fertilizers were supplied to Ukraine through the port of Izmail to circumvent sanctions
10.10.2024 - 10:43
By bypassing sanctions, the Belarusian plant supplied Ukraine with mineral fertilizers from the Russian Federation and Belarus through a company in the UAE.
Despite the sanctions, the Belarusian enterprise “Hrodno Azot” supplied fertilizers to Ukraine through a complex scheme using a company from the UAE, Radio Svoboda reports.
The Belarusian producer of mineral fertilizers “Hrodno Azot” sold its products to Ukraine, disguising them as Turkmen production. Agro Chain General Trading LLC, registered in the UAE and linked to Turkish citizens, was used for this purpose.
The investigation revealed that the deliveries took place despite the sanctions imposed by the European Union and Ukraine against Grodno Azot. According to the materials of the criminal case, the fertilizers were transported through Russia, Bulgaria and Turkey, and their origin was falsified with the help of false certificates.
Investigators exposed this scheme during the investigation of the criminal case against the Ukrainian company “Oscar Optima”, which was engaged in the supply and sale of Belarusian mineral fertilizers in Ukraine. The investigation has been ongoing since January 2023.
“Hrodno Azot” sent its products by rail to the port in Rostov (Russia), from where they were transported to the port of Burgas (Bulgaria). There, the fertilizers were packed into bags, and then transported to the port of the Bulgarian city of Ruse on the Danube River. Fertilizers were sent from there to the Izmail seaport.
Customs clearance was carried out on the basis of certificates of origin of products from Turkmenistan, where this type of fertilizers is not produced at all.
Using the ImportGenius service, which displays global import/export trade documents from the US Customs Service, journalists were able to track one such shipment made last April. The Dubai company Agro chain general trading LLC delivered $1.1 million worth of mineral fertilizers from Turkmenistan to Ukraine. The importer was the Ukrainian company “Oscar Optima”.
At the same time, the value of this contract does not correlate with the financial results of the recipient Ukrainian company, which it provided to the control authorities.
The USM previously reported that Panama would automatically deregister vessels that violate sanctions.
