Business called on Zelenskyy to stop corruption in the ports of Odesa

The public movement Manifesto42 appealed to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy regarding corruption in ports.

Entrepreneurs called on the president to intervene in the situation regarding corruption pressure on cargo shippers in the ports of Odesa, NV reports.

In the statement, the participants of the movement emphasized that the stability of the work of the Ukrainian maritime corridor is violated by the BEB employees. Under fictitious pretexts, they seize the property of senders and block the shipment of ships.

The entrepreneurs clarified that the delay and arrest takes place immediately after the grain is loaded onto the ship, so that the senders are “more compliant”. In order to avoid paying for simple vessels, they are forced to agree to pay “tribute” to the security forces.

Currently, Manifesto 42 has an application for the detention by law enforcement agencies of at least two vessels on suspicion of non-payment of taxes at the stage of sale and transportation of grain.

At the same time, the BEB’s conclusions about the alleged commission of a crime are based solely on assumptions. After all, neither the tax nor the customs authorities made any claims against the entrepreneurs in these situations.

In particular, now the Shulyavska-Capital company, due to the refusal to pay bribes, suffers losses every day and is forced to release its grain cargo from the groundless seizure through the court.

The public movement emphasized that blocking the export corridor for corrupt purposes is a violation of Article 42 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which guarantees the right to entrepreneurial activity. Businessmen called on the President of Ukraine to immediately understand the essence of the problem and contribute to its systematic solution.

Read also: Rational grain: how minimum export prices will affect the market

Reference. “Manifesto 42” is a public movement created by business to counter the pressure on business from security forces, officials and judges. Among the signatories of the manifesto are the gas station network “OKKO”, agricultural holding “Astarta-Kyiv”, PJSC “Obolon”, TM “Ruta”, as well as the Association of Entrepreneurs of ATO Veterans.