In Kyiv oblast, the SSU and the SBI have apprehended the CEO of a foundry from the temporarily occupied Makiivka in Donetsk region, who is involved in financing the terrorist organisation ‘DNR’.

On the eve of the full-scale war, the entrepreneur transferred tens of millions UAH to the militants.

According to the investigation, after the capture of the city in 2014, he continued to do business in the occupied territory.

To do this, the plant sold equipment to Ukraine through shell companies registered in our country. According to the documents, the goods came from Taganrog, but were actually imported from Makiivka via Rostov region.

In such a way, before russia’s full-scale invasion, the dealers circumvented the restrictions imposed on trade with the seized enterprises in eastern Ukraine.

To operate the scheme, its participants created a network of controlled commercial entities in Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as in russia.

The dealers transferred most of their ‘profits’ to the ‘DNR’s budget’ as payment of ‘taxes and fees’. The transactions were carried out through sanctioned banks in russia and in the temporarily occupied Donbas.

Subsequently, the militant leaders used the money to finance the aggressor’s occupation groupings fighting on the eastern front.

As the investigation established, the organizer of the ‘scheme’ himself left for Kyiv region before 24 February 2022, tried to lay low and evade justice.

However, the law enforcement agencies found and detained him. His accomplices in Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts have also been exposed.

During dozens of searches in the suspects’ offices and homes, the investigators found company seals, draft records and documentation, computers and mobile phones with evidence of the unlawful activity.

The apprehended entrepreneur has been served a notice of suspicion under Article 258-5.2 of the CCU (terrorism financing). A custody without the right to bail was chosen as a measure of restraint.

The investigation is ongoing. The offenders are facing up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property.

The operation was carried out by the SSU Office in Vinnytsia region jointly with the State Bureau of Investigations under the supervision of the regional Prosecutor’s Office.