Confiscation of the Special Permit for the ‘Unigran’ Quarry in Favor of the State
The Economic Court of Kyiv has ruled to confiscate the special permit for the use of subsoil resources of the Korosten deposit in the Zhytomyr region, stating that these rights should be seized for the benefit of the state. This decision was prompted by an investigation conducted by journalists regarding the group of companies ‘Unigran’, owned by the sanctioned Russian businessman Igor Naumets.
This is reported by AgroReview
Situation with the Businessman’s Assets
The investigation revealed that Igor Naumets’ business in Ukraine, valued at around one billion hryvnias, changed ownership bypassing the state, despite the imposed sanctions. In 2024, the special permit for mineral extraction, previously owned by ‘Unigran’, was resold to the company ‘Novel Prom’ for one million hryvnias, and subsequently to the ‘Korosten Mining Company’, whose ultimate beneficiary is Sergey Shapran. The latter has close ties to former Kyiv prosecutor Oleg Kiper, raising additional questions.
Legal Consequences and State Control
In September 2024, a Cypriot company, a shareholder of ‘Korosten Quarry’, filed a lawsuit to declare the sale of the special permit invalid. The plaintiffs argued that the transaction occurred without the consent of the shareholders due to the imposed sanctions. In particular, they emphasized that when granting the permit by the state, the auction price should have been no less than 32 million hryvnias.
The Security Service of Ukraine, the Office of the Prosecutor General, and the Ministry of Justice, which acted as third parties in the case, noted that the transactions took place in violation of the sanctions restrictions. Judge Roman Boyko confirmed the legality of the confiscation of the special permit, relying on the results of the ‘Schemes’ investigation. This decision marked an important step in the issue of removing the assets of sanctioned businessmen from the market.
“Assets belonging to sanctioned individuals must be returned to the state,” the judge stated.
It is worth noting that the activities of the ‘Unigran’ holding came under scrutiny from law enforcement at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Law enforcement agencies opened a case against the company related to financing terrorism and tax evasion. The Ministry of Justice is actively working to identify assets linked to Igor Naumets and his business.