When our team arrived at the Ust-Dunaisk State Sea Trade Port, the company was being plundered by the enforcement service and judges under the supervision of the prosecutor's office. More than 100 properties were sold off for next to nothing! For example, the "Portovik" recreation center, worth several million, was sold for 128 hryvnias, and so on. The company's accounts were frozen for a long time. Hucksters roamed the port grounds, pointing out ships, buildings, and other properties they liked to the enforcement service. Fraudulent lawsuits were being filed, and judges were issuing illegal rulings.
It took a tremendous amount of effort to stop all of this. Winning the lawsuits, unblocking the accounts, paying off debts to the budget, wages, creditors, and so on. For five years now, the state-owned enterprise has been operating steadily and profitably, paying taxes and wages. Major investors have shown interest.
Everything was fine until the state came calling again, in the form of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine and the Pechersk Court of Kyiv. And this after the Revolution of Dignity!
Following the annexation of Crimea, the occupiers "nationalized" many state-owned sea vessels. The floating crane vessel PGP-2, which had been docked at the Zaliv shipyard (Kamysh-Burun Bay in Kerch) for repairs before the annexation, also remained on the peninsula. It became clear that the floating crane could be added to the list of property "nationalized" by the Crimean "government." Preparations for its removal began. In July 2014, the seagoing tug Vityaz retrieved the floating crane from Crimea. Both the tug and the floating crane belong to the state-owned Ust-Dunaisk Commercial Sea Port. At the time of the Vityaz's call in Crimea, the vessels were under the management of the charterer, KIRGAN HOLDING S.A., under a bareboat charter agreement. This company saved the state property from "nationalization" by the occupiers. It was a multi-step and dangerous operation.
However, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine opened a criminal case for violating the procedure for entry into and exit from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine with the intent to harm the interests of the state under Article 332-1, Part 2, of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. They also seized the tugboat's original ship's documents. They seized whatever they could find, including documents related to its entry into Crimea, which are not legally relevant, but without which the vessel is not allowed to operate.
The prosecutor's office is not bothered by the fact that the "violation" of the procedure for entering and leaving the temporarily occupied territory occurred in July 2014, and the Cabinet of Ministers adopted the procedure itself in June 2015. Apparently, the Prosecutor General's Office hasn't read the laws, which is why it is unaware that the law is not retroactive.
As for harm to state interests, that's true, but the prosecutors did it deliberately. The state port has already lost $700 due to the vessel's arrest. And the investigator stated that the floating crane should have been left to the occupiers.
Meanwhile, the Russian tanker ROSCHEM-2 was not seized by authorities and was released. Similarly, the tanker Adriatik Mariner, according to Anton Gerashchenko, smuggled 5800 tons of diesel fuel from Feodosia, effectively causing the state 23 million hryvnias in lost taxes and fees. It was initially detained by SBU officers, but then, following a call from one of the Service's leaders, the tanker quietly departed for Romania.
Until October 2015, the prosecutor's office held the vessel even without a court order for its arrest, meaning no opportunity to appeal. This blatantly violated the right to defense. In October 2015, E.A. Krasnozhon, a prosecutor with the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, filed a motion with the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv to seize the seagoing tugboat Vityaz and prohibit anyone from using the vessel.
The prosecutor's office and the court ignored the legal requirement that the property of persons who are not suspects cannot be seized. The port is not a party to the proceedings. In October 2015, the vessel was illegally and unjustifiably seized by a decision of Judge O.A. Belotserkovets. The investigator claims that the vessel should be confiscated. Interestingly, the court will be forced to confiscate state property for the benefit of the state! The next logical step for prosecutors will apparently be to issue a notice of suspicion to the state of Ukraine.
The state-owned enterprise "Ust-Dunaisk Commercial Sea Port" is not a party to this incident or subject to the criminal proceedings. Officials of KIRGAN HOLDING S.A. may be held responsible for any potential violations of entry and exit regulations into and from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.
However, instead of establishing the factual circumstances of the case, investigator A.V. Flyashchenko of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine is illegally interfering in the economic activities of a port that has no connection to this case.
The absurd criminal case has been dragging its feet for over a year and is being used to exert pressure on the Port. The state-owned vessel has been removed from the towing services market, and certain commercial entities are now reaping the revenue from this market. Clearly, this is where the Prosecutor General's Office has its interests.
The prosecutor's office and the Pechersky Court ignored either the factual aspect of the case—the rescue of state property—or the formal aspect—Kamysh-Burun is not on the list of ports closed to entry, and the border was not opened for the tugboat.
The prosecutor's office, realizing the illegality of its actions, sends regulatory authorities to the port to conduct inspections and searches, hoping they will find at least something.
Citing Section 4, Part 2, Article 40 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, which was ineffective at the time of the request, investigator A.V. Flyashchenko petitioned the renowned Pechersk Court to conduct an unscheduled audit of the Port. As of July 15, 2015, this section was repealed, and the investigator no longer had the authority to order an audit. However, Judge N.P. Vasilyeva granted the investigator's unlawful motion.
The case didn't end with the arrest of the tugboat "Vityaz." Prosecutors realized their operation was illegal and criminal. They had no recourse, so they continued their bizarre behavior.
1. I wonder what the grounds were for using Alpha as a particularly dangerous gang?
The prosecutors have swept up all the documentation for the past 15 years! They brought their own witnesses. The documents were loaded into garbage bags. The inventory of the confiscated documents was carried out with violations. The search was conducted by O.V. Flyashchenko, a Prosecutor General's Office investigator for especially important cases. They entered the checkpoint without showing identification, threatened to break down the doors, did not allow workers to leave the enterprise premises, and exerted pressure, sparking protests from port workers who are aware of this injustice with the tugboat "Vityaz." A cleaning lady, Lidiya Sultanova, who had worked at the enterprise for 35 years, was thrown against a wall by an SBU officer. She lost consciousness and received medical attention. A total of 12 port workers sought medical attention. Protests at the port have occurred for the first time in the history of the enterprise. Operations at the state-owned port are now completely paralyzed.
Contrary to Ukrainian law, employees of the Prosecutor General's Office are illegally interfering with the port's economic activities, knowingly and knowingly, without any criminal intent, thereby harming state interests. In doing so, the prosecutors themselves are committing a crime.
The self-serving actions of prosecutors and court officials are costing not only the owners but also the state dearly. The vessel belongs to the Ust-Dunaisk Commercial Sea Port State Enterprise (Vylkove, Odessa Oblast) and has been operating in the Black Sea for many years under a bareboat charter with a foreign company. The charterer terminated the long-term contract, worth $700.
The lawlessness and arbitrary actions of the Prosecutor General's Office have led to a reduction in Vilkovo's budget revenues by approximately 10% (approximately 700 hryvnias). This year, the port will lose approximately 2 million hryvnias in revenue and will not pay approximately 1 million hryvnias in taxes. The tugboat had to be manned by its own crew, and fees for mooring, berthing, and vessel maintenance were incurred. Now, repairs and renewal of the port's registry documents must be financed at the port's own expense (which it lacks), costing another 2 million hryvnias.
The port is currently unable to use the vessel in its production activities and is incurring costs for its maintenance;
There is a real threat that the enterprise will not fulfill its financial plan.
The port is now unable to prepare for winter or prepare other vessels and crews for work.
Port workers have been transferred to a 4-day work week, and their financial situation has worsened.
On November 16-18, 2015, the workforce held protests against the illegal actions of the prosecutor's office, the court, and the financial inspectorate.
The normal operation of the enterprise was disrupted and its business reputation was damaged, including in relation to foreign investors;
Attracting investment has been disrupted.
So much for the damage inflicted on the state budget and the state-owned enterprise by specific prosecutors and judges. And most importantly, all this is happening because a floating crane worth 15 million hryvnias was saved for the state.
In reality, yet another "prosecutor's scheme" has been created in Ukraine. The Prosecutor's Office remains corrupt and is used as a tool in the fight against those who are undesirable. The Prosecutor General's Office, with its illegal actions, is damaging both Ukraine's image and the interests of specific companies. While the investigation into what is essentially "nothing" is ongoing, the state-owned tugboat continues to sit idle, turning into scrap metal, and the operations of the state-owned enterprise are paralyzed.
So, that's the peculiarity of doing business in Ukraine. You have to think not only about growing your business, paying taxes, and paying salaries, but also about going to the prosecutor's office, giving them money, and begging for the return of documents and property.
This is the whole reason for the lack of investment in Ukraine.
Having worked for 12 years in the Prosecutor's Office, including the General Prosecutor's Office, it is clear to me that the criminal proceedings described are a true example of stupidity, foolishness, and abuse of power. It is also clear that the GPU leadership is incapable not only of meeting the demands of the current era, but even of ensuring the observance of basic legality within its agency.
Assistant to the People's Deputy of Ukraine Eduard Spatar.
Subscribe to our channels in Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, VC — Only new faces from the section CRYPT!