Russian oligarch Mikhail Gutseriev transferred his business to a Ukrainian woman to avoid sanctions.
Kyiv's Pechersky District Court overturned the seizure of sanctioned Russian oligarch Mikhail Gutseriev's logistics business, MLP Chaika, near Kyiv, after it was discovered that the property had been transferred to a Ukrainian composer living in Moscow several years prior to the seizure, according to EP.
This is stated in the investigation Trap Aggressor.
The article discusses one of the largest warehouses in Ukraine, owned by MLP-Chaika near Kyiv, which is part of the Russian company International Logistics Partnership. The latter, in turn, is part of the Safmar business group, owned by Gutseriev.
Journalists discovered that Russian businesses continue to operate in Ukraine to this day and likely finance the Russian military-industrial complex.
Until 2018, MLP-Chaika was personally owned by oligarch Mikhail Gutseriev. The business in Ukraine was later transferred to the Cyprus offshore company Marsfield Limited, whose ultimate beneficiary is listed as Ukrainian citizen Viktoria Vitalievna Kushch.
On August 25, 2022, as part of a criminal case, the Pechersky District Court seized 80 square meters of logistics space belonging to the MLP-Chaika enterprise.
In his petition, the prosecutor noted that these companies are still effectively controlled by Russian citizen Mikhail Gutseriev. Due to his continued support from the Russian government, including the defense and security sectors, the oligarch has been awarded a number of Russian state awards and distinctions.
But on September 15, at the request of MLP-Chaika's lawyer, the same Pechersky Court lifted the arrest. The lawyer claimed that the company's owner, Ukrainian citizen Viktoria Kushch, who has received numerous commendations from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Troitsky Regional Directorate, and the National Police, and that the proceeds from the company's activities are being used to uphold the constitutional order, state authority, and the borders of Ukraine.
Trap Aggressor investigators note that MLP-Chaika Kushch's beneficiary, Victoria Vitalievna, is better known as Victoria Kokhana.
Since 2014, the woman has been permanently located in Russia, writing music for Russian musicians, participating in concerts in the Kremlin, and collaborating directly with the oligarch Gutseriev.
The decision to lift the arrest was made by Pechersky Court Judge Alexei Sokolov, who has been implicated in numerous controversial cases in the past. In May 2019, the Public Council for Integrity found Sokolov unfit for office. The judge could have been dismissed, but the High Qualification Commission of Judges put his assessment on hold," the investigators note.
In particular, Sokolov committed clearly negligent document processing and violated deadlines for submitting court decisions to the registry, as well as issuing decisions published in Russian in violation of the law.
In addition, Alexey Sokolov deliberately delayed the case of Kyiv activist Roman Ratushny, who was killed by Russian occupiers this year.
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