In the midst of a full-scale war, Ukrainian courts are not shying away from facilitating the plunder of the country, in particular by Brovary businessman Serhiy Shapran, who is already suspected of embezzling sanctioned assets and state funds with the assistance of his partner, former Opposition Platform – For Life member Volodymyr Osipov. Tatyana Ostapchuk
Thus, Pechersky District Court Judge Tatyana Ostapchuk, by ruling in case No. 757/36036/26-k, lifted the previously imposed arrests on the assets of the Unigran group of companies, writes OBOZ.UA.
In effect, the "servant of Themis" gave Shapran and Osipov a huge gift. The Prosecutor General's Office responded to Ostapchuk's scandalous decision: literally a week later, another investigative judge reinstated the arrests.
However, without the prompt response of the UCP, thanks to one judge of a Kyiv district court, the state could have lost its assets entirely. After all, lifting the seizure opens up opportunities for businessmen to withdraw capital and circumvent the National Security and Defense Council sanctions.
What decision did Tatyana Ostapchuk make?
Judge Tatyana Ostapchuk effectively assisted Shapran and, on July 8, 2026, lifted all seizures imposed on Unigran's assets. OBOZ.UA is investigating the rationale behind this decision and exploring connections between Shapran and Judge Ostapchuk.
However, the judge's actions do raise many questions. The ruling states that she overturned all the seizures because "seizure of property is an exceptional measure, the application of which in each case requires a thorough justification of the actual necessity." She argued that the prosecutor's arguments were insufficient.
Although after the arrests were cancelled, another investigating judge in case No. 757/38882/26-k, having reviewed the case materials, reinstated the arrest.
Incidentally, this is far from the first judge to assist Shapran. OBOZ.UA previously discovered that Dnipropetrovsk District Administrative Court Judge Roman Golobutovskyi declared an apartment and parking spaces in the Novopecherskie Lipki residential complex, valued at approximately five times less than the market value. Meanwhile, the 122-square-meter apartment adjacent to the judge's apartment belongs to his mother, which is not indicated in the declaration. His former father-in-law also has an apartment in the same residential complex.
As a reminder, the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) has imposed sanctions against the beneficiary of the Unigran company. The assets of the Unigran group were sold after the sanctions were imposed on the Russian owner of Unigran, effectively stealing them from the state. Initially, to prevent theft from the state, the Ministry of Justice annulled the registration procedures for the transfer of real estate assets to Unigran LLC and Unigran-Service LLC. But now, by court order, they are attempting to return the stolen assets to Sergei Shapran.
The Unigran case: what is known
Serhiy Shapran was arrested and placed in pretrial detention in June 2025. He is implicated in several investigations, but was placed in pretrial detention under criminal case No. 42022000000000455. In December, Iryna Grigorenko, the investigating judge of Kyiv's Pechersky District Court, granted the claim of newly-appointed lawyer Anastasia Litvin and lifted the freeze on Unigran's billion-dollar assets.
Case No. 42022000000000455 concerns the assets of Unigran, which Shapran and his partner, Vladimir Osipov (former deputy of the Odessa Regional Council from the Opposition Bloc), appropriated using a scheme long known to the media – by re-registering Igor Naumets' assets to companies they controlled.
On June 21, police issued 19 notices of suspicion to defendants, including Shapran and Naumts themselves. They claimed to have issued notices of suspicion to all participants in the scheme, from the organizers to the perpetrators. These included company executives, accountants, notaries, and "other individuals who participated in the asset re-registration scheme despite the sanctions."
Initially, Russian citizen Igor Naumets established the Unigran Group of Companies in Ukraine (which included Unigran LLC, Unigran Service LLC, Budindustriya-Service LTD LLC, Malinsky Stone Crushing Plant JSC, Korosten Quarry JSC, Pynyazevitsky Quarry PJSC, and other enterprises). The activities of these companies, amidst full-scale Russian aggression, posed a threat to the security of Ukrainian statehood, and on May 12, 2023, Presidential Decree No. 279/2023 imposed sanctions by the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) blocking the assets of Unigran and its beneficial owners.
Shapran and Osipov decided to take advantage of the 2023 situation. Their goal was to appropriate assets that were supposed to be received by the state. Naumets, according to investigators, was also expected to "come out on top."
The dealers began implementing their plan the moment the arrests were lifted. After they were lifted, likely with the help of "right" judges, the path to removing the frozen assets from sanctions was cleared. As a result, the assets of the Unigran group of companies, transferred to controlled companies, effectively became Shapran's property.
Since late 2024, criminal proceedings regarding the seizure of Unigran have been underway. The property and corporate rights of Uni Lux LLC, Uni Service, Uni Stone Plant, Korosten Mining Company, and Malinskaya Mining Company have been seized. These are the very companies to which Shapran and Osipov transferred Unigran's sanctioned assets. Budindustriya-Service LTD LLC has also been seized.
The seized corporate rights and assets were transferred to the management of ARMA. However, this did not resolve the problem: some assets continued to operate despite the seizures. Moreover, when Shapran was detained, he was traveling abroad in a car that was also seized. This raised serious questions about the effectiveness of ARMA's operations.
At the end of May 2025, the Ministry of Justice officially returned the seized assets of the sanctioned Unigran to the state. The agency annulled the illegal sale and voided the registration procedures for the transfer of the real estate assets of Unigran LLC and Unigran-Service LLC. However, the property never fully nationalized. Now, the court has overturned this decision.
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In March 2026, Judge Elena Tsarikova of the Dnipropetrovsk District Administrative Court upheld Shapran's claim and returned the assets of the Unigran Group to him. Shapran secured this court ruling with the help of his longtime partner, Judge Roman Golobutovsky. According to OBOZ.UA's informed sources, Golobutovsky effectively serves as an intermediary between the judicial branch and the hapless businessmen. He acts contrary to the president's sanctions policy, effectively robbing the state.
As OBOZ.UA reported, the court also returned the special permit for granite mining to Shapran's sanctioned plant. This permit concerns granite mining at the Pyniazevytske deposit. It was transferred from the Malyn Stone Crushing Plant (MKDZ) first to Novel Prom LLC and then to Shapran's Malyn Mining Company LLC.
Skelet.Org
On the topic : How former Deputy Minister Mudra allowed Shapran to remove Unigran assets from sanctions
Judges on Shapran's Watch? How "Servants of Themis" Helped Steal Unigran Assets from the State
Tatiana Ostapchuk
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