Special Operation "Granit": Shapran was arrested for removing the Unigran holding from sanctions
A large-scale scheme to illegally remove from sanctions a strategically important group of mineral extraction companies worth about UAH 1 billion, which belonged to a Russian citizen, has been uncovered in Ukraine, the National Police and the Prosecutor General's Office reported.
According to the National Police, despite sanctions and property seizures, quarries in Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions continued to extract minerals, factories continued to process them, and profits continued to flow abroad, in particular to the Russian Federation.
This scheme was previously reported in a journalistic investigation, according to which it was organized by businessman Igor Naumets with Russian citizenship and former deputy of the Brovary City Council Serhiy Shapran.
Thus, according to the investigation, after the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, Naumets transferred the corporate rights to the assets of the Unigran company to a trustee with a foreign passport.
After the introduction of NSDC sanctions and the complete suspension of special permits for the use of subsoil, the company's assets were resold through a network of shell companies, and later they came under Shapran's control.
Such manipulations, according to the National Police, allowed Naumets to avoid a direct sanction blow, although actual control over production remained in his hands.
According to the investigation, in order to legitimize cooperation, in September 2023, the parties even signed a so-called "memorandum" on the transfer of a share of corporate rights.
The scheme involved lawyers, accountants, notaries, and business executives who created shell companies, fictitiously re-registered assets, and made unauthorized changes to state registers.
Communication between participants was provided through special means of communication that were not recorded by mobile operators.
Police and prosecutors documented the criminal activity for eight months, and during searches, they discovered more than 130 pieces of special equipment, land plots, and real estate. The assets have already been transferred to the management of ARMA.
As part of the special operation "Granit", investigators announced suspicions of official forgery, unauthorized interference in automated systems, and legalization of property obtained by criminal means (Part 3 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 366, Part 3 of Article 27, Part 3 of Article 362, Part 3 of Article 27, Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code) to all 19 defendants.
Ukrainian businessman Serhiy Shapran has been taken into custody. The suspects could face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. The amount of damage caused to the state is at least UAH 124 million.
At the same time, in an interview with NADRA.INFO in March, Naumets stated that he did not consent to the sale of the company's assets, and called such actions raiding. According to him, the assets were withdrawn without his knowledge through fictitious re-registration of corporate rights.
In May, the Ministry of Justice canceled the sale of part of the real estate owned by the Unigran group, declaring the actions to re-register it illegal. The report noted that state registrars had exceeded their authority and the documents had signs of forgery.
- In June 2022, the SBU called Unigran owner Igor Naumets a "Russian oligarch" and reported the arrest of his companies on suspicion of illegal mining.
- The NSDC decision to impose sanctions dated May 12, 2023, also indicated that Naumets holds a Russian passport. The same decision imposed sanctions against Elena Kalpa, whose career was re-registered in early 2023.
