SBU jointly with Spanish law enforcers blocks russian attempts to seize Ukrainian vessels
After investigative and operational actions, vessels will be returned to Ukraine's ownership
What happened? The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), together with the law enforcement agencies of the Kingdom of Spain, prevented russia's attempts to seize the property of a Ukrainian state-owned water transport enterprise.
Source. SBU press service on Facebook.
Details. The management of a sanctioned company from russia tried to seize two Ukrainian industrial vessels located in a Spanish port. The total cost of the ships is over $10 million.
"To implement the deal, representatives of the aggressor country 'agreed' with officials of a Ukrainian state-owned enterprise to lease the vessels to an affiliated business structure controlled from russia. Then the participants in the scheme created artificial conditions for the transfer of the vessels to the russian company, allegedly for the repayment of debt in the form of seized assets in Ukraine," the statement says.
SBU officers, together with Western partners, timely exposed the criminal mechanism, identified the persons involved in its organisation, and blocked the illegal transfer of Ukrainian property.
Based on the SBU materials, the court seized the ships. Following urgent investigative and operational actions, they will be returned to the ownership of Ukraine.
Within the framework of criminal proceedings initiated under Art. 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (aiding the aggressor state), the issue of serving a notice of suspicion to the officials of the state-owned enterprise and their accomplices involved in the fraud is being settled. The offenders face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.