Media: SPFU sells Ust-Dunaiskiy commercial port to company linked to pro-Russian businessman Ivanov
The State Property Fund has sold the Ust-Dunaysk International Trade Port to a company linked to pro-Russian businessman Andriy Ivanov.
According to Censor.NET, this is stated in an investigation by Hromadske.
According to journalists, in January 2023, the port of Ust-Dunaysk was sold at auction for UAH 200 million. In August 2023, the deal was finalised. "Elixir-Ukraine" became the full owner of the port.
The media found out that the owner of "Elixir-Ukraine", Valeriy Vikhrenko, is still associated with pro-Russian businessman Andriy Ivanov, the founder of the "Transship" holding company
"This is a group of companies that for many years was engaged in transshipment and transportation of goods in the Black Sea ports and provided towing services. After the occupation of Crimea, Ivanov's company there was re-registered under Russian law and continued to operate in Russia. For many years, the companies of Andriy Ivanov's group have been involved in SSU investigations into the illegal transportation of people from occupied Crimea to mainland Ukraine," the article says.
The current owner of the port of Ust-Dunaysk, Valeriy Vikhrenko, denied any ties to Ivanov, but admitted that he was buying his business.
"Look, I'm not hiding the fact that I'm buying the 'Strumok' elevator from Mr Ivanov. The man is selling his business. I am buying the Strumok elevator from him because he is selling... He is selling everything today, he is selling everything and closing his business in Ukraine," Vikhrenko said.
The journalists also found out that after the privatisation of the former state-owned port of Ust-Dunaysk, its property was leased to the "Cranship" company from the "Transship" holding of pro-Russian Odesa businessman Andriy Ivanov.
The media got hold of a port property lease agreement concluded between "Elixir-Ukraine" and "Cranship" in September 2023. Subsequently, "Elixir" also transferred the developer's right to the property to "Cranship".
"In early 2023, Valeriy Vikhrenko's Elixir-Ukraine LLC bought the Ust-Dunaysk International Trade Port at an auction from the State Property Fund for UAH 200 million. One of the conditions for participating in the auction was that the company had no ties to Russia.
"Cranship", which later gained control of the port property, is part of Andrey Ivanov's "Transship" holding. This is a group of companies that has been handling and transporting cargo in the Black Sea ports and providing tug services for many years. After the occupation of Crimea, Ivanov's company there was re-registered under Russian law and continued to operate in Russia," the investigation says.
For many years, journalists write, the group's companies have been involved in SSU investigations into the illegal transportation of people from occupied Crimea to mainland Ukraine.
In a conversation with the media, Andriy Ivanov claimed that he had left the business and denied that "Cranship" had operated in the port of Kilia in 2023: "I left the business, I am a pensioner. Today, I don't have any business at all. I am selling the whole business".
At the same time, the authors of the material found that in fact, "Cranship" received the port facilities for rent in 2023. A few months later, during a search by the National Police as part of an investigation into the export of "black grain", hundreds of "Crunchip's" shipping invoices were seized at the port. This means that the company was actively transshipping grain in the port in 2023.
The port of Ust-Dunaisk currently has a single site in the town of Kilia, which handles approximately half a million tonnes of cargo per year, mostly grain. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the port became a strategic asset for a time, as the ports of Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kherson shut down and the bulk of Ukraine's exports were routed through the Danube ports.
