On September 15, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the occupation-appointed “head” of Sevastopol, announced another wave of “nationalization” affecting various commercial entities and private assets.
Among the individuals named are Andrey Krivobokov, Yevgeny and Svetlana Kharchenko, and Viktor Piskunov, all of whom had previously faced repressive actions by the aggressor, as well as Elena Vasilenko. She is described as the “spouse of a judge from the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal,” though a woman with the exact same name in Simferopol heads “Housing сonstruction сooperative No. 38.”
The list includes the “Sevastopol Instrument-Making Plant “Parus,” which has been accused of being “controlled by individuals from Cyprus, France, and Luxembourg”; the company manufactures electrical equipment and lighting systems, primarily for marine vessels.
In the occupation authorities’ registries, “Parus” is listed under a large group of individuals designated as “co-founders”б including Alexey Dreev, declared by Razvozhayev as a “key figure”, and his relatives, as well as the entity “Dynamo-Ukrelektro,” which is registered to Dreev himself.
In those same registries, “Dynamo-Ukrelektro” previously listed Cypriot firms such as “Sopica Ventures Limited” and “Crispen Holdings Limited” among its “founders.”
An announcement was also made regarding the “nationalization” of business entities registered to Sevastopol resident Viktor Rozhmanov, allegedly due to his “contacts with representatives of the Ukrainian regime.” These include the fish-processing company “Atlantis-LTD”, the “Saturn” Crimean electrotechnical plant”, engaged in engine manufacturing and repair, and “Rostrade” entitiy.
It is worth noting that Rozhmanov, who, prior to the occupation, was known as the head of the Sevastopol branch of the “Just Country” party, had previously led the “Sevastopol entrepreneurs’ council” under the occupation “authorities”.
The “nationalization” of the Moscow-based firm “Rifer” was also announced, targeting its CEO, Crimean native Alexander Gerashchenko, allegedly due to his “anti-Russian stance” and that his son serves in the Ukrainian army.
However, since late 2021, “Rifer” has been registered under the aggressor’s jurisdiction to a founder identified as the Cypriot company “Marlonix Holdings Limited”; prior to that, it was held by the entity “Yugrybkholod”, with which Gerashchenko was also affiliated, a company likewise linked to the fish-processing industry.
An announcement was also made regarding the “nationalization” of the Sevastopol firm “TBI”, registered under the occupation authorities to Maria Sivirskaya. Razvozhayev claimed that the entity is actually “managed via a nominal founder” by Grigoriy Lutsay, emphasizing the latter’s connection to the Kyiv-based firm “Interrybflot”.
It should be noted that “TBI” had previously appeared in occupation records with Tatyana Grintsevich listed as the “founder,” while its earlier “founders” included the Sevastopol-based “Terra-Invest”, the “Yuzhny” fish cannery, and the “Interflot” and “Portoflot” entities.
It is worth recalling that Lutsay is a former aide to the notorious pro-Russian MP Vadim Kolesnichenko and we previously identified him as an associate of Sevastopol-based businessmen Vladimir Nigar and Vladimir Gelvanovsky in dealings involving the “Novy” and “Aquamarin” fish-canning plants.
We also reported on Lutsay’s role in operations involving the vessel “More Sodruzhestva”, which harvests and processes krill in the Antarctic; currently, however, the press portrays Lutsay as the head of the firm “Ostrin Ltd”, which allegedly “developed an advanced electronic document management system.”
It is worth noting that Lutsay is also listed as the CEO of “Terra-Invest” not the Sevastopol-based entity of the same name, but a Kyiv-based firm whose corporate seal was seized in 2018 in connection with a case involving crimes against Ukraine’s national security, as it was documented in court case 761/5654/18.
Future events will reveal whether this “nationalization”, at least regarding entities linked to international fishing operations, amounts to a seizure of assets or serves as a “cover operation” orchestrated by Russian special services.
