Collaborator Saldo registers grain company in UK – The Guardian

A collaborator of the Kremlin, Volodymyr Saldo, whom the invaders put in charge of the occupied part of Kherson Oblast, registered a grain company in the UK.

Source: The Guardian

Quote: "In June 2022 the government imposed a freeze on any UK assets Saldo owns and banned him from entering the country. British officials accuse him of ‘promoting policies and actions which destabilise Ukraine and undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine’. Yet since November he has been listed as the proprietor of a British company with an address in the Hatton Garden district of central London."

Details: The company in question is Grainholding Ltd., which is supposedly engaged in the cultivation and trade of grain.

According to the registry, Saldo holds a 50% share as the director. The owner of the second half and the commercial director is a citizen of Ukraine, Hryhoriy Smitiuk.

"Companies House, the UK corporate registry, does not require proof of identity when people form companies. Saldo did not respond to questions about his involvement in the company, Grainholding Ltd.," the media states.

A government spokesperson declined to comment on whether any action had been taken against Grainholding, which remains listed as an active company. "We do not comment on individual cases," he said.

Saldo’s business interests are reported to "range from construction to the manufacture of yoga kit". The entry on the official UK registry for Grainholding suggests he may have expanded into Ukraine’s lucrative trade in agricultural commodities.

Background: The Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office notified Saldo with suspicion of committing state treason. Occupiers appointed him as a so-called "head" of the Kherson Oblast State Administration on 26 April 2022.

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