Russian deputy agriculture minister charged with stealing Ukrainian grain

A Russian deputy agriculture minister has been served with a notice of suspicion of committing a war crime – the illegal seizure of Ukrainian grain from temporarily occupied territories and its subsequent export.

Source: press service of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office

Details: The official investigation revealed that from the start of the full-scale invasion until 31 December 2023, the suspect, acting in collusion with the Russian leadership and the occupation administrations in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts, organised the large-scale appropriation of assets belonging to Ukraine's agricultural sector, both state-owned and private.

The property and produce involved belonged to Nibulon LLC, Tesslagroup companies, Kernel Trade LLC, the State Food and Grain Corporation of Ukraine, and others.

The total volume of misappropriated grain is estimated at more than 4.136 million tonnes, worth over UAH 23 billion (about US$552 million).

The stolen grain was transported to Russia and temporarily occupied Crimea, then exported by sea to Syria, Egypt, Türkiye, Lebanon and other countries and falsely declared to be goods of Russian origin.

There was no military justification for such actions, which violate international humanitarian law.

The notice of suspicion is for violation of the laws and customs of war, which carries a penalty of eight to twelve years' imprisonment.

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by the Main Investigation Department of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) with operational support from SSU units.

Background: Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev was charged in absentia with organising the large-scale theft of grain from temporarily occupied oblasts of Ukraine.

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