Grain for Shahed drones: law enforcement investigates shipments of Ukrainian barley to Iran

The Security Service of Ukraine is investigating a scheme under which Ukrainian grain was supplied to Iran in violation of restrictions on trade with Iranian residents. Investigators believe the shipments may have formed part of Russia's payments to Iran for Shahed attack drones.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda

Details: Ukrainska Pravda has reviewed two rulings issued by the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv.

In early June, the court authorised Security Service searches of two individuals involved in the case.

The pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings No. 42022000000001635 of 17 November 2022 is being conducted by the Security Service's Main Investigative Department under the supervision of the Office of the Prosecutor General. The alleged offences include aiding an aggressor state and facilitating the waging of an aggressive war.

According to investigators, Russian citizen Vazha Dzhashi organised supplies of Ukrainian grain to Iran through companies under his control and involved officials from Ledesma Agro LLC in the scheme. The company is alleged to have shipped grain between September 2025 and March 2026.

To conceal the actual destination, shipping documents listed a Turkish port, while the cargo was in fact transported to Iran.

One example cited in the court ruling concerns the vessel XIN YU (Bulk Carrier, IMO 9244362, sailing under the Chinese flag), which was supposed to deliver 9,980 tonnes of Ukrainian barley to Türkiye.

According to investigators, citing the ship's log, the vessel bypassed Turkish ports and anchored off the Iranian coast on 13 November 2025, remaining there until 3 January 2026 before entering port to unload.

The ship's log reviewed by Ukrainska Pravda records the vessel's presence in early January 2026 at berthing point No. 18 of the Port of Bandar Imam Khomeini, with the coordinates corresponding to the Iranian port.

As part of the investigation, on 3 June the court authorised a search of a house in Dnipro used by Ledesma Agro's director and beneficial owner, Artur Zolotarevskyi, granting the application in part. On 5 June, it also authorised a search of a property in Kozyn, Kyiv Oblast, where another beneficial owner of the company, lawyer Oleksandr Chornyi, resides.

Artur Zolotarevskyi is a Ukrainian agricultural manager and investor who has served as director of Ledesma Agro LLC since November 2024. He previously appeared in the public eye as the founder of Menora Agro, a company that attracted attention in 2020 through its attempt to introduce a digital crop accounting system.

In an interview with Latifundist in April 2025, Zolotarevskyi said that he had worked in the agricultural sector for more than ten years. Earlier this year, he also gave an interview to Delo.ua in his capacity as CEO of Ledesma Agro.

Oleksandr Chornyi is a lawyer registered in the Unified Register of Advocates of Ukraine and one of the beneficial owners of Ledesma Agro LLC. In public profiles, he describes himself as a co-founder of the investment platforms Dobrozem and Zeminvest, which specialise in agricultural land transactions.

Following the opening of Ukraine's land market in 2021, Chornyi regularly appeared in the media and at industry events as an expert on investments in land assets.

According to YouControl, Ledesma Agro LLC is part of a network of interconnected companies believed to be linked to the sphere of influence of the TAS Group.

Among the co-owners and affiliated entities of Ledesma Agro are First Land Investment Fund, Agrarian Investment Fund, TAS Asset Management LLC, Zem Invest LLC and the Dobrozem platform.

Several of these entities are registered at the same address in Kyiv – 15A Leiptsyzka Street. The same address is listed as the registered legal address of Ledesma Agro in the court ruling.

Background:

• The Security Service of Ukraine previously uncovered a scheme used by Russia to circumvent international sanctions and replenish its so-called shadow fleet.
• Earlier, the bulk carrier Panormitis, carrying stolen Ukrainian grain that had been rejected by ports in Israel and Türkiye, was forced to return to Russia.

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