Ukrainian High Anti-Corruption Court Approves Plea Agreement in Odessa Port Plant Case, State to Receive 77.5 Million UAH Compensation and 50 Million UAH for Armed Forces Support

The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine has made a landmark decision by approving a plea agreement related to corrupt activities at the Odessa Port Plant (OPZ) that occurred in 2015. According to the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP), which announced the decision via Telegram, the agreement stipulates that the state will be compensated 77.5 million UAH for damages, in addition to 50 million UAH earmarked for supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the fundraising platform UNITED24.

As reported by SAP, the accused individuals have fully admitted their guilt and agreed to a negotiated punishment. Notably, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament from the VIII convocation, whose name has not been disclosed but is believed to be Oleksandr Granovsky, elected from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, has been fined 300 tax-exempt minimum incomes. Meanwhile, the former deputy director and the former head of the OPZ department have been sentenced to three years in prison, along with a one-year ban on holding positions and a fine. Co-organizers of the scheme, who are former members of the OPZ board and the owner of the intermediary company, have also received similar sentences.

While SAP has not revealed the name of the parliament member, the circumstances of the case strongly suggest that it pertains to Oleksandr Granovsky. It is important to note that some of the accused have been exempted from punishment due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, while others have received a two-year probation period. According to SAP representatives, more than ten years have passed since the crime was committed, and some of the individuals involved are currently abroad, specifically in Austria and the United Kingdom, with extradition requests for them having been denied.

Additionally, three of the accused had already qualified for the closure of the case due to the statute of limitations. Despite these circumstances, they chose not to pursue the closure of the proceedings within the framework of the agreement, admitted their guilt, and committed to compensating for the damages and supporting the Ukrainian military.

The scheme to embezzle funds from OPZ was exposed by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) in October 2024. Investigations revealed that a criminal scheme was implemented at the enterprise, resulting in losses exceeding 94 million UAH for OPZ. From March to December 2015, the plant sold ammonia and urea to an intermediary company at prices below market value. This company then resold the fertilizers to actual buyers at market prices, pocketing the profit margin.

In October 2022, the organizer of the scheme, Oleksandr Granovsky, was notified of suspicion of abuse of power, which under part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine carries a penalty of up to six years in prison. He was later placed on a wanted list, and in December 2022, he was arrested in absentia.