KibOrg community reveals a complete scheme of stealing and selling Ukrainian grain through the port of Berdiansk
13 May 22:24
In May 2025, the KibOrg community published an investigation that exposed a large-scale scheme to steal and export Ukrainian grain through the occupied port of Berdiansk. This scheme has serious economic and political consequences for Ukraine and the international community, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports, citing the KibOrg material.
Since the Russian occupation in February 2022, the port of Berdiansk on the Azov Sea coast has become a key point for the export of stolen Ukrainian grain. Ships entering the port turn off their AIS transmitters, making them difficult to track. However, KibOrg managed to obtain documents that record every step in the export scheme.
At the same time, the Russian occupation administration in the region is actively preparing infrastructure solutions to facilitate such operations – in particular, it is planned to create a separate customs office in Berdiansk, which should legalize the export of Ukrainian resources through the creation of a pseudo-legal accounting system.
Example: the Nikolai Leonov ship
on April 30, 2025, the Russian sanctioned vessel Nikolai Leonov arrived at the port of Berdiansk and was moored at berth 2.
on May 1, it began loading wheat, and on May 3, the vessel left the port with a cargo of 7714.3 tons of Ukrainian wheat. on May 5, the vessel arrived at the port of Temryuk in the Krasnodar Territory of Russia and then sailed to the Mediterranean Sea, where its final destination was the port of Beirut in Lebanon.
The captain of the vessel is a Russian citizen, Valery Ivanovich Boldyrev (born on February 19, 1970). Passport number: 76 7742738, issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs 26003 on 07.06.2022. He lives at the following address: Stavropol Territory, Rashevatskaya village, 37 K. Marksa Street.
According to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, since August 2021, Boldyrev has been sailing on the vessels of ALFA LLC. Among the latter: “Alfa Helios, Alfa Hermes, and Viktor Andriukhin.
Senior assistant captain – Russian citizen Garik Esayan (29.09.1994). Passport number: 77 0988740, issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs 61017 on 08/01/2023. Resides at the address: Rostov region, Azov city, mk. Michurinets-3, building 301.
In ALFA LLC, starting from April 2023, Esayan sailed on ships as a second mate and senior assistant captain. Among the last vessels: “Alfa Mercury”, “Alfa Atlant” and “Alfa Hermes”.
The scheme of falsification
The Russian ports of Temryuk and Caucasus are used as intermediate points to disguise the origin of the grain. The falsified documents indicate that the grain was loaded in Temryuk, when in fact it was loaded in occupied Berdiansk. This allows the occupiers to mislead buyers about the real origin of the products. In addition, there are cases when fake quality certificates issued by Russian state or affiliated entities are attached to documents.
International connections
The final recipient of the stolen grain is the Lebanese company Dahrouj General Trading SARL, registered in Beirut. The sender was Moscow-based First Trading Company JSC, acting on behalf of the Turkish company TARIMTURK GIDA LIMITED SIRKETI. The Nikolay Leonov vessel belongs to ALFA LLC, which is affiliated with the State Transport Leasing Company of Russia, which is under sanctions. All of these companies are already listed in international databases as those that may be involved in schemes to circumvent sanctions restrictions.
Economic consequences
This scheme has serious economic consequences for Ukraine, as the country loses significant volumes of grain, which affects its export potential and budget revenues. In addition, falsification of documents and disguising the origin of products undermine confidence in international trade and create risks for other countries that may unknowingly buy stolen grain. Such actions also harm the reputation of Ukrainian agricultural products on world markets, as criminals can mix Ukrainian grain with low-quality counterparts.
KibOrg’s investigation demonstrates how the occupiers use sophisticated schemes to steal and export Ukrainian grain. This underscores the need to strengthen international control over the origin of agricultural products and to impose tougher sanctions on companies involved in such schemes. Ukraine should actively work with international partners to stop illegal exports and protect its economic interests. In addition, it is worth considering creating registers of “offending vessels” and imposing sanctions on all logistics companies that knowingly participate in illegal transportation.
KibOrg is a project of journalists and IT professionals who have united under the name of legendary cyborgs to fight the aggressor in the information space.
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