"Mass theft of Ukrainian grain": new suspicious actions of occupation leaders. How will they be punished?

Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have reported Volodymyr Salda, appointed by the Kremlin to run the occupied part of the Kherson region, as suspected of being linked to the theft of nearly 3,000 tons of Ukrainian grain. This was recently announced by the Office of the Chief Prosecutor of Ukraine. According to the investigation, the suspect, as a high-ranking manager in the conquered territory, "exerted pressure on local business representatives and contributed to the kidnapping and robbery of the company."

The Radio Liberty project "News from Azov" found out whether Russian occupation officials can be convicted for exporting Ukrainian grain? What is the scale of such activities and the damage caused to the agricultural sector of Ukraine? How to prosecute those convicted in absentia and is it realistic?
In the fall of 2022, Volodymyr Saldo ordered the creation of a temporary administration in the occupied Kherson bakery complex. This company was engaged in storage, processing and shipping of grain products for sea, road and rail transport. More than 30,000 tons of grain and industrial crops of various business entities are stored in the warehouses.
Realizing the interests of the military and political leadership of Russia in connection with the appropriation of the property of Ukrainian entrepreneurs, Saldo gave an order for the export of grain from Kherson, the Prosecutor's Office stated. As a result, the occupying authorities seized three barges of the 2021 barley harvest, with more than 2,800 tons and worth almost 15 million hryvnias.
The agency reminded that Saldo was previously found guilty of treason, cooperation and denial of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine and was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property. An occupation official called the decision a "decision" made by the judge under pressure. Saldo has not yet reacted to the new suspected acts.

"20 billion hryvnias were robbed"

Taras Semkiv, deputy head of the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in the Conditions of Armed Conflict of the Office of the Chief Prosecutor, told "Novosti iz Priazovlje" that the scale of looting of Ukrainian grain in the occupied territories of the south, which is under investigation, is much greater than what was recorded in the investigation against the suspect Saldo.
"Actually, the main investigative department of the Security Service of Ukraine is conducting a pre-criminal investigation in another such large-scale criminal case, which concerns the entire territory of Ukraine, in connection with the looting of property in the occupied territories, including the theft of grain and seed crops. Procedural management in this procedure is performed by the Prosecutor's Office. He also informed the heads of the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions about the suspicion. And we are talking about much larger numbers, that is, about 1,700,000 tons of grain and seeds worth more than 20 billion hryvnias," said Semkiv.
Therefore, the prosecutor says, the pre-criminal investigation in this case is still ongoing and it is still too early to talk about any of its final points. He emphasized that this is a "very large-scale investigation, the consequences of which will be discussed a little later, given the scale of such activities."

Penalty for misappropriation of property

Another occupation official appointed by the Russian Federation to administer the occupied part of the Zaporozhye region, Yevhen Balicki, was convicted last year of collaborative activities and crimes against the foundations of Ukraine's national security. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property. Balicki called this decision "fake". He is also suspected of forced displacement of people this year.
The representative of the Prosecutor's Office, Semkiv, noted that an occupying officer can be held responsible for grain theft.
 "The so-called head of the administration of the Zaporizhia region also has a complaint based on suspicion of misappropriation of Ukrainian seeds and grains and other property in the occupied territory. According to the version of the pre-criminal investigation, these persons, in collusion with the highest military and political leadership of the Russian Federation, at a certain moment made a decision to appropriate a significant amount of property, which was not caused by any military necessity, which is expressly prohibited by the Geneva Conventions during an armed conflict. In this connection, several reports of suspicions were filed. However, the investigation in this criminal procedure is still ongoing", explained Semkiv.
Investigating such crimes is not easy, because Ukrainian police officers do not have access to the occupied territories, says the prosecutor. However, modern technologies make it possible to carry out such research.
"Collection of evidence continues, when it is sufficient, a decision will be made to transfer these criminal proceedings to the court, according to the indictment or petition. And the court will already decide on the guilt or innocence of these persons. As for the possible punishment, it is up to 12 years in prison. We cannot wait for the de-occupation of these territories, because the more time passes, the less chance there is to prove such crimes. That's why we have to work now. We understand that this is a fairly large group of people. Several ships were involved in this activity, with the help of which this grain was subsequently transported. We understand that these products were sold as Russian crops, these facts were concealed, deliveries were made to certain countries," said the representative of the Prosecutor's Office.

He emphasized that it is now necessary to find the entire chain of this activity, to identify all vessels that were involved in the transport of Ukrainian grain from the occupied territories, all means of transport and to try to find them and arrest the perpetrators accordingly.
Despite the fact that the proceedings take place in absentia, over time the guilty may be punished, there have been similar cases in history, Semkiv added. He particularly mentioned the facts after the Second World War, when the trials of the Nazis continued after many decades, but they still ended up on the dock.
"We will try to find these persons abroad, find their property, search for them and include as many countries as possible in this search. At the same time, we understand that there are also possible facts when, for certain reasons, these persons will be extradited by the Russian authorities after the end of the conflict. Different developments are possible, but in order for justice to be served, our task at this stage is to gather evidence as completely as possible," said Semkiv.

"Forced to work for pennies"

Serhij Hlan, deputy president of the Kherson regional council, told "Novosti iz Priazovje" that today the occupiers have the agrarian sphere under complete control.
 “In the first year of the occupation, entrepreneurs were still able to sell their grain for cash, although the prices were usually more like robbery, because there was no other way to sell their grain. And later the occupiers offered those entrepreneurs who remained to re-register the company according to Russian legislation. In the beginning, it was, for example, an incentive in the form of the fact that a much higher price was offered for grain. Subsequently, this was done under duress, they began to intimidate, because this incentive action at an increased price did not produce results in the mass re-registration of companies. And then the occupiers started to intimidate, threatening "nationalization", but later they still forced those who remained and agreed to work, to switch to work according to Russian legislation," Hlan said.
The occupying power buys grain grown by entrepreneurs at low prices, the MP noted. According to him, for many this business is on the verge of profitability, and for small farmers it is generally unprofitable.
"I know several examples when people were forced to throw away their grain because it was lost, they could not sell it, and the price offered did not even correspond to the unloading of the grain from the warehouse. Therefore, some simply left the job. Russia through the occupying authorities offers certain subsidies, but for those subsidies they introduced this scheme of underselling grain. That is, under the guise of helping low-income countries in the fight against hunger, Russia is actually robbing entrepreneurs from the occupied territories and forcing them to work for kopecks," Hlan emphasized.

"Not just grain"

The head of the Zaporizhia Regional Military Administration, Ivan Fedorov, said a few days ago that "the occupiers are continuing the mass theft of Ukrainian grain". According to his data, it is already about millions of tons of grain and technical crops that are illegally exported to Crimea and the territory of Russia, and then exported.

According to his data, 80 percent of the land is now in the zone of active hostilities or under occupation. The occupiers collect and steal crops from these territories, Fedorov emphasized.
Zaporozhye City Council Deputy Dmytro Kirilchuk told "Novosti Priazovja" that the volume of grain exports from the occupied territory of the region is "colossal." And the occupying authorities do not hide it.
"Speaking of figures, this year the occupiers have already announced that only from the temporarily occupied territory of the Zaporozhye region, about half a million tons were exported. And besides, they plan to export by the end of the year, apparently. Including through Berdyansk in Crimea, through this entire port infrastructure, it will be exported to the territory of the neighbor (the Russian Federation), after which, accordingly, it will be transported to the countries of Africa and the Far East. Last year alone, 2.5 million tons of grain were exported. In addition, 200,000 tons of fruit were exported, including the temporarily occupied territory of the Zaporozhye region," Kirilchuk said.
There will be losses in the agricultural sector even after the de-occupation of the occupied part of the Zaporozhye region, says the deputy. Due to the fact that there are active hostilities and the presence of Russian military personnel, the territory will need to be demined.
How to punish the perpetrators?

Andrij Jakovlev, lawyer and expert of the Media Initiative for Human Rights for international humanitarian and criminal law, told "Novosti iz Priazovia" that most people convicted of war crimes or cooperation activities have been sentenced in absentia. Ukraine needs to create an efficient infrastructure for the execution of these sentences, says the lawyer.
“We understand that these people are in the Russian Federation, but one day they will travel, or, let's say, they can move and live in other countries. We have to create such an infrastructure that all these countries are already looking for them, or that there are warrants for their search, or that extradition requests have been made. And the wider such infrastructure is to cover as many countries as possible, the greater the chances are that we will bring them. Currently, this procedure is complicated, but I know that certain developments are taking place, but they are complicated by the fact that, for example, it would be most convenient to use a European arrest warrant, it would be available to us when we become a member of the European Union. For now, accordingly, we should look for opportunities to participate earlier in this system", Jakovlev pointed out.
There are also legal requirements for the execution of the sentence in another country, the lawyer noted. In particular, to prove that this person knew about the judgment in absentia and refused to participate in the court process or did not challenge it when he had the opportunity. If this is not done, the sentence will not be accepted for execution in other countries, explained the lawyer.
"If the infrastructure for the execution of decisions is not created, then there is no point in criminal prosecution. Because everyone, when they commit a crime, thinks about the possibility of being punished. If the severity of the sentence is significant and the probability of detention is insignificant, this does not deter her. And accordingly, if we can show that we are imprisoning certain individuals somewhere, that will have a big impact on the ongoing violations that are being committed. We don't know about them yet, but we will hear tomorrow or in the future. That is, it is very necessary to create a cooling effect from such persecution", the lawyer emphasized.
In June of this year, a joint investigation by the "Scheme" (Radio Liberty project), the Belarusian investigative center and the Verstka publication, based on leaked documents from the occupied part of the Kherson region, revealed that Volodymyr Saldo and a specially formed local commission gave approval to Russian companies for export of Ukrainian agricultural products abroad with zero or reduced export duty rate.
During 2023, according to the quota system created by the Russian authorities, a number of Russian exporters exported at least 34,000 tons of grain worth 6.2 million euros from the Kherson region.
Given the hostilities and the Russian occupation of parts of the southern territories of Ukraine, the editorial office cannot obtain official confirmation of some of the statements made or independently verify them.