Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have launched an investigation into Denys Paramonov, the founder of the major meat processing conglomerate SMK Group. He is suspected of systematically crossing the state border illegally during martial law and of his companies’ potential cooperation with Russian occupation structures. An official report regarding these allegations has already been submitted to the relevant authorities.
According to available information, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, businessman Denys Paramonov has crossed the Ukrainian state border approximately 30 times. In the initial phases, his travel abroad was facilitated through registration in the «Shlyakh» system.
The filed complaint suggests that bribes may have been paid to officials of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration to secure his inclusion in the system. Later, the mechanism for leaving the country changed: an official certificate establishing a Category II disability became the new basis for unhindered travel. Investigators are currently verifying whether this disability status was fraudulently obtained through the assistance of officials at the Nemyshlianskyi Territorial Recruitment Center (TCC) in Kharkiv, alongside representatives from medical institutions and social protection agencies.
A separate focus of the law enforcement probe involves the activities of assets linked to the businessman, specifically LLC «Berdiansk Meat Processing Plant» and LLC «Berdiansk Sausages.»
According to preliminary data, these enterprises remained in the temporarily occupied territory of the Zaporizhzhia region, were re-registered under Russian legislation, and are currently supplying products to the structures of the aggressor state.
The collection of evidence is currently underway. Law enforcement agencies must determine whether corruption involving Kharkiv Regional Administration and TCC officials actually took place, as well as legally confirm or refute Paramonov’s ongoing connection to the businesses operating in occupied Berdiansk. The investigation into the potential illegal border crossing scheme remains ongoing.