The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is investigating the illegal export of Ukrainian barley to Iran in violation of international sanctions and national embargoes. According to the investigation, a Russian citizen organized the agricultural shipments through the Ukrainian company «Ledesma Agro,» which has ties to the prominent business groups of Valeriy Khoroshkovsky, Vadym Grigoriev, and Serhiy Tigipko. Law enforcement suspects that this illicit grain export may have served as part of Russia’s payment for Iranian Shahed kamikaze drones.
Criminal proceeding No. 42022000000001635 was opened on charges of aiding the aggressor state and facilitating an aggressive war. Investigators established that from September 2025 to March 2026, officials of Ledesma Agro LLC shipped grain commissioned by Russian citizen Vazha Dzhashi through companies under his control.
To conceal the final destination, the shipping documents falsely declared Turkish ports as the delivery point. However, the Ukrainian grain was actually transported directly to Iran.
From the investigation materials:
The vessel XIN YU (Bulk Carrier, PRC flag), scheduled to deliver 10,000 tons of Ukrainian barley to Turkey, bypassed Turkish ports. On November 13, 2025, it anchored off the Iranian coast, remaining there until early January 2026, before finally unloading at berth No. 18 of the Iranian port Bandar Imam Khomeini.
As part of the ongoing SBU investigation, courts authorized a series of searches. Law enforcement officers raided the Dnipro residence of Artur Zolotarevsky, the director and beneficiary of Ledesma Agro, as well as the Kozyn (Kyiv region) home of another co-owner, lawyer Oleksandr Chorny. Both top managers are well-known public figures in the Ukrainian land and agricultural markets.
According to the YouControl analytical system, Ledesma Agro LLC is integrated into an extensive corporate network. Its official co-owners and affiliated structures include the «First Land Investment Fund,» «Agrarian Investment Fund,» and «TAS Asset Management LLC,» all of which fall into the orbit of Serhiy Tigipko’s TAS financial and industrial group. Additionally, a mutual fund managed by Tigipko’s asset management company holds a 10% stake in the enterprise.
Beyond the TAS group, the investigation points to Ledesma Agro’s close ties with other influential businessmen. The company’s legal address matches the MERX concern building, owned by former SBU head and ex-government official Valeriy Khoroshkovsky and his business partner Vadym Grigoriev.
Furthermore, the real business owners can be traced through the company’s chief accountant, Myroslava Yukhymchuk. She also manages the finances of «Film UA Management and Investments,» which is owned via the Cypriot offshore Kroonmere Holdings Limited by Serhiy Sozanovsky and Serhiy Konnov. The latter are known as Valeriy Khoroshkovsky’s long-time corporate lawyers, who previously facilitated the transfer of ownership rights to the «Inter» TV channel.
Law enforcement agencies are currently continuing to gather evidence to bring all participants in the sanction-evasion scheme to justice.