ESBU seized a pier in Podil, which the investigation considers to have been illegally privatized: it is linked to the Smoliy family

ESBU seized a pier in Podil, which the investigation considers to have been illegally privatized: it is linked to the Smoliy family

ESBU froze the pier in Podil through the court, linked to the family of former NBU head Smoliy.

The investigation believes that 151 meters of the mooring embankment and 37.5 meters of bank reinforcement were illegally included in a private property complex at 10-A Naberezhno-Khreshchatytska Street.

The investigating judge of the Svyatoshyn District Court of Kyiv arrested the property complex of MTR Management Ukraine LLC. The company was prohibited from selling, dividing, pledging the property, or changing its owner.

This is stated in the materials of ESBU case No. 72024102400000060 in Kyiv, opened under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The investigation is examining the misappropriation of property on an especially large scale, money laundering, and document forgery. The court considered the motion for arrest in absentia.

The arrested property includes a complex with an area of 1,480.8 sq. m. This is the base of a public catering combine and a checkpoint, to which two hydraulic engineering structures were also added in the register.

The first is a mooring embankment 151 linear meters long, GTS-1050, built in 1968. The second is bank reinforcement 37.5 meters long, GTS-1051, erected in 1988. Separately located is a confectionery workshop building with an area of 1,106.3 sq. m.

According to the investigation, the story began during the privatization of Ukrichflot. On May 8, 1992, the State Property Fund and the ministry of denationalization approved the concept for transforming the Ukrainian Interbranch State Association of River Fleet. The state enterprise Torgrichtrans was transformed into AKVT Torgrichtrans, after which a joint Ukrainian-Swiss enterprise emerged, which later became MTR Management Ukraine.

At the same time, the hydraulic engineering structures were not transferred to the authorized capital of Torgrichtrans. ESBU notes that therefore they could not become the state’s contribution to the joint venture.

Legislation of the 1990s prohibited the privatization of port facilities, piers, embankments, and protective hydraulic structures. Similar restrictions were contained in the Cabinet of Ministers decree of December 31, 1992, and in the 1997 version of the privatization law.

At the same time, in the register of hydraulic engineering structures of the Register of Shipping as of January 1, 2024, both structures at 10-A Naberezhno-Khreshchatytska Street were already listed as belonging to the private company.

MTR Management Ukraine acquired rights to the complex by referring to a 1998 letter from the State Property Fund. In the extract from the register dated December 29, 2020, only the canteen and the checkpoint were listed. But in the extract dated July 8, 2024, 151 meters of the pier and 37.5 meters of bank reinforcement were added to the same complex. The investigation views this as the illegal appropriation of state hydraulic structures.

MTR Management Ukraine LLC was registered on June 26, 2000, EDRPOU code 19364495. The company’s main activities are warehousing and real estate leasing. The director is Oleksandr Veremiyenko. 85% of the company belongs to Oktava Capital LLC, and another 15% to Svitlana Smoliy. The ultimate beneficiary indicated in open data is Oleksandr Kardakov. The company’s revenue for 2025 amounted to about 8 million UAH, with a staff of five employees.

On the eve of Yakov Smoliy’s appointment as deputy head of the NBU, in the second half of 2013, he began transferring business assets to his wife Svitlana.

Svitlana Smoliy is a participant and shareholder of Khorshe Ozero LLC, Aval-Trans LLC, Novoodeskyi Elevator LLC, MTR Management Ukraine LLC, Shelter Investment LLC, Konstanta Invest LLC, Etalon Asset Management AMC, Tovarystvo Vydubychi LLC, IA Vilna Ukraina LLC, MLL West Kyiv PJSC, Naberezhna-Invest PJSC, and Torgrichtrans PJSC.

In mid-2016, Konstanta Invest LLC was re-registered to Rulinghen Invest Ltd.

ESBU seized a pier in Podil, which the investigation considers to have been illegally privatized: it is linked to the Smoliy family