Russian fugitive official against Ukrainian ex-deputy: who participated in the high-profile seizure of a plant in Poltava region

Russian fugitive official against Ukrainian ex-deputy: who participated in the high-profile seizure of a plant in the Poltava region

According to the press service of the National Police of Ukraine, a criminal group was created to seize control over the enterprise, which included some criminal authority.

And the raider group acted in favor of the former deputy minister of agriculture of the Russian Federation.

Detention of raiders

Although the investigation did not name the surname of the occupiers' former official, it is most likely Georgy Sazhinov, who in 2001 year held the post of deputy minister of agriculture of the Russian Federation.

In 1990-th Sazhinov became founder of the company "Nutritek" and after leaving the state service in the 2000-th years returned to business — production of children's nutritional mixtures. In the 2007-th he bought the Horolsky children's nutrition plant, as he claimed, for 15 million dollars, and total investments in the plant allegedly reached 60 million dollars.

2015-th Georgy Sazhinov lost control over the enterprise. In his interviews he blamed the raiding attack on the organizer of the attack at that time, former deputy Vitaly Homutynnyk and his business partners Vasyl Astion and Mykhailo Koshlyak, whose hands carried out the seizure. The latter has a reputation as a criminal authority and raider who provides armed support for seizures through the security company "León+".

Thus, in the 2020-th, as part of a Dniprov-based operation, law enforcement officers arrested several participants of Koshlak's group at the scene. According to the SBU, the gang "held entrepreneurs in fear and terrorized residents of several regions," engaging in extortion and robbery.

However, no matter what, competing with those who, according to Sazhinov, "took away" his plant was impossible for him. Especially since in the 2015-th year in Russia he was put on the wanted list on suspicion of embezzling 90 million rubles (then — about 27 million UAH).

Back in the 2018 year there were reports about Sazhinov's plans to return to the plant through a raider seizure. And now he has found those who tried to do this for him. At least, that is what the National Police of Ukraine believes.