Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Political influence, criminal proceedings, and assets in Europe: how the business empire of the “watcher” over Zaporizhzhia, Vemir Davityan, is organized
Vemir Davityan is a little-known businessman around whom, in recent years, a whole conglomerate of business, political, and criminal histories has formed. His name has been linked to informal influence in Zaporizhzhia, contacts with Davyd Arahamiya and the Office of the President, the use of an expensive Porsche by a official from Bankova, agricultural assets, humanitarian cargo, and criminal proceedings № 52022000000000137. In 2026 year, another important plot was added — reports of Davityan’s presence in Austria and Slovakia and management of part of Ukrainian business through family surroundings.
Reported by from-ua.
It is important to view this not as a collection of separate scandals. One story concerns political contacts, another — a car for a high-ranking official, a third — a criminal case, a fourth — agricultural assets, a fifth — humanitarian aid. Taken together they demonstrate a much broader structure: business resources, political access, regional connections, and assets that can be controlled through various formal owners and managers.
Bankova, Arahamiya, and political resource without a position
In 2021 year, “Ukrainska Pravda” wrote that interviewees called Davityan an informal curator of Zaporizhzhia region from the government. Journalists tracked his car near the Office of the President, and Davityan himself was linked to Davyd Arahamiya. Arahamiya confirmed a long acquaintance and family friendship, while Davityan denied engaging in political sponsorship of the region.
This is where the story of informal power begins. Davityan was not the head of a region, a member of parliament, or a minister, yet his name regularly appeared alongside people who had direct access to state decisions. Such resources cannot be seen in a disclosure or staffing chart: they manifest through contacts, access to officials, business arrangements, and the ability to remain a noticeable figure in the political environment without holding a formal position.
A telling episode is the Porsche Taycan 4S. The car belonged to LLC “Novem Logistics,” owned by Davityan, and was used by then deputy head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Tymoshenko. Tymoshenko explained that he took the Porsche for test drives several times, but journalist-recorded camera footage showed the car being used for a longer period. Later Tymoshenko’s wife signed a car rental contract with the company and paid 122 thousand hryvnias. The administrative case against Tymoshenko was closed by the court in 2023 year for lack of a crime, but the business link between the car, Davityan’s company, and the high official remains documented.
For Davityan’s history, this is more significant than the Porsche itself. It concerns close ties between private business and the upper echelons of the executive power at a time when this same businessman was being discussed in talks about informal influence over a region.
Criminal case: № 191, legalization, illicit enrichment
The most concrete part of this story is the criminal proceedings № 52022000000000137, registered 14 June 2022 year. Court documents confirm that initially it concerned part 5 of Art. 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — appropriation of property in especially large sizes. Then an episode was added under part 3 of Art. 209 of the Criminal Code about legalization of property obtained by criminal means, as well as materials under Art. 368-5 on illicit enrichment. After searches, episodes about illegal handling of drugs and weapons were added to the same case.
An important moment: this case did not remain at the stage of operational development. Its materials were reviewed by courts, and the course of the investigation was fixed in court documents. In the initial stage, the investigation was conducted by NABU detectives. In December 2023 year, jurisdiction of the case was determined in favor of investigators of the National Police. Thus, Davityan’s criminal case has an documented procedural trail at least since the summer 2022 year.
A separate episode concerned searches in August 2022 year, during which then-secretary of Zaporizhzhia City Council Anatoliy Kurtev had 230 thousand dollars and almost 600 thousand hryvnias seized. The defense explained that the money came from the funds of his assistant’s parents. The episode itself figured in a broader array of materials of the criminal case.
This is an important fragment of the political picture of the case: in one criminal scheme, business structures, humanitarian flows, and local authorities come together. That is why Davityan’s story has long since gone beyond a usual corporate conflict.
200 tons of humanitarian aid and Zaporizhzhia resource
After the start of the full-scale war, the most resonant story was about humanitarian aid. In publications concerning the criminal case, it is approximate 200 tons of humanitarian cargo that ended up in warehouses in Zaporizhzhia region. The authors of the investigations tie Davityan and a number of regional officials to this story.
In the same materials, much larger volumes of humanitarian logistics are described — sea containers, rail cars, and trucks. According to the authors of the publications, part of the cargo could have been diverted from the designated route, and the received resources were used in schemes of appropriation or further resale. These statements belong to journalistic investigations and are not identical to a court verdict, but the criminal case number and its transfer from NABU to the National Police are confirmed by separate documents and notices.
In this story, the volume of cargo is not the only important thing. Humanitarian resources in a frontline region mean control over logistics, warehouses, transportation, and access to officials who determine delivery routes. If a network of private companies and officials forms around such a flow, it creates a completely different scale of influence than typical business with grain or real estate.
Agrarian business: land, grain, warehouses, and export
The second foundation of the system is the agrarian sector. LLC “Mikhaylivsky Raiahropostach” engages in grain, seeds, feeds, post-harvest work, freight transportation, and storage infrastructure. As of 31 March 2026 year, among large shareholders are Liana Vemirovna Davityan with a stake of 17,5518%, Oleksandr Petrovskyi with the same stake, and Halyna Shalamova with a stake of 54,1095%.
This structure matters because it shows not just the presence of Davityan’s surname in the business, but concrete access to large agricultural assets. “Mikhaylivsky Raiahipostach” engages exactly in activities that ensure control over the commodity flow: procurement and wholesale trade of grain, storage, transportation, and post-harvest processing.
Parallel in publications 2025–2026 years, the company is linked to illegal export of agricultural products from temporarily occupied territories. This is not yet a fact established by court, but is one of the central topics of critical investigations concerning Davityan’s business connections.
In any case, corporate math remains simple: Davityan’s relative owns 17,55 % of shares, Petrovskyi — another 17,55 %, and the company controls critically important agricultural and logistics infrastructure.
Austria and Slovakia: the second half of the business map
In September 2026 year, new information appeared — about Davityan’s presence outside the country. In publications from 25 September it is claimed that he lies between Austria and Slovakia, and part of his assets are connected with real estate in Vienna, Bratislava, and Uzhhorod. It is also stated that the management of the Ukrainian part of the business is handled by his father-in-law, Oleksandr Haidar.
This is a fundamental shift in the geography of the story. If earlier the main arena of events was the Zaporizhzhia region, now a European contour appears in this scheme. Some assets, according to investigators, may be located or controlled outside Ukraine, while operational activity remains tied to Ukrainian companies.
Separate mentions are made of companies connected with Haidar: “Lux-07”, “Logistik-VVN”, “Logistik VVV Group”, as well as “Avim Estate”, “STK Avant-garde”, “Gracia 2019”, “Ukrbiling-Company” and other structures.
If this model is accurate, its meaning is clear: the owner or a key figure may be abroad, while management of Ukrainian assets is carried out by relatives and trusted managers. This allows separating a person’s physical location, formal governance, and operational activity of companies.
That is why Austria in this story is not merely a decorative detail about residence. It concerns jurisdiction, control over property, and the ability to support a business network at a distance.
Family-based system instead of a single beneficiary
Davityan does not need to keep all assets under one surname. Part of the corporate history runs through relatives, partners, and separate legal entities. This is especially evident in the example of “Mikhaylivsky Raiahipostach,” where Liana Davityan’s share remains in the ownership structure, while some old records about beneficiaries have changed.
Meanwhile, father-in-law Oleksandr Haidar appears, who is attributed with managing part of the business. In publications, his companies are linked to logistics, the agrarian sector, and other assets that are part of Davityan’s wider circle.
This forms a corporate structure difficult to assess by a single registry entry. One must consider the total of companies, family ties, shares, directors, and actual areas of activity. Only in such a context does it become evident how a business network can continue to function even when a key figure steps back from operational management.
Petrovskyi — a link, but not the whole story
Oleksandr Petrovskyi indeed plays an important role in this story. Ukrainian media have called him a criminal authority nicknamed “Narik,” and Davityan has been linked to his charitable foundation. Today Petrovskyi remains one of the large shareholders of “Mikhaylivsky Raiahipostach.”
But reducing all of Davityan’s influence to Petrovskyi would oversimplify the picture. There are separate contacts with Arahamiya, separate — the Porsche and Tymoshenko story, separate — agrarian assets, separate — criminal case and humanitarian aid, separate — family business contour and new reports about Austria and Slovakia.
It is precisely the crossing of these directions that is key.
Petrovskyi is one node. Arahamiya is another. Bankova is a third. Zaporizhzhia agrarian business is a fourth. Family structure is a fifth. European contour is the sixth.
Together they form a considerably more complex system than just “a businessman who maintains friendly ties with influential people.”
Why Austria changes the perception of the entire construction
Before the international component appeared, Davityan could be viewed primarily as a regional businessman with political connections. The appearance of Austria and Slovakia adds to this picture the question of asset movement, real estate, actual management of business, and the possibility to maintain control beyond Ukrainian jurisdiction.
At the same time, Ukrainian registries show that Davityan’s business structure has not disappeared. He is still connected with companies in automotive, legal, security, investment, agrarian, and other sectors. Parallel data on “Mikhaylivsky Raiahipostach” indicate that Liana Davityan retains a stake in the large agrarian asset.
Thus the key question now is not only where Davityan is physically located. Much more important is who controls his assets, who signs documents, who owns shares, who manages the companies, and whether his influence on Zaporizhzhia business and the political environment remains through this network.
And it is here that the political and criminal components intersect again. When a business has access to officials, operates in strategic sectors, figures in a criminal case, and its key participants and assets are distributed among different people and jurisdictions, the question stops being about a single entrepreneur.
This is about an entire system of connections — from Bankova and Zaporizhzhia officials to agrarian companies, humanitarian logistics, family structures, and assets that, according to the latest publications, extend to Austria and Slovakia.
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