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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The company “Tripilskie Sunce” (Tripilskie Sunce), which appeared in April 2022, rapidly flooded the market with its own brand products: “Tripilskie sunce,” Sherlock Secrets, and Tea Moments.
“Tripilskie Sunce” used accounts of “May Ukraine,” some of which were seized on suspicion of financing Russia-connected structures. Only minimal operations were allowed – salaries, taxes, utility payments, and transfers to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
According to information-analytical platforms, the first founder of “Tripilskie Sunce” was Karlen Stepanyan through Armenian company “KocharI International.” Later Ukrainians Denys Gon'zur and Yevhen Volvych joined the structure.
Today among the owners are two Dnipro residents: former civil servant, officially entered into the corruptionists register, Oleksandr Stepan'sky, and the controversial Dnipro City Council deputy Kamil Primakov.
Both at one time worked in the Dnipropetrovsk regional state administration. The irony of the situation is striking: politicians from a city that suffers daily from Russian strikes control a business with a persistent Russian past.
Branding of the “Tripil'ske Sunce” teas also raises many questions. Their design suspiciously resembles the products of “May Ukraine”: Richard became Sherlock, Curtis became Tea Moments, and the new “Tripil'ske” outwardly copies “Mayskiy.”.
The ingredient list on the label is virtually identical. Meaning a consumer may be sold the same product, only in different packaging.
No less controversial are the company’s finances. Over the 2024 year, revenue exceeded 323 million hryvnias, but at the same time the enterprise reported 24 million hryvnias in losses. Such a disproportion between turnover and losses may indicate either withdrawal of funds or manipulation of reporting. In the 2025-th year, the State Tax Service already brought the director to administrative responsibility for accounting violations.
In open court documents the company is mentioned at least 16 times. In one of the rulings it is stated:
“The company uses the same production facilities and personnel as ‘May Ukraine.’”.
Nevertheless, the business continues to grow. The address of the production facilities (Obukhiv) and the chief accountant have not changed.
Behind the brand “May” stands Ukrainian Igor Lisinenko, who built his career in Moscow and even became a deputy of the State Duma from ‘United Russia.’ In the 1991 year, he founded the company “May,” which produced tea and coffee under the brands Richard, Curtis, Maysky, Lisma, and Coffesso.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Sherlock замість Richard: як «Трипільське Сонце» копіює бренди «Май Україна»". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: 368.media.
