Swiss accounts and Russian ties: coal trader Dmitriy Kovalenko’s "Granova" group defrauds Chornomorsk port through a rate four times below market value

The partnership between SE STP “Chornomorsk” and Dmitriy Kovalenko’s “Granova” Group has come to symbolize wartime cynicism, with the port offering exceptional advantages to a trader linked to Russia, while legitimate businesses are required to pay fees that are several times higher, contributing far more to the state budget.

This tariff scam, costing billions of hryvnias, clearly demonstrates how the country’s strategic assets are being turned into a feeding trough for chosen oligarchs.

We, in turn, are publishing materials on the activities of Dmitriy Kovalenko and the leadership of the Chornomorsk Port to reveal the true scale of economic looting and tariff manipulations they are attempting to hide behind the facade of cooperation memorandums.

The "Granova" Group of Companies, owned by entrepreneur Dmitry Kovalenko, and the Chornomorsk Port have signed a memorandum of cooperation, under which it is planned to process more than 1 million tons of grain during the 2025-2026 marketing year.

The Director of SE STP "Chornomorsk," Vyacheslav Bezruk, has made several high-profile statements regarding this matter, noting that the port is ready to provide all necessary capacities for uninterrupted transshipment, including modernized port infrastructure and flexible logistical solutions.

However, what is the transshipment rate for GC "Granova"? They have been granted an extraordinarily preferential transshipment rate—four times lower than the market average. That is, while companies such as Risoil, TBT, and IZT transship cargo at a rate of $10 per ton, "Granova" enjoys unique conditions at $2.5 per ton, with the prospect of further tariff reductions.

Media reports indicate that GC "Granova" belongs to the Kovalenko family, who amassed significant capital through the trade of Russian coal with Russian companies. Kovalenko continued to purchase coal from Russian companies at least until August 2022. His Swiss-based company, Adelon AG, purchased more than $87 million worth of Russian coal from "MelTEK" alone, and over $100 million in total.

We are talking about billions of hryvnias that the Ukrainian budget will fail to receive. These are the billions critically needed by our military—funds they will not receive in the form of financing, weaponry, and equipment.

Vyacheslav Bezruk previously served as the Deputy Head of the Odessa Customs post. From 2018 to 2020, he worked at the Podgortsevsky Village Council of the Obukhov district as a land management specialist, and in the fall of 2024, he was appointed as a member of the board of directors of JSC "Kiev-Dneprovskoe Intersectoral Enterprise of Industrial Railway Transport."