Mykolaiv region agrarian sentenced to 5 years: during the occupation, Russians hid stolen property from Agrofusion

During the occupation of the Snihurivka community, Russians hid batches of tomato paste and equipment of the AgroFusion group of companies with a local businessman who was found guilty of collaborating with the occupation forces.

According to the verdict of the Snihurivka District Court, he was sentenced to 5 years in prison in absentia, NikVesti.

This is the owner of a number of agricultural enterprises, Yevhen Ovchynnikov. According to YouControl, he is the owner of the farm «LENA», and he is also associated with «LIS, LTD» and «JV» and «LENAGRO».

The case file indicates that the Russians used farming in the village of Yelyzavetivka for military purposes: they stationed personnel there, stored property and vehicles, including those stolen from local and other farms during the occupation.

In addition, before the occupiers left Snihuriv district, the stolen property of «Organic Systems» and PSP «Rodnichok», a tractor with a horizontal loader «MetalFach T299» and a trailed sprayer «BARGAM», and electrical equipment were stored there. There were also 5 barrels of tomato paste labelled with the brand name «Inagro».

On another site, 125 barrels of tomato paste with the brand name «Inagro», 10 plastic containers of tomato paste, electrical equipment, fire extinguishers and a hydraulic lift based on an MTZ tractor were stored.

According to the court, Yevhenii Ovchynnikov provided the Russian army with food, which gave him privileges over other residents and allowed him to move freely around the village, continue his business activities, and pass through checkpoints.

The court heard the case in absentia. The prosecutor's office asked the court to find the man guilty and sentence him to 5 years in prison, with deprivation of the right to engage in business activities for 15 years, and confiscation of property.

However, the defence lawyer insisted that his client's guilt had not been proven, citing the absence of any evidence that Ovchynnikov had voluntarily transferred material resources to the Russians. The defence counsel stressed that during the occupation, the Russian military did not ask for permission to deploy equipment and his client was forced to communicate with them to maintain his farm.

At the trial, 10 witnesses were questioned in the case. In particular, the villagers confirmed that the Russian military came to the defendant's farm every day. Some witnesses said that the military allegedly threatened to burn down the farm if he did not cooperate with them.

However, the majority of them said that there was no coercion, the defendant calmly contacted the occupiers and had mutually beneficial relations.

The court found the farmer guilty of collaboration during the occupation of Snihurivka district.

As a reminder, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in Mykolaiv region, three plants of «Agrofusion» have been destroyed. They were scheduled to resume operations in August 2023. According to Serhii Sipko, founder and director of Agrofusion, the company's taxes «have fallen» eightfold, and the number of employees has decreased significantly.

In a conversation with NikVesti in 2023, the company claimed that it could not receive international funds allocated for the restoration of its Mykolaiv factories destroyed by Russia, as international lenders do not have a corresponding mechanism.