In transit through Crimea: a company from Korosten resells Russian salt abroad

Is Russian salt under the Ukrainian Korosten brand sold in the USA? In an American store, customers found a product produced in the Rostov region of Russia, but it was imported from Ukraine. Moreover, among the founders of the enterprise from the Zhytomyr region, which was engaged in supplies, appears a citizen of the aggressor country, Pavel Bogolyubov.

How could this happen in the second year of a full-scale war? And how did products with Russian roots end up first in the Zhytomyr region, and then abroad?

On a pack of salt from Russia, found in retail sale in America, all the details of the parties are indicated. On the Russian side, the legal address is Moscow, the production address is Azov, Rostov region.

“But the importer is Korosten, Ukraine. The production date is also fresh, and the Ukrainian text appears. To be honest, we didn’t immediately believe it, so we’re looking into it,” the journalist comments.

First, the StopCora team checked whether the domestic enterprise indicated on the packaging existed. Indeed, TDS Korosten LLC was registered back in 2007 in Korosten, Zhitomir region, and has not ceased its activities to this day. Moreover, among the founders of the company is Russian citizen Pavel Bogolyubov, who owns almost 70% of the company’s shares. He is also the manager of the company in the Russian Federation.

Another founder, as evidenced by information and analytical platforms, is registered in the city of Khrustalny in the Luhansk region - now this territory is occupied by the aggressor.

The TDS-Korosten company was indeed engaged in the supply of salt to Ukraine. This is evidenced by a quote from the decision in case No. 160/16074/20 of the Dnepropetrovsk District Administrative Court dated February 12, 2021.

“After the occupation of Crimea by Russia, the salt company more than once imported from there the components necessary for the production of salt, and also imported its products. In 2021, 1,700 tons of table salt were delivered,” the case file says.

Moreover, according to data obtained by the Myrotvorets center, Bogolyubov personally came to occupied Crimea to organize the supply of salt there from Turkey.

SeaKrime investigators recorded another flight with salt, which was made by the TDS-Korosten company to occupied Crimea. In June-July 2020, the vessel PAWELL loaded 2,900 tons of salt in the port of Karadeniz Eregli and delivered it to the closed port of Sevastopol. According to media reports, salt is imported through Crimea and then sold through a retail chain of stores.

Why does the Ukrainian company continue to be depicted on Russian salt, and why did the supply of products to occupied Crimea not stop after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion?

Representatives of StopCor tried to communicate with would-be businessmen, whose office is supposedly located in Kyiv, but the telephone number indicated in open sources is not serviced. And at the address where the “office” should be located, journalists were told that the entrepreneurs had moved out of there. Therefore, unfortunately, it was not possible to communicate with the Ukrainian owners of the company.