Son of ex-Motor Sich president detained in France-Monaco operation over embezzlement of company assets
Ukraine's Security Service and the Prosecutor General's Office have uncovered a large-scale embezzlement scheme involving assets of JSC Motor Sich.
According to an statement by the Security Service issued Friday, law enforcement authorities from Ukraine, the Principality of Monaco, and the French Republic have detained the son of the former president of Motor Sich. He is suspected, along with his father, of misappropriating assets from the industrial giant.
"The investigation established that the suspects illegally acquired a controlling stake in the state-owned enterprise and subsequently sold it for $650 million," the Security Service reported via Telegram.
Case materials show that the son of the former Motor Sich president helped his father seize company shares prior to the start of the full-scale war and then sold them to third parties.
"To facilitate the deal, the then-head of Motor Sich orchestrated an internal audit that artificially undervalued the company's shares. He subsequently acquired 65% of the stock at a significantly reduced price and later transferred the majority of those shares to six offshore entities controlled by his son," the Security Service explained.
In order to launder the stolen assets, the suspects sold them to foreign companies and used the proceeds to purchase luxury real estate across the EU.
As part of the international investigation, coordinated searches were conducted simultaneously at the suspect's seaside villa in Monaco and at premises affiliated with him in Zaporizhia.
The Security Service has officially charged the former president's son under Part 3 of Article 209 of Ukraine's Criminal Code (money laundering by an organized group involving assets obtained through criminal means, on a particularly large scale).
"The former head of Motor Sich, who is currently in custody on charges of collaboration with the Russian Federation, has also received an additional notice of suspicion," the Security Service added.
The new charges against him include multiple articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Part 5 of Article 191 (misappropriation of property by abuse of official position, committed by an organized group on a particularly large scale), and Parts 3 of Articles 27 and 209 (organization of money laundering by an organized group on a particularly large scale).
The investigation is being conducted under the procedural oversight of the Prosecutor General's Office.