Volunteer departure: Belimenko left Ukraine through the “Shlyakh” system and went to Moscow for registration

Ukrainian businessman Vyacheslav Belimenko seems to have found a way to circumvent sanctions and restrictions by using his “volunteer” status. He left Ukraine via Romania and, six months later, decided to register in Moscow. At the same time, he managed to organize a business specializing in the supply of luxury cars to Russia through a company in Slovakia, and he also purchased land in Spain.

Maria Vynnychenko’s journalistic investigation for StopKor reveals interesting details about this case and the probable sources of Belimenko and his family’s rapid wealth accumulation.

Vyacheslav, originally from the Kyiv region, skillfully maneuvered between states. In 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, he received a Russian passport without giving up his Ukrainian one. This creates a legal conflict, as Ukraine does not recognize dual citizenship and does not provide for liability arising from it.

By 2018, Belimenko, according to available documents, had managed to purchase an apartment in Moscow for $172,000.

While the enterprising businessman was settling in the Russian capital, his mother was actively buying real estate in Ukraine. In 2021, one of her houses in Kozyn was purchased by a member of the Kyiv City Council.

The key development occurred in February 2022. Three weeks before the start of the full-scale war, Belimenko returned to Kyiv, and two days after the volunteer program began, he left Ukraine as a volunteer.

In March 2024, Belimenko registered a company in Slovakia through which he began supplying luxury cars to Russia, formally through Kazakh companies. The cost of the provided cars reached 225,000 euros, although traces indicate their further transfer to the Russian Federation and Belarus.

On September 13, 2022, he filed an application for registration in Moscow. Interestingly, on this very day, Ukrainian media reported new shelling in Ukraine.

Are such actions a manifestation of treason? Lawyer Elizaveta Mazur believes that any financing of the aggressor can be qualified as treason, especially for Ukrainian citizens.

The legality of Belimenko’s wealth is currently being investigated by Spanish authorities, who recently purchased a plot of land for the construction of luxury villas.