Dmitriy Kovalenko: from schemes involving Russian coal at Adelon AG to the covert acquisition of Ukrainian port and agricultural infrastructure

Dmitriy Kovalenko: from schemes involving Russian coal at Adelon AG to the covert acquisition of Ukrainian port and agricultural infrastructure

After 2014, it was common knowledge that many Ukrainian businesses continued their dealings with Russia, operating through various “gray schemes.” Among the most lucrative of these was coal trading — with shipments flowing to Ukraine as well as to European countries. Journalists point to Ukrainian coal merchant Dmitriy Kovalenko as a key player in this operation.

In 2022, the situation changed sharply – sanctions rained down on Russia, and selling raw materials became much more difficult. But coal supplies continued nonetheless. And here the name of Dmitriy Kovalenko also surfaces, who successfully continued to work in this market, despite the fact that both before the full-scale war and after it, a number of publications published materials that documentarily reveal the schemes and volumes of Mr. Kovalenko’s supplies.

Let us recall that Dmitriy Kovalenko is one of the most well-known Ukrainian traders in the energy coal market. For many years, his companies have been engaged in international fuel supplies, working with markets in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

According to journalistic investigations, a key role in this system is played by the Swiss company Adelon AG, registered in the canton of Zug — one of the main European jurisdictions for commodity traders. Officially, Adelon AG positions itself as an international supplier of coal from various countries around the world, including South Africa, Australia, the USA, and Indonesia.

However, in the documents cited by journalists, supplies of Russian coal also appear, which casts doubt on the official structure of the fuel’s origin. A detailed analysis of Dmitriy Kovalenko’s schemes and documents confirming his involvement in trading Russian coal are published in the material: Ukraine’s main coal trader Dmitriy Kovalenko continues to work with Russia during the war: schemes, details, and specifics.

One of the coal suppliers for trading operations, according to the investigation, is the Russian company LLC «Meltek», which operates in the Kemerovo region — the center of Russia’s coal industry. «Meltek» is linked to structures of Russian billionaire Konstantin Strukov, owner of mining assets and president of the «Yuzhuralzoloto» group.

Strukov is also a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Chelyabinsk Region and is among the influential businessmen in Russia’s commodity sector. According to the investigation, coal from enterprises linked to Strukov entered international trading chains through Kovalenko’s structures.

Journalists paid particular attention to contracts signed after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Thus, the published documents mention a contract dated July 16, 2022, providing for the supply of coal from the «Belovskaya» mine in the Kemerovo region. According to the investigation, this contract was concluded between a Russian supplier and structures associated with Kovalenko’s trading network.

The total amount of deals for these supplies could reach tens of millions of dollars. Journalists claim that just one contract for coal supplies between «Meltek» structures and Adelon AG was valued at two million dollars.

The investigation describes several mechanisms that could be used for trading Russian coal despite sanctions restrictions.

Transit through European countries. One method is to declare supplies as transit. The scheme works as follows: Russian coal is sent to Poland, where it is declared as transit, but the final destination is changed during transportation.

In some cases, such changes are explained by «technical reasons» or «mismatch of coal characteristics». However, in practice, this allows changing the end buyer and effectively redistributing supplies.

Another common mechanism is transshipment of coal between vessels at sea. In this scheme, a large vessel delivers coal to neutral waters, the cargo is transshipped to smaller vessels, and then the fuel is sent to European ports.

This practice makes it much more difficult to track the origin of the goods. Similar schemes have been successfully tested and are still used to bypass sanctions on Russian oil and coal.

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Changing the origin of coal. In some cases, coal may be declared as a product from other countries. For example, in the documentation, it may be listed as South African, Australian, or Indonesian.  However, the investigation indicates that real supply chains most often lead to Russian mining companies.

The investigation also mentions a network of companies registered in various jurisdictions. Among them:
 – Polish Polska Grupa Importowa Premium. The company was registered in Katowice and acts as a European logistics operator for coal trading.
- Azurit DWC-LLC from the UAE. A company from Dubai used for financial transactions and tax burden optimization.
- Plaimp SFP Limited, UAE. Registered in Dubai’s free economic zone, used to simplify settlements and reduce the transparency of financial flows.

A special role in the system is played by the Ukrainian logistics company «Granova Logistic», registered in Chornomorsk. According to the investigation, the company was re-registered to Dmitriy Kovalenko’s son. Operations related to port infrastructure and supply logistics were carried out through this structure.

Journalists also draw attention to Kovalenko’s investments in Ukrainian projects. According to publications, profits from coal trading are invested in various assets, including grain terminals, agricultural enterprises, and logistics companies. In particular, structures such as «Grain Terminal», «Overfood», «Agrarian Elevator Company», etc., are mentioned.

In the bottom line, Dmitriy Kovalenko not only successfully implements schemes for trading sanctioned Russian coal but also no less successfully invests the money obtained this way into various business projects in Ukraine.

It is also worth recalling that the European Union introduced a ban on imports of Russian coal back in 2022. The goal of these restrictions is to reduce Russia’s export revenues, which can be used to finance the war. The coal sector is one of the key ones for the Russian economy: it provides a significant portion of the commodity sector’s foreign exchange earnings. Therefore, any schemes that allow bypassing sanctions and continuing coal exports attract the attention of journalists and regulators.

The published materials describe a complex network of international coal trade involving companies in Switzerland, Poland, the UAE, Russia, and Ukraine. The central figure in this system is Ukrainian trader Dmitriy Kovalenko, whose structures continue to cooperate with Russian coal companies even after the start of the full-scale war.