UK company registered in name of Kherson collaborator

Volodymyr Saldo, a Russia-appointed head of the partly occupied Kherson region in southern Ukraine, has set up an agricultural company in the United Kingdom, the Guardian revealed.

In June last year, the UK government froze Mr Saldo's assets and banned him from entering the country.

Nevertheless, since November, he has been listed as the owner of Grainholding Ltd, a London-based company focusing on growing and trading grain.

The company documents say Grainholding Ltd has GBP 1 million in capital, with Mr Saldo owning half the shares and another Ukrainian, Hryhorii Smitiuk, the rest.

"Companies House, the UK corporate registry, does not require proof of identity when people form companies," the Guardian reports.

Mr Saldo’s entry on the sanctions list has been updated since Grainholding Ltd was registered, "suggesting that the UK authorities were aware of its existence and regarded the paperwork as genuine," it notes.

Grainholding Ltd was originally registered in an office block that, according to the company's representative, has no connection with it. When Guardian journalists began their investigation, the address in the register changed.

LIGA.net sent an information request to the UK embassy in Ukraine.

Volodymyr Saldo, a former years-long mayor of Kherson, was appointed by Russian occupying forces as the chief governor of the Kherson region in April 2022.

His assets have since been seized in Ukraine, and he has been subjected to Ukrainian and Western sanctions on grounds of collaboration.