A Russian company with a controversial history of selling grain from occupied Ukrainian territories has recently exported over 20,000 tons of wheat to Egypt, according to documents obtained by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). The shipment, which was originally destined for Syria, was rerouted and unloaded in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria last month, raising concerns over whether the grain originated from illegally seized Ukrainian farmlands. The transaction underscores the complexities of global wheat trade and the difficulties in tracking agricultural exports from conflict zones.

The shipment in question was exported by Pallada LLC, a Russian company previously accused of dealing in grain stolen from occupied Ukrainian territories. OCCRP documents indicate that Pallada had received wheat from the occupied Zaporizhzhia region during the two months preceding the cargo’s departure, though definitive proof linking this particular shipment to stolen Ukrainian grain remains elusive.

The cargo was transported aboard the vessel Mikhail Nenashev, which was initially set to deliver over 27,000 tons of wheat to Syria, as evidenced by a Russian sanitary certificate dated November 28. The ship first appeared on tracking systems the next day in the Black Sea, heading toward Istanbul. However, following the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, the vessel changed course, lingering near Cyprus for nearly three weeks before eventually docking in Alexandria on December 30.

Egyptian shipping records confirm that the wheat was imported by Mostakbal Misr (translated as “Future of Egypt”), a military agency that has recently taken over the import of strategic commodities. Previously, Egypt’s General Authority for Supply........

© Blitz