Novinsky's company in Crimea has paid billions of rubles in taxes to the Russian Federation's budget
The Balaklava Ore Mining Administration in occupied Crimea, which previously belonged to Vadym Novynskyi’s Smart Holding group, continues to operate actively and finance the aggressor state.
This was reported by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, citing an investigation by the Schemes project, which exposed a scheme to transfer the asset to the brother of former MP Ashot Malkhasyan via Cypriot offshore companies. According to Russian registries, from 2022 to 2025, the company contributed over 2 billion rubles (26.7 million U.S. dollars) to the Russian Federation’s budget.
In addition to paying taxes, the company is directly involved in supporting the Russian army and implementing the occupiers’ strategic infrastructure projects. Repairs of Russian military equipment have been documented at the ore management facility, and the extracted materials were used for the construction of the Tavrida highway and the modernization of the Belbek and Simferopol airports. Journalists also established that company employees participated in volunteer initiatives benefiting the invaders.
In Ukraine, the activities of the Balaklava Ore Mining Administration are the subject of criminal proceedings by the State Bureau of Investigation under articles on treason and aiding terrorism. Despite the sanctions imposed by the National Security and Defense Council against the company in 2022, it retains its production capacity and remains part of the Russian Federation’s economic system on the peninsula. Law enforcement agencies continue to gather evidence regarding the subversive activities of entities linked to the sanctioned oligarch.
As a reminder, the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv recently ruled to seize the assets of Vadym Novynskyi, a former member of parliament, businessman, and cleric of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.
After being stripped of his parliamentary mandate in July 2022, Novinsky left Ukraine, explaining that he wanted to focus on “humanitarian and church matters.”
Since then, he has been spotted abroad on multiple occasions—in Croatia, attending services at the largest Russian Orthodox church in Zurich, and in Jerusalem with the Holy Fire.
Vadym Novynskyi has decided to challenge in court the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) to impose sanctions on him due to his ties to the UOC-MP.
