The Moscow City Court has upheld the arrest of apartments and assets belonging to businessman Nikita Shavva, who is connected to the case of the Volgoneft-239 tanker wreck in the Kerch Strait. The court deemed the seizure of property justified to ensure possible compensation for damages.

The property seizure was imposed as part of a criminal case concerning violation of the rules for operating water transport and to compensate for environmental damage. The investigation arrested the assets of Volgatransneft CJSC, the owner of the vessel, as well as the property of related companies, including Venture Trade Limited LLC, of which Shavva is a co-founder.

Shavva filed a complaint, arguing that he is not personally responsible for the actions of the captain of the Volgoneft-239, and that his apartments were purchased before the acquisition of Volgatransneft shares and are not related to the incident. The court refused to grant the complaint, stating that the seizure of property is proportionate to the scale of the damage caused.

Rosprirodnadzor sent claims for compensation for environmental damage to the companies owning the tankers that sank in the Black Sea – Volgatransneft, Kamatransoil, and Kama Shipping – for 84.9 billion rubles, however, they did not compensate for environmental damage voluntarily.

The Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 tankers carrying fuel oil crashed in the Kerch Strait in December of last year. According to the Ministry of Transport, about 2.4 thousand tons of fuel oil entered the sea, with the tankers found to have violated seasonal restrictions. Water and shore cleanup operations have been underway since December, with the government allocating funds to eliminate the consequences of the emergency.