The owner of the “Domino” store chain, Anton Shukhnin, became a co-founder of the Russian LLC “Domino Group” after the annexation of Crimea, which operated on the peninsula from December 2014 to July 2018.
As reported by Bagnet, this information is provided by political analyst and director of the Center for Civil Society Issues Research, Vitaliy Kulyk. He notes that after the annexation of Crimea and the occupation of part of Donbas, Shukhnin conducted business in Donetsk and occupied Crimea.
«According to Russian registries, in December 2014, that is, after Ilovaisk and on the eve of Debaltseve, Shukhnin became a co-founder of LLC “Domino Group” (TIN 9109006511, OGRN 1149102125721; 2). In other words, he conducted business under Russian jurisdiction after the occupation of the peninsula. The authorized capital of the Russian company amounted to about 200 thousand dollars at the exchange rate at that time», the political analyst states.
He recalled that after the annexation of Crimea, Ukraine adopted Law No. 1207-VII (April 2014) on ensuring rights and freedoms in the temporarily occupied territory. This law prohibited the re-registration of businesses under the laws of the occupier, and all enterprises in the occupied territory were required to maintain Ukrainian registration and tax address in the controlled territory. Accordingly, in Shukhnin’s case, it was not even a re-registration, but the opening of a new illegal business in the occupied territories.
According to Vitaliy Kulyk, who cites journalists, despite the fact that Shukhnin allegedly closed the Crimean company in 2018, a Domino Eight boutique still operates in Yalta with a public designation of DOMINO GROUP PROJECT in its profiles. Investigators claim that Shukhnin has not filed any lawsuits regarding the illegal use of the trademark.
The political analyst notes that after the full-scale invasion and the introduction of Western sanctions, which include restrictions on the trade of status goods for the Russian elite, several Central Asian countries have acted as re-exporters of these goods. One of them is Kazakhstan, where Shukhnin opened a business in the capital.
«The rapid opening of Domino Butik immediately after the start of the full-scale invasion in a country that is «transit» to Russia strongly resembles a new logistics scheme for re-export, which should be investigated by law enforcement», the political analyst believes.
He also noted that investigators discovered an interesting structure of Shukhnin’s Donetsk real estate, which includes 11 apartments, a house, and a garage. For some of these properties, the businessman is litigating in the courts of the so-called DPR.
In Kulyk’s opinion, law enforcement agencies have more than enough grounds to initiate a pre-trial investigation under Article 111-2 (“Aiding the Aggressor State”) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine due to the presence of a legal entity in Crimea (2014–2018), active contacts with the occupation jurisdiction through a civil case in Donetsk, and companies in Kazakhstan and Yalta.
However, according to the political analyst, Anton Shukhnin has found a way to avoid criminal prosecution.
«It is rumored that he allegedly obtained «immunity» by selling branded items to certain officials at significant discounts. He also obtained a lawyer’s license, which provides a status that complicates sudden searches and other investigative actions», Vitaliy Kulyk concludes.