Belarusian businessman under EU sanctions registered a lucrative company in Hungary

Belarussian businessman Viktor Chevtsov, closely tied to the authoritarian Belarusian government and previously a suspect in financial crimes, has registered a company in Hungary before beging sanctioned by the EU. PS Commodities Kft was recently suspended by the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) under the umbrella of Ukrainian war-related sanctions, but not before the company reported revenues of hundreds of millions of forints over several years without any visible activity.

The shut-down is the first reported instance of EU sanctions resulting in action against an individual’s assets in Hungary.

Not his first rodeo

Chevtsov himself is a well-known figure in Lukashenko’s orbit. He rose to prominence in the 1990s as an executive at Infobank, with far-reaching business relationships across Belarus, Russia and the Arab world. In 2004, the US Department of Justice reported that Infobank was implicated in money laundering for Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Viktor Chevstov (right) with the current owner of Infobank, Mohammed Ahmad Alzaraim Al Suwaidi (centre), who lives in the United Arab Emirates, source: BIC/bzs.by

Year later, Chevtsov re-emerged in Caracas as an unexpected member of the Belarusian delegation, after which his company Belzarubezhstroy became a beneficiary of Venezuelan state projects. In 2011, he was detained by Belarusian authorities under suspicions of embezzlement related to the Venezuelan investments.

Then, he disappeared from the public eye – until May of this year, when the Belarusian Investigative Center revealed that Chevtsov was a major shareholder in a large company that has been granted a monopoly by the Lukashenko regime. Monthslater, the EU imposed sanctions on Chevtsov because his hologram-producing monopoly benefited the Lukashenko regime, which supports aggression against Ukraine.

The Hungarian Connection

PS Commodities Kft was registered in Hungary in 2019 with an initial focus on fruit and vegetable wholesale. This was later changed to wood, building materials, and sanitary equipment wholesale. Despite claiming to be involved in international trade of various products, including bananas from Colombia and Ecuador and MOL motor oils, there is no evidence of actual commercial activity.

And yet – in 2020, it declared a turnover of 180 million HUF, which dropped to no revenue in 2021.

By 2022, its revenue surged to 264 million HUF, and in 2023, it reported 346.57 million HUF in revenue.

The company’s net assets also increased from 3.2 million HUF in 2022 to 118.9 million HUF in 2023 – a year that proved prosperous for the wholesale market.

This accomplishment is extremely impressive, and should be thus applauded. After all, there are no references or evidence of trade activities. Official records list one employee and no physical premises, and the company itself is registered at a residential address in Budapest. To make this much money as a company without employees or business activity is almost a miracle.

Krisztina Simon’s LinkedIn profile, where she is listed as Head of the Government Investment Programme at VolDan Investment

The residential property to which the company is registered is owned by the company Book Halter Kft, managed by Krisztina Simon. Simon is an employee of VolDan Investment, a company previously involved in the residency bond program and tied to Shabtai Michaeli, close friend of cabinet minister Antal Rogán.

NAV descends

The Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) suspended PS Commodities Kft.’s operations after determining that its owner is subject to sanctions against Ukraine’s aggressors.

This case marks the first known instance of action taken against the Hungarian assets of a person under EU sanctions related to the war in Ukraine.