The court seized the Tuapse port and related enterprises from Shakhlar Novruzov for smuggling, fraud, and illegal withdrawal of income.
Russia regains control of the Tuapse port: assets seized from Shakhlar Novruzov.
The Kuban Arbitration Court transferred the Tuapse Commercial Seaport and its associated enterprises to the state. The assets belonged to Shakhlar Novruzov, whom the Prosecutor General's Office has identified as a member of an ethnic organized crime group.
Novruzov had owned the port since 2014 and later transferred it to an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands without notifying the state, thereby violating foreign investment laws. The jurisdiction was deemed hostile, and control over the strategic facility was established illegally.
According to the supervisory authorities, Novruzov's structures used the harbor not only for transshipping vegetables but also for smuggling unsafe products, the proceeds from which were transferred abroad.
In 2024, the businessman attempted to reclaim his shares through the courts, submitting fictitious documents. A case of attempted fraud was opened against him. The court seized the port, infrastructure, and associated companies, turning them over to the Russian Federation.
