Andrey Verevsky
One of the most secretive and mysterious Ukrainian oligarchs is Andriy Verevskyi, co-founder of Kernel, Ukraine's largest agricultural holding, and former MP of four convocations. He rarely appears in Ukraine, managing his business from Switzerland. Having served as a member of parliament for over 10 years, he managed to create a successful business, lobbying for which in the Verkhovna Rada. He was dismissed from his post as MP before the revolution in Ukraine. In fact, it hasn't affected him at all – Verevskyi continues to "make money" from our country's agricultural potential.
Young Agrarian
Andriy Mykhailovych was born in 1974 in Poltava. He attempted to obtain a higher education at the Poltava Civil Engineering Institute, but it didn't work out, so he went to work. He also studied at Oxford College and graduated from the National Agrarian University in 2001. He owes his start-up capital to his father, Mykhailo Verevskyi, a prominent entrepreneur and owner of several businesses related to the agricultural sector. It's worth noting that Mykhailo Ivanovich enjoyed a long-standing patronage from Socialist Party leader Oleksandr Moroz, and even served as his campaign manager during the 1998 elections. These political connections greatly assisted the elder Verevskyi in his business endeavors. This also had an impact on Andriy Verevskyi, as his meteoric rise cannot be explained otherwise. The 19-year-old, who had only studied at the institute for a year, was immediately appointed to a management position at the Poltava branch of the state-owned company "Khlib Ukrainy" (which purchased and stored grain for government contracts). He worked there for almost five years, while simultaneously building his own business empire.
In 1998, Andrei Mikhailovich took over as deputy general director of Zernoexport, and a year later became deputy director of commercial affairs at Transagroinvest. In 2002, before entering big politics, he served as chairman of the supervisory board of the Sonyashnik plant, which he had cunningly seized back in 2000.
“Spin” of the “Sonyashnik” plant
In May 2000, Aval Bank unexpectedly refused to renew its financing agreement with the Sonyashnik plant, demanding repayment of a 5 million hryvnia loan. The plant's refinancing request was denied. But then, like a prince on a white horse, Andriy Verevskyi appeared with an offer to pay off the company's debts in exchange for 40% of its shares. Management, after some consideration, agreed, but it later emerged that in addition to this 40%, Verevskyi held an additional 11% of the shares, giving him a controlling stake in the entire enterprise. A scandal erupted, and Verevskyi was forced to sell the "excess" shares to Sonyashnik management. A few days later, he pledged the same shares to Ukrsotsbank for a three-month loan. Remarkably, the amount of this loan was nine times less than the value of the pledged shares. Seeing an opportunity to profit, Ukrsotsbank's management blocked these shares, leaving their "new" owners with nothing. At the same time, Verevskyi made demands on the plant's management: a complete management change and the acquisition of full control over the plant. Andriy Mykhailovych appointed Viktoria Matkovskaya, the wife of the then head of the Poltava tax administration, as the plant's director.
At the same time (purely by chance, of course), law enforcement agencies became interested in the distribution of Sonyashnik's assets, whose interests (again, by chance) coincided with Andrey Mikhailovich's financial plans. Endless inspections of the plant's operations began, the results of which were not communicated to management. The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine even became involved, and Verevsky's hand was clearly visible in its actions. After each inspection, he approached the reluctant managers and convinced them that the prosecutor's office would not leave them alone until they transferred a controlling stake to him. He offered to "amicably" resolve all their problems with a single phone call. And, as we can see today, they finally gave in, and Andrey Mikhailovich gained control of yet another enterprise.
The Poltava region robbery mechanism used by Verevskyi (according to the publication "Mirror Weekly")
A turncoat politician
Andriy Verevskyi quickly learned that politics was a great way to address business issues, and so in 2002 he ran as an independent candidate for the 146th electoral district (Poltava Oblast). After becoming a member of parliament, Andriy Mykhailovych passed through every party's rank, starting with Leonid Kuchma's United Ukraine, then the Regions of Ukraine party, Yulia Tymoshenko's Bloc, and ending with the Party of Regions. Verevskyi realized the enormous benefits of being a member of parliament for business during the 2008 financial crisis, when parliament, led by Yulia Tymoshenko, imposed quotas on butter exports. Despite the ban, Verevskyi's companies continued to export their products and even increased their volumes. Meanwhile, their competitors were left kicking themselves.
Parallel to his political career, Andriy Verevskyi's business also developed. In 2004, having consolidated all his assets, he created Kernel Holdings SA, which included elevators, grain terminals, oil extraction plants, and bakeries. Kernel grew stronger each year, and its profits grew exponentially. Over time, it became the leader in the Ukrainian sunflower oil market (brands include Chumak, Shchedry Dar, and Stozhar).
One of the few public appearances of Andrey Verevsky
Over time, Andriy Mykhailovych realized that the country's leadership would soon change, and he left the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and joined the Party of Regions. And just in time, because upon coming to power, they also introduced quotas on grain exports. Verevskyi's swift decision to "change his political views" allowed him to work outside these quotas.
Expelled from the Rada "for absenteeism"
In the spring of 2013, the Supreme Administrative Court ruled to strip him of his parliamentary mandate, thereby upholding the claim of then-parliamentary speaker Volodymyr Rybak. According to the official version, Andriy Verevskyi violated the law "On the Status of People's Deputies" by combining his position on the land committee with a leadership position at the Kernel holding company. It was alleged that he was exploiting his elected position for his own gain. According to another, unofficial version, the Party of Regions was thus demonstratively trying to strengthen discipline within its ranks so that faction members would not skip meetings (Verevskyi was the most notorious absentee, as he effectively lived in Switzerland, managing his business from there). In reality, however, Andriy Mykhailovych wanted to expand his business by taking out a loan in Europe. The problem is that Ukrainian politicians are not very trusted there, and virtually every dollar they receive or give is scrutinized. Essentially, he was faced with a choice: either give up his mandate and receive a loan, or remain a member of parliament but miss out on the loan he needed. For him, as a businessman-politician, not a politician-businessman, the choice was obvious.
During the four parliamentary terms in which he was elected, he managed to gain control of virtually all the grain elevators in the Poltava region. He effectively became Ukraine's grain monopoly, as he alone had the right to store grain, the right to priority shipment, and free storage. Added to this was the ability to obtain any bank loan secured by the grain elevators he owned, as well as his friendship with regional leaders and the management of Ukrsotsbank.
Andrey Verevsky is one of the smartest businessmen, who has cultivated an aura of mystery around himself as the most successful modern agricultural businessman. He carefully monitors rumors circulating around him, preventing them from becoming anything more than rumors.
Dmitry Samofalov, for SKELET-info
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, Facebook , Twitter , VK - Only new faces from the SKLEP section!