An agro-corporation attempted to seize berths in the Nikolaev port from the state for free. The issue was resolved with the help of local corrupt officials and... the American Embassy.
Major changes are afoot at the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA). USPA head Andriy Amelin has been charged with embezzling UAH 3,5 million, and Yuriy Nakonechny has assumed his duties as acting head. The leadership change has already borne fruit. Schemes allowing officials and business partners to rake in hundreds of millions of hryvnias from state property have begun to be exposed.
A major scandal is brewing at the Mykolaiv port. It turns out that Ukrainian legislation has been in effect there for six months now. The port's management, in conjunction with the regional administration, the prosecutor's office, and the courts, has created an "internal offshore zone" for port operators—a zone where they can use state property without paying a penny. One of the main participants in this Mykolaiv "tax-free zone" is Bunge Ukraine, a representative of the international corporation Bunge Ltd. (Bunge operates in Mykolaiv through the stevedoring companies Greentour-Ex and New European Company).
On the regional government side, the scheme was overseen by former Deputy Governor Mykola Romanchuk, a partner of Mykolaiv Port Honorary President Vasily Kapatsyna in the Okean shipyard, where Romanchuk was formerly the director. Now, this once-leading enterprise is facing bankruptcy, and Kapatsyna is actively fighting for its assets. Okean's creditors claim he plans to gain control of the company for his future maritime projects.
Kapatsina's long-term management of the port made him a co-owner of many local stevedoring companies. He sold some of them, but continues to receive dividends from others, helping to "resolve issues" with the state. The local prosecutor's office and courts were also involved—a conspiracy of mutual responsibility was at work.
The Mykolaiv "offshore republic" was built on the fact that the port's stevedores, following the example of Bunge Ukraine, unanimously refused to comply with the Cabinet of Ministers' decree and switch from easement agreements to special service contracts. The operators felt that the new arrangement with the port regarding access to berths violated their rights. And since the USPA has been unable to accept payments under easement agreements since January 1st, refunding payments, the stevedores have been paying for the use of the berths and adjacent territory for six months now!
For some reason, such lawlessness doesn't occur at Yuzhny, the Odessa port, or anywhere else. But in Mykolaiv, the Kapatsin (stevedores) and Romanchuk (regional governor and prosecutor) team managed to create such favorable conditions for the port operators "for a small cut" that they apparently couldn't refuse.
Indeed, the business was never in any danger. Over the past six months, AMPU has filed about fifteen lawsuits to terminate easement agreements and hasn't won a single one (most of the cases are currently pending appeal).
The liaison between the stevedores and the courts is Stanislav Bibik, Deputy Head of the Mykolaiv Port and also the son-in-law of Kostiantyn Vasylyaka, Head of the Mykolaiv Commercial Court. The stevedore fee for supporting the legal process from start to finish is approximately $100. This is significantly less than the operator would pay under a special services agreement. Bunge alone has already saved UAH 48 million on this, and the agricultural holding's annual savings on cargo handling will amount to approximately UAH 100 million. Overall, all the stevedores that have "refused" will reduce their costs by UAH 400 million. So, everyone wins. Except the state, of course.
It's worth noting that the current situation at the port hasn't bothered the berths' owner, the State Property Fund, in the least. However, Bunge, with the tacit support of "Romanchuk's team," decided to go further and began the process of "privatizing" the berths under the guise of a long-term lease. Under a lease, the berth fees would be five times (!) lower than under a special services agreement. Over the course of a year, by leasing the three berths used by Bunge, the state would lose over 36 million hryvnias! Igor Bilous's subordinates couldn't help but see this simple arithmetic, yet for some reason they remained silent. And it seems their silence was well-paid.
The existence of the "offshore republic" was threatened after Romanchuk's arrest in early summer. In June, Governor Vadim Merikov and regional prosecutor Vyacheslav Krivovyaz were dismissed. Then, a new head of administration, Oleksandr Demyanenko, a protégé of Yuriy Nakonechny, was appointed to the port. Demyanenko found himself "out of step" and immediately came under fire from local media, orchestrated by the port mafia. In Mykolaiv, some still hoped for the survival of the "republic" and were outraged that the minister Vladimir Omelyan He didn't approve Demyanenko's candidacy with the respected "local community." According to port employees, Vasyl Mykolayovych didn't hold back in his criticism of the young and "green" Minister Omelyan, who "has no understanding of how the industry works."
Yuriy Nakonechny's appointment deprived the "schemers" of any last remaining support among officials. Nakonechny is the only member of the AMPU leadership who, following the example of his colleagues, did not abandon the "sinking ship." According to market participants with intimate knowledge of the industry, he has steadfastly stayed away from "gray schemes" and has nothing to fear.
Sensing a shift in the wind, Kapatsina unexpectedly publicly expressed his full support for the new management of the Mykolaiv port, outraged by the audacity of port operators who are using the courts to avoid paying for berth access services. He claimed that leasing the berths (as Bunge is pursuing through the courts) would deprive the port of the lion's share of its revenue, which would have a severe impact on the workforce, and such a decision would never be supported by the trade union.
Moreover, Vasily Nikolayevich managed to gain access to the new minister, agreeing that his man would ultimately take the director's chair at the Mykolaiv Sea Trade Port. And so it happened: the Ministry of Infrastructure's commission, in a transparent competition, chose Sergey Koltypin, who had previously held the position and was completely under Kapatsyna's control, as the "new-old" director. According to our sources, the MIU commission's decision cost Vasily Nikolayevich a pretty penny. But that's just the way young reformers charge.
However, Bunge decided to go all the way, despite Kapatsyna's defection to the enemy. The company still has significant protection in Kyiv. As soon as officials from the Ministry of Infrastructure tried to take the initiative and address the chaos at the Mykolaiv port, they were promptly summoned to the American ambassador's office, where they were clearly explained that it was not worth "pressuring" foreign investors. Will the embassy continue to "protect" stevedores working with the agricultural holding? Will Minister Volodymyr Omelyan have the integrity to work with the Prosecutor General's Office to restore order at the port? Will Ihor Bilous, head of the State Property Fund, continue to bury his head in the sand while berths that could generate considerable revenue for the state treasury are being taken away from him? Clearly, the berths at the Mykolaiv port are not the result of the spectacularly failed privatization of the Odesa Port. And yet, the scandal involuntarily raises questions about either corruption or the incompetence of the SPF leadership.
Ruslan Yakushev
Subscribe to our channels in Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, VC — Only new faces from the section CRYPT!