What will happen to Rinat Akhmetov's assets remaining in Crimea and the ATO zone?
This question is one of the most intriguing.
On the one hand, there are rumors that Russian occupiers and local separatists are not touching the business of Ukraine's largest oligarch.
Moreover, Akhmetov allegedly helps Dmitry Firtash to improve relations with Crimean leaders.
On the other hand, there are obvious external signs of a difficult relationship between Akhmetov and the “new authorities.”
The Crimean division of Ukrtelecom is as strategic an enterprise for Crimea as the head office is for the whole of Ukraine.
During privatization, strategic communications, such as the infrastructure for servicing special communications, were "accidentally" transferred to it. This means that the peninsula's new government cannot ignore the monopoly.
Furthermore, Viktor Yanukovych's influence on the company's fate hasn't been fully explored. Supposedly, Ukrtelecom was privatized for the benefit of the "family" and then resold to Akhmetov. Supposedly, it remained a project of the Yanukovychs and the oligarch. If so, then some form of immunity for the company is guaranteed.
However, Ukrtelecom's first problems in Crimea arose the very next day after the seizure of the Supreme Council of Crimea by armed men without identification marks, later dubbed "little green men."
On February 28, 2014, the company complained that unknown individuals had seized several communications nodes on the peninsula.
"As a result of actions by unknown individuals, several of the company's fiber-optic trunk cables were damaged. As a result, fixed-line telephone services, internet access, and TriMob mobile phone service have been suspended on the peninsula," Ukrtelecom reported.
On March 1, communications were restored, but key communications facilities in Crimea were already under increased protection by local police and self-defense forces.
Crimean authorities dealt Ukrtelecom another blow in June. Crimea then switched to ruble payments, and the Ukrainian company lost the ability to accept hryvnia payments. The operator found itself in a legal vacuum.
According to Ukrainian law, Ukrtelecom in Crimea, as part of Ukraine, can only charge for its services in the national currency. Therefore, the company was forced to stop accepting payments on the peninsula. Customers were advised to pay their bills either online or "on the mainland."
Few takers were found. Meanwhile, the company continued to provide services. It hopes to receive payment once all the difficulties are resolved. For now, phone, internet, and other services are being provided on credit.
"Today, Ukrtelecom is the only Ukrainian company operating on the peninsula in accordance with Ukrainian laws," the operator's press service told EP.
The company hopes that the authorities will adopt a legislative framework that will allow it to conduct business normally in Crimea.
This, for example, was done with regard to Krymenergo. In May, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution "On the specifics of regulating relations in the electric power sector in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol," which created a legal framework for DTEK Krymenergo's operations on the peninsula.
Under this law, DTEK Krymenergo was re-registered in Kyiv in May 2014, and a branch was established in Crimea. This allowed the company to operate within both Ukrainian law and Crimean realities, charging for electricity in rubles.
"DTEK Krymenergo's branch has been registered with the Simferopol tax service and is paying taxes and other mandatory payments to the budget of the Republic of Crimea," the company's press service told EP.
Expulsion from Sevastopol
Things were far worse for the national operator in Sevastopol. Russia granted the city the status of a separate administrative entity within Crimea, a city of federal significance, allowing local "authorities" to make decisions independently of those in Crimea.
From the very first days, Sevastopol's new "leaders" began to purge the city of everything Ukrainian: symbols, monuments, and businesses.
Along with Ukrtelecom, the Sevastopol Marine Plant, controlled by Petro Poroshenko, the Balaklava Mining Administration, part of Vadim Novinsky's Smart Holding, Dmitry Firtash's Sevastopolgaz, and Rinat Akhmetov's stevedoring company Avlita came under fire.
At the end of June, the acting governor of Sevastopol, Sergei Menyailo, presented the state unitary enterprise Sevtelecom, which was to take the place of Ukrtelecom.
"There will be Sevtelecom. There will be no Ukrtelecom or Krymtelecom. Work on this issue is already underway, although there are certain difficulties with the owners. There are technical and registration issues," Menyailo said.
It became clear that the fate of the Sevastopol branch of Ukrtelecom was sealed.
In July, Menyailo signed a decree "On the inventory of engineering infrastructure facilities created for the placement of communication cables" managed by a Ukrainian company. The commission was to include representatives of the "government," the "prosecutor's office," and other agencies.
The page of the Crimean branch of Ukrtelecom has not been updated since May.
The side of the Crimean branch of Ukrtelecom has not been updated since the beginning.
At the same time, a smear campaign was waged against Ukrtelecom. A rally of residents and Ukrtelecom employees took place in Sevastopol, expressing concern about service outages in the city caused by the Ukrainian operator and demanding the company be transferred to the Russian legal framework.
There were reports that a military tax was being levied on Ukrtelecom employees' salaries to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces, although the law was not yet in effect at the time.
There were claims that Ukrtelecom would terminate services to subscribers due to sanctions Ukraine would impose on Russia or due to unpaid electricity bills. The operator denied all these claims.
In addition to the public battles, there were closed discussions with Ukrtelecom. Russian negotiators wanted to take the company's subsidiary "for free."
"One of the topics of the negotiations is the assignment of Ukrtelecom clients' debts to Sevtelecom. Other offers have been made that are 'impossible to refuse,'" a source familiar with the company's situation told EP.
At the end of August, Sevtelecom received a numbering capacity of 150 subscribers in the +7 8692 area code and a license to provide local telephone services.
Ukrtelecom has approximately 130 customers in the city. Following this, Sevastopol authorities blocked Ukrtelecom's access to the cable duct system—a crucial element of the system. The city took it over and transferred it to Sevastopol.
They tried to find a legal explanation for this decision. They claimed that Ukrtelecom lacked proof of ownership of the cable duct. The fact that sections of it were on the Ukrainian operator's balance sheet meant nothing.
Ukrtelecom called these actions illegal and stated that it does not intend to transfer its infrastructure, subscribers, and debt to Sevtelecom.
The operator warned that if there is forceful intervention in the Sevastopol branch, the company will not be able to guarantee stable network operation. However, local "authorities" are prepared for such a scenario.
On September 17, the Sevastopol "government" announced that the creation of the state unitary enterprise "Sevtelecom" on the basis of "Ukrtelecom" was nearing completion. At that point, Sevtelecom managed the city's communications services. De jure, Ukrtelecom's assets were planned to be transferred to Sevtelecom by October 15.
On September 22, the Sevastopol "government" adopted a resolution "On the inventory of the property of PJSC Ukrtelecom," according to which a comprehensive audit of the legality of the privatization of its assets is being ordered.
This means that the Sevastopol "authorities" are challenging the legality of Ukrainian procedures, which they are not permitted to do. However, the resolution specifies the results of the comprehensive audit: "Based on the results of the inventory, include the relevant property in the property register of the city of Sevastopol."
Ukrtelecom learned of the inspection on September 24 from the press. Sevastopol "authorities" didn't even bother to notify the company. In protest, Ukrtelecom decided to suspend operations in Sevastopol.
"This is an infringement on our property. Since we are unable to fulfill our obligations to subscribers regarding the security and confidentiality of their data, we have been forced to suspend our business operations in Sevastopol," Ukrtelecom's press service told EP.
Moreover, the current circumstances threaten the operator's operations across the entire peninsula. "The company's telecommunications network in Crimea is an integrated system. It has backbone nodes, lines, and control centers. A shutdown in one part could cause problems in another," the company explained.
As a result, landline communications, mobile communications from TriMob, and internet from a Ukrainian operator were lost in Sevastopol.
This was followed by a harsh response from the city's "authorities." The company was accused of attempting to destroy Sevastopol's communications infrastructure. The city's "government" declared a communications emergency.
Sevtelecom was instructed to block the ability to control the city's fixed-line network from Ukraine, ensure communications for emergency services, and maintain the operability of the entire city telephone network.
The Black Sea Fleet headquarters, the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs were advised to ensure the security of fixed-line telephone communication facilities.
Unknown individuals seized Ukrtelecom's office, blocking specialists' access to equipment. Acting Director of Ukrtelecom's Sevastopol branch, Yuriy Davydov, was handed a "authority" order dismissing him from his position.
Sevtelecom has begun restoring service and switching Sevastopol to the Russian code. According to the company, service was restored within 17 minutes.
According to EP sources, some subscribers had their connections restored within 24 hours. Internet service resumed within two to four days. A few days later, all Ukrtelecom employees were reassigned to Sevtelcom. The operation is complete.
Ukrtelecom assessed these actions as a seizure of private property by city "authorities" and interested parties. The operator filed complaints with law enforcement agencies, the governments of Ukraine and Russia, and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
This is unlikely to help. Ukrtelecom declined to comment on whether it is preparing lawsuits in international courts. However, even these are unlikely to change anything.
The telecom operator is covering Rinat Akhmetov's humanitarian efforts in detail.
Crimean prospects
Crimean authorities are more relaxed about Ukrtelecom operating on the peninsula. Acting Head of the Republic Sergei Aksyonov says he is willing to discuss preserving Ukrtelecom's business in Crimea if the company operates in accordance with Russian law.
This indirectly shows that Akhmetov’s interests on the peninsula are being defended.
However, it's possible that the Sevastopol scenario will be implemented in Crimea: the mechanism has already been established. Everything will depend on how Ukrtelecom and the Ukrainian authorities respond to the situation in Sevastopol.
If the company's interests are not protected, the same fate may await the Crimean branch of Ukrtelecom.
Andrey Kireev, for Economic Truth
Subscribe to our channels in Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, VC — Only new faces from the section CRYPT!