Konstantin Hrygoryshyn
Konstantin Grigorishin, who made a late but very successful start, scored the most points. Mr. Yeremeyev is implementing the precepts of his political mentor, Volodymyr Lytvyn, about effectively converting his "golden share" in parliament into material benefits. And, of course, the main loser is Rinat Akhmetov, who, having "made a splash" once, is rapidly losing his connections, capitalization, and political-economic significance within Ukraine.
League of "Leading" Oligarchs. Week of December 21-28
Rinat Akhmetov
Last week, Rinat Akhmetov lost another point, including in football. Following the resignation of his protégé as FFPU chairman, Anatoliy Konkov, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) searched the headquarters of the Football Federation of Ukraine, seizing documents and servers. According to SBU advisor Markiyan Lubkivskyi, the searches at the FFPU office were conducted as part of criminal investigations into embezzlement and money laundering by FFU officials. One of the reasons cited for this is the desire of Ihor Kolomoisky and his longtime partners, the Surkis brothers, to install their own man, Andriy Pavelko , as FFPU chairman . Mr. Konkov and Rinat Leonidovich were thus shown, in this simple manner, that it would be better not to resist.
Amid the power outages in Crimea, the peninsula's self-proclaimed authorities have announced the possibility of nationalizing DTEK Krymenergo. "I think anything is possible—nationalization, a forced buyout, a simple buyout, or even a simple agreement. We absolutely must take action in this direction. We will develop our position regarding this company," said Crimean "Minister of Fuel and Energy" Sergey Yegorov. It seems Rinat Leonidovich will either have to prepare another set of arguments for the self-proclaimed Crimean authorities or wave goodbye to his leaders.
Victor Nusenkis
The terrorist attack in Mariupol, which blew up the bridge over the Kalchik River, seriously complicated the supply of products from the Azovstal and Ilyich Iron and Steel Works to the Mariupol commercial port. As a result, the plants owned by Rinat Leonidovich were forced to urgently reorient their shipments to the Berdyansk commercial seaport, where the Orthodox oligarch Viktor Nusenkis has long been based.
On the topic: Former Prosecutor General Gennady Vasiliev: "Akhmetov is aware of my history with Nusenkis. I've helped quite a few businessmen."
We have no reason to believe that Mr. Nusenkis will put any special obstacles in the way of the Metinvest train cars, but we suspect that Akhmetov will be at least second in line for metal transshipment. And to top off the terrorist attack, the Azov Regiment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (formerly a volunteer battalion), which is also no stranger to Ihor Kolomoisky, announced that it is taking full control of the city. "Due to the sharp deterioration of the situation in the southern direction, the intensification of hostilities, and the onset of terrorist and sabotage activities that are affecting Mariupol's supply chain, the Azov Regiment is taking full control of the city's main infrastructure," the regiment's command stated. So it seems that if Rinat Leonidovich ever wants to make a splash in Mariupol again, he'll have to ask permission from Ihor Valerievich Kolomoisky. Thus, Mr. Akhmetov writes down -2 points as a negative for himself, despite a rather crushing defeat.
Viktor Yanukovych and sons
No sooner had Viktor Yanukovych surfaced in the Russian media and accused Serhiy Lyovochkin of dispersing the Maidan than the National Bank dealt another blow on Friday to the business of the eldest son of the Rostov lustrate. The Deposit Guarantee Fund for Individuals appointed a temporary administration to Ukrbusinessbank, a member of the medium-sized group. The temporary administration was in place from December 26 of this year to March 25, 2015.
Thus, Sasha the Dentist effectively has no assets left in Ukraine's banking sector that he controls. As a reminder, the Deposit Guarantee Fund had previously appointed a temporary administration to another bank belonging to the middle-aged Yanukovych, the All-Ukrainian Development Bank. In short, the fugitive ex-president's firstborn son is failing to resolve Ukraine's affairs, and his liabilities have dropped to another -1.
Dmitry Firtash
Dmytro Firtash, languishing in Austria, has suffered another blow to his chemical assets. Following Russia's lead, Ukraine has now taken up the case. The press service of Naftogaz Ukrayiny (Naftogaz Ukrayiny) reported that the Rivne Commercial Court heard a new lawsuit filed by Gaz Ukrayiny against one of Ostchem's plants, Rivne Azot, on December 23. The amount of the gas supplier's claims this time exceeds UAH 1 billion. According to Naftogaz Ukrayiny's press service, the debt accrued between 2010 and 2011. Thus, the total amount of Gaz Ukrayiny's claims against Ostchem's plants exceeds UAH 3,5 billion. Firtash's company, on the one hand, claims it owes nothing to anyone, while on the other, is trying in every way to delay the court proceedings. However, this could lead to bankruptcy, especially since the Cabinet of Ministers doesn't particularly favor Dmitry Vasilyevich. For this, he receives a well-deserved -1 point.
Igor Eremeev
Ihor Yeremeyev is beginning to leverage his lobbying power in the new government. This week, the state-owned enterprise Ukrgazvydobuvannya sent a letter to Naftogaz Ukrainy, requesting an extension of the Euro-2 fuel standards for its Shebelynka Gas Processing Plant and permission to sell petroleum products of this quality for another three years. Naftogaz Ukrainy responded by stating its support for its subsidiary's appeal. Ukrzaliznytsia is the main buyer of petroleum products produced by the Shebelynka Gas Processing Plant, and they are supplied through companies owned by MP Ihor Yeremeyev. Considering that the current Minister of Infrastructure, who oversees Ukrzaliznytsia, comes from Mr. Yeremeyev's Continuum Group, the MP has a high chance that the government will accommodate his company's interests. A well-deserved +1 point with favorable judging.
The big winner of this round was the return of Russian-Ukrainian oligarch Konstantin Grigorishin. Yuriy Kasich, the former head of Chernihiv-controlled Chernihiv-Oblenergo, was appointed the new head of Ukrenergo. Notably, he replaced Rinat Akhmetov's protégé. According to incoming reports, companies controlled by Grigorishin are already preparing to import electricity from Russia, which is currently in short supply in Ukraine. Grigorishin was chosen as someone who could negotiate with the Russians. For this, he gets +2 points—for his contribution to Akhmetov's defeat and for converting old connections into an opportunity to make a "little" profit.
Alexey KOZHEMYAKIN, SLED.net.ua
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