The name of oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky is well known to every Ukrainian. He is currently one of the most frequently mentioned Ukrainian businessmen in the media. Furthermore, he is known for his scandalous and outspoken behavior. Kolomoisky is not afraid to openly criticize members of Ukraine's top political establishment. He doesn't care whether it's the president or the prime minister; if they say something he doesn't like, he won't remain silent. Apparently, President Poroshenko and Prime Minister Yatsenyuk are fed up with this. They have decided to get even with Kolomoisky by orchestrating a "major shakeup" of his business projects. Over the past two weeks, at least six enterprises of varying sizes controlled by him have been subjected to direct or indirect "attacks." From the outside, this appears to be a declaration of a full-scale state war against the oligarch Kolomoisky, or, more accurately, an attempt by Poroshenko & Co. to weaken Kolomoisky's influence on political decision-making in Ukraine. Whether this will be possible remains to be seen, but there is no doubt that serious oligarchic showdowns are coming.
The Lone Oligarch
The rivalry between Igor Kolomoisky and Petro Poroshenko has been going on for two decades now. For example, in 2005, as head of the National Security and Defense Council, Poroshenko wanted to imprison Igor Valerievich, accusing him of attempting to murder Sergei Karpenko, a lawyer for Russian oligarch Konstantin Grigorishin. This was just one of the first criminal charges. There would be at least several dozen more in the future.
It's worth noting that Kolomoisky has clashed with many Ukrainian oligarchs at various times, making numerous enemies due to his unruly nature. For example, he clashed with Viktor Pinchuk over the Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant, and with Vadim Novinski over the Southern Mining and Processing Plant, and even with Rinat Akhmetov over the Dniproenergo company. These are just a few of the points of contention between Kolomoisky and influential Ukrainian businessmen. During his "business atrocities," many more have accumulated. It seems his opponents have finally lost all patience and decided to get rid of Igor Valerievich, whom they find undesirable.
The final straw was when Kolomoisky began using his main business asset, PrivatBank (a key bank that handles a third of Ukrainian deposits and accounts for approximately 25% of Ukraine's entire banking system), for political blackmail, making it clear to his opponents that his opinions must be taken into account.
Igor Kolomoisky's "Empire"
Kolomoisky's last small joy before his companies began to experience "massive problems" was the victory of his Kryvyi Rih Iron Ore Plant in a court case against the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works of Mariupol (part of Rinat Akhmetov's Metinvest Group) in mid-January. According to the court ruling, Ilyich Iron and Steel Works is obligated to pay 1,32 billion hryvnias (including fines) for the iron ore it supplied. It's quite possible that this event was the "last straw" for those dissatisfied with Igor Valerievich's actions. And here's what happened next.
Privatbank
PrivatBank, Ukraine's largest bank, has long been at risk due to its owner, Ihor Kolomoisky. Kolomoisky has turned his main financial asset into a weapon against Petro Poroshenko and his political opponents. By threatening the authorities with PrivatBank's bankruptcy, he has long held back our oligarch-president's desire to fight him. However, every system has a "critical threshold," and it appears Poroshenko's team has crossed it. The presidential administration's current actions are aimed at "systematically" reducing PrivatBank's presence in the Ukrainian banking system.
Last week, Ukrainian media outlets were filled with a sensational story, according to them According to the information, only state-owned banks will be able to pay salaries, pensions, and social benefits to budgetary organizations.Journalists unanimously began shouting that this would deal a serious blow to PrivatBank, as Igor Valerievich's bank is the leader in the number of pension and salary accounts it services, and its network of ATMs and terminals is unrivaled in Ukraine.
It's worth noting that discussions about nationalizing PrivatBank began during Viktor Yushchenko's presidency, but the project failed due to implementation difficulties. The conflict between Poroshenko and Kolomoisky escalated significantly ahead of local elections. It was during this period that the authorities began discussing the possibility of nationalizing the banking monopoly. The official pretext for nationalization could be the failure to meet the National Bank of Ukraine's demand for PrivatBank's UAH 8 billion capital increase. The deadline given to the NBU to comply with these demands expires in 1,5 months. This fact gives Petro Poroshenko the opportunity to influence PrivatBank through the NBU. After all, if the bank fails to meet its obligations, it will come under state control.
According to financial analysts, the nationalization of PrivatBank could backfire on the state. After all, the state currently lacks access to the financial institution's documents and databases, and it could well turn out that a significant portion of Privat Group's businesses took out loans from their own entity (as indeed they did). In this case, the loans would have to be reclassified as non-performing, which would entail even greater financial losses. Saving the bank would ultimately require approximately $20-25 billion in recapitalization. Otherwise, given this scenario, Ukraine's banking system could simply collapse, as the bankruptcy of a systemically important bank with such a market share would have highly unpredictable consequences.
Dniproavia
On January 21, the State Property Fund proposed returning Dniproavia and Dnipropetrovsk Airport to state control. According to the official position, this due to the fact that the Privat Group, which is the actual owner of the company, failed to fulfill its obligations
In mid-January, the State Property Fund filed a lawsuit in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Commercial Court against Galtera. The lawsuit sought to terminate the Dniproavia sale agreement, which had been concluded back in August 2009. It's quite odd that the State Property Fund only remembered this "sale" six years after the deal was finalized. It all began with the State Property Fund's August audit, which revealed that Galtera had contributed only 142 million rubles instead of the 882 million promised under the contract.
"Ukrnafta"
On January 27, the State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine suspended special permits for the use of the Golubovskoye, Yuryevskoye and Lopushnyanskoye depositsIt turned out that this was related to the debts owed by Ukrnafta, a company controlled by Ihor Kolomoisky for the use of Ukraine's geological resources. The company had essentially stopped paying rent back in August 2014, but it was only now that they began to investigate this matter. Several criminal cases had previously been initiated against Ukrnafta's management at the instigation of the State Fiscal Service, but their investigations were effectively frozen.
Furthermore, according to media reports, former Ukrnafta board members Mykhailo Hnap and Volodymyr Pustovarov, who were dismissed for "ineffective management," have been reinstated at the company and are effectively running it. This is stated in previously published "secret contracts" between offshore companies that are Privat shareholders and Pustovarov. Naftogaz accused Pustovarov of tax and rent evasion. Ukrnafta failed to pay taxes even when it siphoned off billions in revenue to companies controlled by Privat.
UkrTatNafta
On January 28, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) opened a case against Ukrtatnafta (https://skelet.org/20270-2/ ) for obstructing the committee's investigation. According to the AMCU, Ukrtatnafta, Galnafta, NPK-Galichina, Kotlas, and Polygonal violated competition laws by committing "anticompetitive" actions during oil and gas auctions.
It's worth noting that Ukrtatnafta is Ukraine's largest oil refining company, 43% of which is owned by the state through Naftogaz Ukrainy. The company is controlled by the Privat financial group. Several companies controlled by Ihor Kolomoisky's network effectively buy Ukrnafta's oil. This is highly profitable for the group, as it owns the country's only active oil refinery in Kremenchuk.
"Ukrtransnafta"
On February 2, the Security Service of Ukraine, together with the Kyiv prosecutor's office, conducted a search of the Odessa office of Sintez Oil, a company owned by Igor Kolomoisky.
According to a statement from law enforcement, the searches are related to theft on an especially large scale by the management of the company Ukrtransnafta (which is wholly owned by the state).
In 2009, Sintez Oil and Ukrtransnafta signed a contract to transport oil from the Odessa region directly to the Kremenchuk Oil Refinery. In 2012, Ihor Kolomoisky appointed his man, Oleksandr Lazorko, to Ukrtransnafta's management. As the company's head, Lazorko "unexpectedly" reduced the cost of using the pipeline from UAH 6,14 million to UAH 835 per month. An audit revealed that Sintez Oil had underpaid the state by approximately UAH 13 million. Furthermore, under the guise of the nascent revolution, Lazorko signed an agreement allowing Sintez Oil to use the pipeline at reduced rates until 2012. If the agreement is not terminated, the state will suffer losses of UAH 228,5 million.
Igor Kolomoisky
As we can see, Igor Valerievich's companies are facing serious problems on all fronts. It's hard to call the simultaneous attacks from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, and the State Property Fund a pure coincidence. The hand of Petro Oleksiyovych and his associates is clearly visible here. How Igor Kolomoisky will escape this "siege" remains unclear. He always says he's "fighting for justice" by defending his interests. The oligarch delicately remains silent about the methods he uses to achieve this.
Dmitry Samofalov, for SKELET-info
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