The League of "Leading" Oligarchs. Weekly Review, December 1-7, 2014: "Real" Yeremeyev, far-sighted Firtash, lucky "Edik the Golden Tower," and unlucky Kolomoisky
Igor Eremeev
MP Ihor Yeremeyev can safely be considered the luckiest person of the past week, as he now effectively has his own ministry. By decision of the Verkhovna Rada, Andriy Pivovarskyi, who previously served as CEO of Yeremeyev's Continuum Group and his partner, Stepan Ivakhiv (WOG gas station chain), has been appointed the new Minister of Infrastructure. The ministry, from whose leadership Arseniy Yatsenyuk's friend Maksym Burbak was ousted ( read more about him in the article Maksym Burbak: How Chernivtsi Residents Sat on Donetsk's "Golden Toilet" ), oversees financial institutions such as Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukravtodor, the State Aviation Service, and the Seaport Administration—in other words, an entity with a turnover of tens of billions of hryvnias. This had already allowed Continuum's owners to earn considerable profits by securing fuel supply contracts—Ukrzaliznytsia alone signed contracts with Yeremeyev's companies in 2013-2014 worth over 5,5 billion hryvnias. Now, however, there are suspicions that port workers, road workers, and airlines will prefer to refuel at WOG, which gives Yeremeyev two points.
Dmitry Firtash
The "Austrian prisoner," Dmitry Firtash, also did a good job. Last week, the general meeting of creditors of the Sumykhimprom plant, which is state-owned but managed by the gas oligarch's associates, voted for a restructuring plan stretching out over a record 17 years. Why this particular term was chosen by the creditors' committee, all of whose members represent Firtash's interests, is unknown. Perhaps this is the length of time Dmitry Vasilyevich is facing in the United States, where the FBI still hopes to deliver him. But the fact remains: if the document is approved, no one but Firtash will be able to buy the state-owned stake in the plant. For this, he gets a "+1" – for his long-term plans.
Eduard Stavitsky
Unexpectedly, former Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine Eduard Stavytsky, aka Eduard Rosenberg, aka "Golden Derrick," also found himself in the black. Last week, it was announced that the Supreme Commercial Court of Ukraine had overturned the ruling of the Kyiv Commercial Court of Appeal recognizing the ownership of the Cypriot company Deripon Commercial to 90% of the shares of the mining company Ukrnaftoburenia. Thus, the court upheld the cassation appeal of the UK-registered company Ares Systems, which media outlets attribute to Stavytsky's sphere of influence. Even more surprisingly, he won this crucial dispute against Igor Kolomoisky himself, who had planned to rid himself of his fugitive partner. But he didn't expect the judicial system in Ukraine to be so inscrutable that even Stavytsky, who is on the international wanted list and receives a "+1" rating for persistence, would prove closer to the Ukrainian court than the leading "Jewish Bandera supporter."
Alexander Yanukovych
Last week, another VIP fugitive, Oleksandr Yanukovych, managed to snatch a point. According to media reports, Donetsk businessman Igor Balabanov, whose previous interests focused on furniture retail and yacht manufacturing, is set to become the new head of Centrenergo. However, malicious tongues say Balabanov's primary skill is in "resolving" issues in the ATO zone involving coal supplies from the "kopankas," which remain under the control of the former Ukrainian president's eldest son.
Rinat Akhmetov
Unlike Stavytsky and Yanukovych, Rinat Akhmetov seemed to have achieved a draw. His FUIB was able to restructure its debts to creditors, which is a definite plus in the current climate. As the bank's press service reported, citing Chairman of the Board Serhiy Chernenko, FUIB reached an agreement with holders of its $252 million Eurobonds to extend the debt for four years. Meanwhile, the yield on the securities was maintained at 11%. On the other hand, Ukrtelecom, owned by the Donetsk oligarch, lost its right to exclusive use of 3G frequencies. Specifically, the National Commission for Regulation of Communications and Informatization revoked Ukrtelecom's right to use a 5 MHz 3G band. Not the best news ahead of the 3G communications tender, which will take place in the first quarter of 2015.
Igor Kolomoisky
And the aforementioned Ihor Kolomoisky turned out to be the biggest loser of the week. As we've already noted, he could be sent off in the clash with Firtash for Sumykhimprom, conceded a disappointing goal from Stavytskyi, and lost a valuable player in the match against the Prosecutor General's Office. On the initiative of the latter (as part of a case involving coal supplies from South Africa), the Pechersky Court ordered the arrest of Volodymyr Zinevich, director of Ukrinterenergo, who is close to Kolomoisky, for two months. It appears the tensions between the Dnipropetrovsk governor and the President are becoming increasingly flammable. And perhaps Kolomoisky, to use his own famous expression, is getting ever closer to the scoreboard, where he's already been given a "-2" for overestimating his abilities and underestimating his opponents. However, it's worth remembering that Kolomoisky, like no one else, knows how to maneuver, so retribution may not come anytime soon. And by that time, he may have a dozen bonus and discount cards in his hands.
Alexey KOZHEMYAKIN, SLED.net.ua
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