The management of the Naftogaz of Ukraine national joint-stock company wrote a letter to Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, stating that the Ministry of Justice is helping businessman Dmytro Firtash avoid paying Ukraine for gas supplies, according to the publication Glavkom.
The letter states that gas distribution companies and chemical plants of the Ostсhem group, controlled by Dmytro Firtash, owe large sums for gas supplied to Gaz Ukrainy, a subsidiary of Naftogaz Ukrainy. The businessman's regional gas companies owe the state-owned company over 2 billion hryvnias, and his chemical plants approximately 7 billion. Specifically, Rivne Azot owes the state over 1,1 billion hryvnias, and Cherkasy Azot owes several hundred million hryvnias. Gaz Ukrainy, the state-owned company, has been unsuccessfully attempting to recover these funds from Firtash's Ostсhem group.
The document states that Gaz Ukraina has already won the right to recover UAH 631 million from Azot in court, and enforcement proceedings have already begun for almost a third of this amount. However, in the fall, the courts seized the assets of Cherkasy Azot, including accounts and 88 million cubic meters of gas stored in Ukrtransgaz's underground storage facilities. However, bailiffs' attempts to seize the plant's assets in November and December 2014 were unsuccessful. They were not allowed onto the plant's premises.
In the letter, Naftogaz of Ukraine's management points out that the enforcement service has shown little persistence in identifying and seizing the debtor's assets. The state-owned company also believes that enforcement officials are deliberately delaying the seizure of assets, thereby helping Dmytro Firtash avoid paying his gas debts.
According to Glavkom, the publication sent a request to the State Enforcement Service and the Ministry of Justice, which oversees the service, asking for comment on this matter. However, a week and a half has passed, and the Ministry of Justice has not responded to the accusations made by the Naftogaz of Ukraine management.
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