Alexander Klimenko
Last week was truly "passionate" for Oleksandr Klymenko, the former head of the Yanukovych-era Ministry of Health (read more: Oleksandr Klymenko. He left, but really wants to return ). Unison Bank, which was part of his sphere of influence, was declared insolvent by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), and a temporary administration was appointed. Klymenko's press service was quick to dismiss the NBU's actions as nothing less than a corporate raid.
Of course, the fugitive former head of the tax agency is well versed in corporate raiding, having repeatedly used tax pressure to seize attractive businesses for the benefit of the former president's family and his inner circle. However, this is not the case here. For Unison Bank, where no one except its employees and those close to the Klimenko family held any significant funds, can hardly be called attractive. It seems even Klimenko himself, in his heyday, put his eggs, or rather, his money, in the baskets of more reliable financial institutions. Meanwhile, according to media reports, the bankruptcy of Unison has affected employees of the Vesti media holding, controlled by the former head of the Ministry of Social Development, who were unable to withdraw their modest salaries from the Unison cards they used.
Sergey Dyadechko
The National Bank of Ukraine also took no liberties with Mr. Dyadechko's "laundromat ." After the "most humane" Ukrainian court overturned the NBU's decision to liquidate Soyuz Bank, owned by a former Rodovid Bank executive, the regulator's lawyers filed a complaint against the judges who made the decision with the High Qualification Judicial Commission, and subsequently liquidated Mr. Dyadechko's "laundromat" a second time. One of the country's leading "laundromats" may certainly try his luck in court once again, but it seems the weight of arguments required to rule in Mr. Dyadechko's favor will have to increase significantly—at least to the cost of registering a new bank.
Alexander Yaroslavsky
Like the popular internet meme "Peter the Pig," Kharkiv oligarch Oleksandr Yaroslavsky has taken up tractor driving. Not for emigration, however, but for a triumphant return to big business, which he clearly missed. The owner of the DCH Group acquired a controlling stake in the Kharkiv Tractor Plant, accompanying the purchase with loud PR statements about the need to preserve the plant and provide jobs for Kharkiv residents, as well as hundreds of thousands of workers at related enterprises across Ukraine. Basically, the usual chants in the spirit of Dobkin's unforgettable speech "for the good of the city and all Kharkiv residents."
Time will tell whether the oligarch with Kharkiv roots, who recently stated he was not interested in businesses that yielded less than 20% in foreign currency, has decided to compete with John Deere for agricultural companies' money, or whether we will soon see a shopping mall like "Karavan" in the place of the KhTZ workshops. However, it should be noted that Mr. Yaroslavsky is in no hurry to return FC Metalist to Kharkiv. Either its current owner, Serhiy Kurchenko, is asking too much for it, or, according to the Kharkiv magnate, Metalist will not be able to bring him the 20% he was expecting.
( read more about him in the reference: Alexander Yaroslavsky: three marriages of the Kharkiv "king" )
Sergey Kurchenko
Meanwhile, a US court has finally banned Kurchenko from using the Forbes brand when publishing his magazine, Forbes Ukraine. However, the young wunderkind, as usual, didn't care for such decisions by the American courts. His media group, UMH, which includes the magazine, stated that it would continue publishing the magazine under the same brand. They justified their decision by arguing that this was all part of US political repression against the young oligarch, who is under US sanctions. At least they didn't accuse the US of raiding the glossy business monthly.
While former members of the Party of Regions and associates of Sasha the Stomatologist Yanukovych believe the state was successful last week in halting illegal takeovers of their unwanted assets, Rinat Leonidovich's efforts have been hampered. The State Property Fund blocked the oligarch's attempts to convert the energy companies he controls from public to private joint-stock companies.
Specifically, this issue was raised at shareholders' meetings of KyivEnergo, Donetskoblenergo, and Krymenergo, but state representatives voted against such a reorganization of the companies, in which the State Property Fund still holds significant stakes. Had such a decision been made, the breadwinner of the Donbas would have received preemptive rights to buy back state-owned shares, including the ability to dictate the buyback price. It's worth noting that media outlets previously reported that such a reorganization of Akhmetov-controlled companies was allegedly part of the package of agreements to replace Yatsenyuk with Groysman as Ukraine's prime minister. Whether the Vinnytsia residents abandoned the Donetsk man or decided that higher electricity tariffs were sufficient for him remains unclear. However, it's clear that Rinat Leonidovych's efforts to quickly gain complete control over Ukraine's energy sector have fizzled out like a whistle, or, more familiarly, a whistle.
Despite everything, Austrian prisoner Dmytro Firtash continues to remotely control the state-owned Sumykhimprom. On April 25, the Sumy chemical giant purchased phosphates worth UAH 949 million from Titan Ukrainy LLC. According to media reports, Titan Ukrainy was previously registered to Mykola Mykolayovych Mykhailov. A person with this name is known as an assistant to Opposition Bloc MP Oleksandr Nechayev, who was chairman of the board of Crimean Titan CJSC, owned by Firtash. Of course, Ukraine's top gas company desperately needs the funds, given his recent spending on lawyers in an attempt to avoid extradition to the United States. However, one would hope that Sumykhimprom will be privatized soon, and the investor requirements will include a clause prohibiting companies whose beneficiaries are under house arrest in Vienna from participating in the tender.
Dmitry Firtash and Viktor Yanukovych. Photo source espreso.tv
And frankly, we were amused by the lawyers for fugitive former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who are seeking to lift the freeze on his EU accounts. According to German media, at closed-door pre-trial hearings in Luxembourg, they argued their case as follows: "The former president, who is hiding from Ukrainian justice in Russia, insists that the amount of funds frozen in his accounts exceeds the amount of illegally appropriated property attributed to him."
In response, as reported by German media, EU representatives in court stated that freezing all funds in Yanukovych's accounts in European banks is not excessive, particularly since "these are likely not the only funds Viktor Yanukovych has." We completely agree with the EU representatives in court and also believe that Viktor "Golden Loaf" Fedorovich likely stole an order of magnitude more in Ukraine than is currently in his EU bank accounts. After all, it is well known how much the Rostov lustrat loved cashing out, something he once proudly recounted to European guests in his native Mezhyhirya.
On topic: Alexander Klimenko. He flew away, but really wants to return.
Alexey KOZHEMYAKIN, "OLIGARCH"
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, Facebook , Twitter , VK - Only new faces from the SKLEP section!