On May 18, the Zaporizhzhia Regional Court held another hearing regarding the Semiconductor Plant PJSC. The court issued a ruling initiating the company's reorganization.
Gennady Kogan
Ignoring the creditors' committee's decision, the court appointed Yevhen Kirichenko, a bankruptcy trustee known to be close to Gennady Kogan, as the bank's restructuring manager. Kogan, in turn, has a notorious history of corporate raiding and is directly linked to the Svetlovodsk company ITG-Invest. The semiconductor plant owes this company approximately 30 million hryvnias. By comparison, the Semiconductor Plant's debt to the state-owned Ukreximbank is over 5 billion hryvnias, and its debt to other major creditors is approximately 3,4 billion hryvnias. Therefore, this court decision is quite ambiguous and raises doubts about its integrity.
In any case, the circumstances the court relied on will only become known after the court publishes the relevant ruling. However, during the hearing, the court did not disclose the reasons for choosing Kirichenko as the bankruptcy trustee.
According to a source within the bank [Ukreximbank — Ed.], this court decision could jeopardize state interests, as it was prompted by pressure from ITG Invest. The restructuring plan is likely just a cover for the bankruptcy trustee, Kirichenko, and those behind him to further steal and scrap the high-tech equipment currently located at the enterprise.
"Semiconductor Plant", a reactor shop for the production of polysilicon this year.
This incident involving the Zaporizhzhia plant isn't the only "shady" case involving Kirovohrad businessman Gennady Kogan, whose name is linked to a number of high-profile corporate raids. Interestingly, these are also related to semiconductor manufacturing.
In the early 2000s, a scandal erupted, centered on the Svetlovodsk company Silicon, also controlled by Gennady Kogan's Kirovohrad-based Chervony Prapor Design Bureau. In 2001, Silicon purchased the main technological complex of the state-owned Pure Metals Plant—a facility for growing monocrystalline silicon, an element used in solar panel production—for 2,4 million hryvnias. The complex's book value at the time was 29 million hryvnias. This transaction was subsequently challenged by the authorities in court, leading the Supreme Court to invalidate it in 2003. However, while the state had secured legal redress through documents, it failed to uphold its actual rights.
Yevhen Kirichenko (old.minjust.gov.ua/file/28259) also served as the liquidator for Pure Metals in this case. The company's assets were subsequently stolen and sold, and the company itself was declared bankrupt.
Now it's the turn of the Zaporizhzhia Semiconductor Plant and the state-owned Ukreximbank, where Kogan has once again employed his time-tested corporate raiding schemes, using law enforcement agencies.
Ruslan Yakushev
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, Facebook , Twitter , VK - Only new faces from the SKLEP section!