Another attempted corporate takeover of the Khorol baby food plant occurred in early July. As before, the assets of this strategic enterprise for Ukraine are being seized for the purpose of money laundering and the destruction of the plant. The violent actions at the plant are linked to the names of Russian businessmen with a highly questionable reputation: Georgy Sazhinov and Konstantin Malofeev. The former owner is currently wanted internationally for causing property damage and large-scale fraud. According to media reports, the latter is closely associated with the military "leader of the DPR" Igor Girkin and also finances the eastern territories – the "DPR" and "LPR."
Morning commotion
Early one July morning, the Khorol Baby Food Factory was disturbed by unknown individuals intending to search the premises. The first group of armed individuals, dressed in Security Service of Ukraine uniforms, was led by Oleksandr Taratorin, the illegitimate director of the Khorol Baby Food Milk Canning Plant. The second group, armed and wearing police uniforms, was led by Svitlana Zhadlun, an investigator with Kyiv's Shevchevkivskyi District Court. As the confrontation unfolded, this armed group of individuals in police uniforms had no connection to law enforcement, but was merely a private security firm. We assume that the illegality of the private security presence during the investigation is self-evident; the violation is obvious.
While attempting to gain entry to the enterprise, the investigator brandished documents purporting to confirm the legality of her actions. However, the enterprise authorized to be searched—the Khorolsky Children's Product Butter Canning Plant—is, firstly, a different legal entity and, secondly, is located in a completely different city, as evidenced by state registry records.
The attempted armed takeover of the Khorol baby food plant lasted approximately four hours. The main objective of the unknown armed men, led by a corrupt investigator, was to infiltrate the plant's premises to block its operations and gain physical control of the enterprise—in other words, a typical corporate raid.
This isn't the first attempt to seize the plant by force. The previous one occurred not long ago, in March of this year. At that time, the media reported that unknown individuals in camouflage uniforms had blocked the entrances and exits of the plant, trapping the plant's workers there. Those workers unable to reach their workplaces organized a protest, blocking the Kyiv-Kharkiv highway. The protest lasted over an hour. People demanded an end to the mass layoffs of the plant's employees. Another violent takeover occurred in October 2015. Late on an autumn evening, unknown individuals wearing the uniforms of plant employees seized the plant's premises and established themselves freely within.
The tip of the iceberg
However, a corrupt investigator, along with private security and an illegitimate manager, are just the tip of the iceberg. Along with them, pro-Russian political activist Georgy Sazhinov also arrived at the plant on July 9. Sazhinov, who has been on the international wanted list since October 2015 for causing material damage on an especially large scale, according to media reports, is wanted internationally for this crime. He previously served as Russia's Minister of Agriculture and was the founder of the company Nutritek.
As a reminder, in 2006, Georgy Sazhinov purchased 90% of the shares of the Khorol Baby Food Milk Canning Plant from Mykhailo Gavrilenko, the former director of the private joint-stock company. Gavrilenko had been trying to regain control of the enterprise for a long time through the courts, but these proceedings were ultimately unsuccessful. In 2014, Georgy Sazhinov appointed Vladimir Ilnitsky as plant manager and tasked him with selling the enterprise, due to negative public and government attitudes toward Russian business in Ukraine. In June 2015, a buyer was found for Ukraine's only baby food plant, and the transaction was successfully completed.
The questions beg to differ: what was the former owner, now wanted, doing on the plant's premises with his private security detail? How is it possible that, in a country at war, investigators are "selling out" to our own enemy? And the most important question for law enforcement: why do the people who committed the crime—the corporate raid on Khorol Baby Food Plant LLC, which falls under Parts 2 and 3 of Article 206 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—remain unpunished?
Konstantin Malofeev's involvement is also worth mentioning. Specifically, Sazhinov's Nutritek company is part of his investment fund, Marshall Capital.
Open sources indicate that Konstantin Malofeev has long maintained a relationship with the "DPR Defense Minister" Igor Girkin, who acts as a military leader in the east. One Russian publication reports that Igor Girkin may have previously worked in Konstantin Malofeev's security service.
Protect your own
Following the events, the Khorol plant's management was approached by the workforce, asking them to protect the plant's workers and establish the objective truth regarding the attempted corporate takeover. For their part, management did everything possible – lawyers filed a complaint with the relevant law enforcement agencies. The plant's CEO, Yuriy Lysak, wrote a letter to the head of the Presidential Administration, Borys Lozhkin; the head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasyl Hrytsak; the Prosecutor General, Yuriy Lutsenko; the head of the National Police, Khatia Dekanoidze; and others, asking them to take all possible measures to prevent the plant's destruction. After all, the Khorol plant is a unique manufacturer of infant formula in Ukraine. Many mothers prefer the domestic brands "Malysh," "Malyutka," "Malyshka," and "Malyutka Premium," which have proven themselves even better than similar imported products that cost three times as much.
The ball is once again in law enforcement's court. Previously, when illegitimate owners attempted to illegally seize the company's assets, the police remained silent. But law enforcement can no longer remain silent, especially now that the raiders have taken off their masks and openly resorted to force. While the Khorol Baby Food Plant can't "sleep peacefully," it is still making every effort to provide children with high-quality nutrition, produced in accordance with all international quality and safety requirements and using the latest technology.
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