There are signs of top corruption in the form of administrative pressure and political smokescreen in the corporate conflict between Argentem Creek Partners, a U. S. company, and the GNT Group holding company. Business Censor’s journalists came to this conclusion based on their investigation.
The website focused on the meeting between Davyd Arakhamia, the chair of UkraineInvest’s supervisory board and the member of Rada representing the Servant of the People party, with the ACP in Vienna in November 2022, several weeks before the ACP started with its forced collection of the GNT Group’s debt.
The member of Rada explained to Ukrayinska Pravda that the major goal of his visit was to meet with the U. S. fund Argentem Creek Partners, which invested over US$150 million in Ukrainian assets. He met them as the chair of UkraineInvest’s supervisory board. He also visited DF Group’s Vienna office to meet Dmytro Firtash and their manager.
"We discussed prospects for opening up a grain corridor to preserve the ports in Mykolaiv Oblast where the DF Group owns the port of Nika-Terra," the member of Rada said.
However, according to a Hubs story, UkraineInvest is unaware of Arakhamia’s contacts with the ACP as the chair of its supervisory board.
Furthermore, according to information available to the Hubs’ journalists, Arakhamia did discuss the potential transfer of the GNT Group’s stevedoring asset by the Argentem under the control of Dmytro Firtash’s port business when meeting with the DF Group (it owns the Nika-Terra port in Mykolaiv).
"Regardless of any DF Group’s reaction (their trail in this story has remained unseen so far), a proposal like this can be a telltale sign of the corrupt collusion and willful intent on the part of the U. S. company," journalists emphasize.
The UNN has seen administrative leverage being used in this conflict by the Minister of Justice Denys Maliuska.
For instance, in March, the minister made a decision in favor of the ACP single-handedly, without consulting with the Board of the Anti-Raiding Office, in response to a complaint lodged by Ihor Kulak, who had been appointed a new director of Olimpex Coupe International, a GNT Group company, by the creditors.
According to Business Censor’s findings, the corrupt actions in the ACP and GNT Group case contributed to the hostile takeover of the Group’s companies aimed at selling them opaquely to a third party.
According to estimates by participants of the agrarian market, an asset like this could be sold at US$200 million. GNT Group’s loans with interest amount to about US$120 million. If the sale were transparent (as prescribed by the loan agreement), the creditors would have to share the proceeds (less debt) with the holding company’s owners.
"A difference of US$80 million is a powerful argument in favor of trying to sell the business in a backroom agreement with a pre-determined buyer; this is what the GNT Group accuses the "U. S." ACP of," the journalists indicated.
The GNT Group obtained a US$ 75 million loan from the Argentem Creek Partners in 2019 against the pledge of the company’s corporate rights, with the value exceeding the loan amount severalfold. The war against russia complicated the repayment of these loans. However, the commencement of the grain corridor operation gave rise to opportunities to settle the loans. The GNT Group has repeatedly stated its willingness to repay the debt in any civilized manner. However, the creditor refuses to negotiate with the GNT Group. Instead, the ACP initiated debt enforcement with elements of the company’s hostile takeover.
In December 2022, the GNT was only allowed two hours to meet the ACP’s demand to repay the loan. The creditor’s representatives used a power of attorney to immediately change the legal domiciles of the GNT Group’s managing companies from Odesa to Lviv. Also, a replacement of directors of the Ukrainian companies was initiated.
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