Our editorial office received materials, which, based on a thorough analysis, make up a story that is impossible to imagine, and which is actively unfolding right now in Odesa.
With the assistance of Oleksandr Podobedov, a previously convicted and well-known character in Odesa, and his "hand-held thugs," an attempt was made to seize the key logistics hub of Ukraine's grain exports - the "Olimpex" terminal.
Moreover, this attempt casts an ominous shadow of Russian interference. According to our information, a citizen of the Russian Federation, Vazha Jashi, and his company Trans-Oil Group, were involved in the epicenter of the confrontation over control of the largest grain terminal, Olimpex. It was Vazha who directed Podobedov's actions, and it was his company that was supposed to establish control over the Olimpex terminal.
We have obtained documents that clearly indicate that Jashi is the owner of a Russian passport series 45216 No. 32916, issued in June 2021 by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow. This fact leads to bad thoughts about the potential goals of such foreign involvement and the risks to the uninterrupted functioning of a critical port in wartime.
According to insiders, Jashi was initially involved by American investors - Argentem Creek Partners and Innovatus Capital Partners - in their fight to establish control over Olimpex.
But the story has moved into a phase where Vazha Jashi has taken active control of the process of seizing the Olimpex terminal into his own hands, conveys his own vision of the process to the American funds, and leads the situation into an even greater dead end with his actions.
Why was Vazha Jashi chosen and why is he confident that he will be able to both "confuse" his American employers and carry out all the planned "schemes"?
The attack on the Odesa port is not the first in Jashi's "Ukrainian career".
Why "Ukrainian"? The fact is that Vazha Jashi previously supported the pro-Russian political wing in Moldova, and built his schemes there.
According to the investigation, which we received from our own sources, a number of commercial structures located on the territory of the Reni Sea Trade Port were involved in dubious financial schemes.
At the center of the scandal is PJSC "Reni Elevator" and its "shadow beneficiary", a citizen of the Russian Federation, Vazha Jashi.
According to law enforcement, this enterprise, together with other port operators, withdrew part of the income into an unaccounted "black" cash register. Significant amounts of cash were transferred to Jashi and his Russian business partners.
During a recent search on the territory of the "Reni Elevator", tens of thousands of dollars, euros and hryvnias were seized, as well as documentation indicating possible violations. According to the investigation, this cash could have been intended to finance illegal activities that undermine the constitutional order of Ukraine.
This is evidenced by the qualifications of crimes in the initiated criminal case - financing of actions against the constitutional order, forgery of documents and legalization of proceeds of crime. The court has already seized the seized property to preserve material evidence.
The investigation continues to find out the amazing details of the "Reni" financial kitchen and the circle of people involved in the possible withdrawal of capital in favor of Russian beneficiaries who have business interests in the Ukrainian port.
In addition to his passport and origin, Vazha Jashi has an extremely dark past, PJSC "Reni Elevator" and the schemes associated with it are only the tip of the iceberg. Not the first "scheme project" in Jashi's career.
In addition, on the territory of the "Olimpex" terminal, as of now, according to previously concluded contracts, there is a large amount of grain crops, the owners of which are a whole list of third parties. Vazha Jashi's task is not only to establish control over the terminal, but also to illegally seize these goods in order to further transfer them to the "Reni Elevator" under his control.
These actions have already led to the initiation of a number of criminal proceedings regarding the illegal appropriation of property of third parties and the raider seizure of an existing enterprise.
This explosive conflict only underscores the fragility of the situation around the Odesa port - a key link in the chain of Ukrainian grain exports. Any destabilization in this area threatens catastrophic consequences not only for Ukraine, but also for global food security.
Along with this, let's take two steps back and see what exactly became the prerequisite for the events that are unfolding in Odesa.
ACT I - Historical Background
"Olimpex Coupe International" (OLIMPEX COUPE INTERNATIONAL) operates a strategically important grain terminal in the port of Odesa, one of three in southern Ukraine, active within the "grain corridor" and is part of GNT Olimpex Holding (GNT Group), the ultimate beneficial owners of which are businessmen Serhiy Groza and Volodymyr Naumenko.
This terminal is of strategic importance for global food security, as the grain leaving the port of Odesa has become a critical aspect in negotiations between Ukraine, Russia and world leaders to prevent a global food crisis.
ACT II - Loan
In 2019, GNT Group took out loans from two American investment funds - Argentem Creek Partners (ACP) in the amount of $75 million and Innovatus Capital Partners in the amount of $20 million. At the same time, corporate rights to the terminal operator company were transferred as collateral, the value of which was 2.4 times the amount of loans and amounted to $176.6 million.
The final date for repayment of obligations was set for December 2021, and then extended to March 2022, which were quite understandable and acceptable conditions for this strategic Ukrainian business.
History has made its adjustments.
Phase 1: end of 2019 - beginning of 2020 - the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a massive global crisis and hysteria. Morbidity, mortality, border closures, mass layoffs, lockdowns, disruption of all logistical connections and, as a result, the financial crisis and reduced incomes became the first blow for many businesses around the world, including American ones. It is logical to assume that this crisis largely affected GNT Group and their ability to pay their obligations.
It influenced, but did not stop the activity, and even more so did not stop GNT Group in its intentions to pay off all debts.
Phase 2: beginning of 2022 - full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine. Panic. Chaos. Lack of understanding of what to do next. The most active military actions at the beginning of the full-scale invasion and the destabilization of the situation in the country affected the possibility of adequate operation of the "Olimpex Coupe International" grain terminal on the territory of the port. Restrictions of martial law and curfew, in particular, made their negative impact on the uninterrupted process of transshipment and shipment of crops on the territory of the terminal.
Collectively, these events made their "contribution" to the financial stability of GNT Group and to the adequate activity of the enterprise as a whole. A difficult period in which the majority of Ukrainian businesses needed special conditions and acceptance of the situation.
It was during this period that the American "partners" and creditors of GNT Group not only did not enter the situation and did not agree to adequate business negotiations, but also decided to take advantage of it for the purpose of total raider seizure of the company's assets.
This is despite the fact that the company is an active business with more than 25 years of history, in which more than 700 people actively work and which, before the full-scale invasion, had no problems, including legal ones.
ACT III - War
GNT Group has repeatedly declared its readiness to repay its obligations to creditors and informed them about it.
Volodymyr Naumenko, as the ultimate beneficiary of GNT Group, appealed to creditors and initiated a restructuring of the debt, a number of third parties joined this process with proposals to negotiate the purchase and sale of rights of claim under the credit obligations that arose. With the support of these third parties, GNT Group has always communicated an active position of openness to public dialogue in order to resolve the situation.
The formal reason for the total legal attack on GNT Group and the group's assets was the investment funds' statements about global readiness for negotiations on restructuring, but about the fundamental impossibility of this process due to, allegedly, concealment of operating activities and distortion of facts about the missing grain, which was the subject of collateral under credit obligations.
In addition, almost simultaneously Argentem Creek Partners and Innovatus Capital Partners issued statements in which they accused the beneficiaries of the group, businessmen Serhiy Groza and Volodymyr Naumenko, of fraud.
In the opinion of our editorial staff, the position on "readiness for negotiations on restructuring" is very difficult, which was "flavored" with theses that the beneficiaries of the business with whom they are allegedly ready to negotiate are fraudsters and scammers.
We record. A strategic Ukrainian grain business, which is recovering from a full-scale invasion by a neighboring aggressor state, is simultaneously making every effort to work within the "grain corridor" (which is constantly under enemy fire, which puts an additional burden of responsibility and adds problems to the difficult process of doing business during the war), declares to its strategic American "partners" its readiness to restructure the debt, conducts negotiations with third parties to resolve the situation, in particular, offers to hold joint negotiations and join efforts to find a buyer for assets and publicly declares its readiness to pay creditors part of the monthly profit of enterprises.
ACT IV - Raiders
Instead of finding a compromise, the Americans were looking for a long time for someone to take over the process of raiding the terminal. Vazha Jashi, whom we talked about at the beginning of this article, undertook to do this. The formal reason for the forceful entry into the territory of the enterprise was the replacement of the director with an arbitration manager within the framework of the bankruptcy proceedings. A large number of legal, but absolutely insignificant, actions were also taken before this.
Moreover, lawsuits against GNT Group were launched in five countries at once - Ukraine, Great Britain, Cyprus, Switzerland and the UAE - this is not an accident, but a pre-planned "action".
On the basis of legally weak protocols, the address of registration of the enterprise was transferred to Lviv, bankruptcy procedures were opened. Returning to the formal reason for the forceful seizure - the replacement of the director with an arbitration manager. It is important to understand that the court's decision on such a replacement is currently being appealed in the established manner, and according to the USRPOU data, Marchenko Vitaliy remains the director of the enterprise.
Such aggressive actions demonstrate a complete lack of desire to find a compromise. Instead, we see a public position of "corporate raiders".
Act V - Conclusions
In the light of all the described events and circumstances, which we have analyzed, it becomes obvious that the creditors have motives other than a simple return of funds.
The actions of Argentem Creek Partners and Innovatus Capital Partners indicate that they are not so interested in repaying the debt as in controlling the Odesa terminal and other strategically important assets.
But the most dangerous thing in this is that the process of resolving the situation was entrusted to a citizen of the Russian Federation, Vazha Jashi. He is the one who puts on this "movie", in which the Americans, to their great regret, do not have the role of a spectator and customer, but have already become victims of Jashi's cunning schemes themselves.
At the same time, according to the information that became available to our editorial office, GNT Olimpex Holding (GNT Group), the ultimate beneficial owners of which are businessmen Serhiy Groza and Volodymyr Naumenko, are still ready for negotiations and publicly declare this.
Instead, so far, at this stage, Vazha Jashi can only declare to the Americans that he will take control of the enterprise. In reality, the situation is unfolding in such a way that GNT Group and Olimpex are successfully defending their positions in the courts step by step. Vazha has very few levers of influence and opportunities left. Looking at the situation, it seems that he not only misled the Americans, but also successfully got lost in the midst of his "schemes".
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