Our editorial team has received materials that, after careful analysis, make up a story that is unimaginable, yet is actively unfolding right now in Odesa.
With the assistance of Oleksandr Podobedov, a previously convicted and well-known character in Odesa, and his "titushky", an attempt was made to seize by force the key logistics hub for Ukraine's grain exports, the Olympex terminal.
Moreover, this attempt also 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, Olympex. It was Vazha who directed Podobedov's actions, and it was his company that was supposed to take control of the Olympex terminal.
We have obtained documents that clearly indicate that Jashi is the holder of a Russian passport series 45216 No. 32916, issued in June 2021 by the Moscow division of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. This fact suggests bad thoughts about the potential goals of such foreign involvement and the risks to the smooth functioning of a critical port in wartime.
According to insiders, Jashi was initially brought in by American investors - Argentem Creek Partners and Innovatus Capital Partners - in their struggle to gain control of Olympex.
But the story has moved into a phase where Vazha Jashi has taken active control of the process of seizing the Olympex terminal, broadcasting his own vision of the process to American funds, and bringing the situation to an even greater deadlock with his actions.
Why was Vazha Jashi chosen and why is he confident that he will be able to "confuse" his American employers and pull off 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 Vaja Jashi used to support the pro-Russian political wing in Moldovaand built his schemes there.
According to the investigation, which we received from our own sources, a number of commercial entities located on the territory of the Reni Commercial Sea Port were involved in dubious financial schemes.
At the center of the scandal is the Reniiskyi Elevator PJSC and its "shadow beneficiary," Russian citizen Vazha Jashi.
According to law enforcement, this company, together with other port operators, withdrew part of its income in an unaccounted-for "black" cash register. Significant amounts of cash were transferred to Jashi himself and his Russian business partners.
During a recent search of the Reniiskyi 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 undermining the constitutional order of Ukraine.
This is evidenced by the qualifications of the crimes in the criminal case - financing actions against the constitutional order, forgery of documents and legalization of proceeds of crime. The court has already seized the seized property to preserve the material evidence.
The investigation continues to uncover surprising details of the "Reni" financial kitchen and the circle of people involved in the possible withdrawal of capital in favor of Russian beneficiaries with business interests in the Ukrainian port.
In addition to his passport and background, Vazha Jashi has an extremely dark past, and the Reni Elevator and the schemes associated with it are just the tip of the iceberg. This is not the first "scheme project" in Jashi's career.
In addition, the territory of the Olympex terminal currently contains a large amount of grain crops owned by a number of third parties under previously concluded contracts. Vazha Jashi's goal is not only to establish control over the terminal, but also to illegally seize this cargo for the purpose of further transferring it to the Reni Elevator under his control.
These actions have already led to the initiation of a number of criminal proceedings for misappropriation of third-party property and raider seizure of an operating company.
This explosive conflict only underscores the fragility of the situation around the Odesa port, a key link in the Ukrainian grain export chain. Any destabilization in this area could have catastrophic consequences not only for Ukraine but also for global food security.
At the same time, let's take two steps back and look at what exactly became the precondition for the events unfolding in Odesa.
ACT I - Historical overview
"OLIMPEX COUPE INTERNATIONAL operates a strategically important grain terminal in the port of Odesa, one of three in southern Ukraine active in the "grain corridor" and is part of GNT Olimpex Holding (GNT Group), whose ultimate beneficial owners are businessmen Sergey Groza and Vladimir Naumenko.
This terminal is of strategic importance for global food security, as grain leaving the port of Odesa has become a critical aspect in the negotiations between Ukraine, Russia and world leaders to prevent a global food crisis.
ACT II - Credit
In 2019, GNT Group took out loans from two US investment funds - Argentem Creek Partners (ACP) for $75 million and Innovatus Capital Partners for $20 million. At the same time, corporate rights to the terminal operator were pledged as collateral, the value of which was 2.4 times higher than the amount of the loans and amounted to $176.6 million.
The final maturity date was set at December 2021, and then extended to March 2022, which was quite understandable and acceptable for this strategic Ukrainian business.
History has made its own adjustments.
The first phase: late 2019 - early 2020 - the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a massive global crisis and hysteria. Morbidity, mortality, border closures, mass layoffs, lockdowns, disruption of all logistics, and the resulting financial crisis and decline in revenue were the first blow to many businesses around the world, including American ones. It is logical to assume that this crisis has had a significant impact on GNT Group and their ability to pay their obligations.
It influenced, but did not stop, the business, and certainly did not stop GNT Group from its intention to pay off all its debts.
The second phase: early 2022 - full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Panic. Chaos. Lack of understanding of what to do next. The most active military operations at the beginning of the full-scale invasion and the destabilization of the situation in the country affected the ability of Olympex Coupe Internationalto adequately operate the grain terminal in the port. The restrictions of martial law and curfew, in particular, had a negative impact on the smooth transshipment and shipment of crops at the terminal.
Taken together, these events contributed to the financial stability of GNT Group and the adequate operation of the company as a whole. It was a difficult period in which the majority of Ukrainian businesses needed special conditions and acceptance of the current situation.
It was during this period that the American "partners" and creditors of GNT Group not only failed to enter the situation and did not agree to adequate business negotiations, but also decided to use it for the purpose of a 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, employing more than 700 people and having no problems, including legal ones, before the full-scale invasion.
ACT III - War
GNT Group has repeatedly declared its readiness to repay its obligations to creditors and notified them of this.
Volodymyr Naumenko, as the ultimate beneficiary of GNT Group, approached creditors and initiated debt restructuring, and a number of third parties joined the process with proposals to negotiate the sale and purchase of claims under the loan obligations that arose. With the support of these third parties, GNT Group has always communicated an active stance of openness to public dialog to resolve the situation.
The formal reason for the all-out legal attack on GNT Group and the group's assets was the statements by investment funds about their global readiness to negotiate restructuring, but about the fundamental impossibility of this process due to the alleged concealment of operations and misrepresentation of facts about the missing grain that was the subject of collateral for loan obligations.
In addition, almost simultaneously Argentem Creek Partners and Innovatus Capital Partners released statements accusing the group's beneficiaries, businessmen Sergey Groza and Vladimir Naumenko, of being fraudsters.
In our opinion, it is very difficult to make sense of the position about "readiness to negotiate restructuring", which was "seasoned" with theses that the beneficiaries of the business with which they are supposedly ready to negotiate are fraudsters and fraudsters.
We fix it. The strategic Ukrainian grain business, which is recovering from the full-scale invasion of the 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" about its readiness to restructure its debt, negotiates with third parties to resolve the situation, in particular proposes to hold joint negotiations and join efforts to find a buyer for the assets and publicly declares its readiness to pay creditors a part of the monthly profit of the enterprises.
ACT IV - Raiders
Instead of finding a compromise, the Americans were looking for someone to take over the process of raiding the terminal. This was done by Vazha Jashi, whom we described at the beginning of this article. The formal reason for the forced entry into the company's territory was the replacement of the director with an insolvency officer as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. Prior to that, a large number of legal, but absolutely worthless actions were taken.
Moreover, lawsuits have been launched against GNT Group in five countries at once - Ukraine, the UK, Cyprus, Switzerland, and the UAE - and this is no accident, but a pre-planned "action.
Based on legally weak protocols, they moved the company's registration address to Lviv and opened bankruptcy proceedings. Returning to the formal reason for the seizure - the replacement of the director with an insolvency officer. It is important to understand that the court ruling on such a replacement is currently being appealed in accordance with the established procedure, and according to the USREOU, Vitaliy Marchenko remains the company's director.
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 light of all the events and circumstances we have analyzed, it is clear that creditors have other motives than simple repayment.
The actions of Argentem Creek Partners and Innovatus Capital Partners indicate that they are not so much interested in debt repayment as in controlling the Odesa terminal and other strategically important assets.
But the most dangerous thing about this is that the process of resolving the situation was entrusted to a Russian citizen, Vazha Jashi. It is he who is directing this "movie" in which, to their great regret, Americans are not the audience and customer, but have already fallen victim to Jashi's cunning schemes.
At the same time, according to the information available to our editorial board, GNT Olimpex Holding (GNT Group), whose ultimate beneficial owners are businessmen Serhiy Groza and Volodymyr Naumenko, is still ready to burn out and publicly declare it.
At this stage, however, Vaja Jashi can only declare to the Americans that he will take control of the company. In reality, the situation is unfolding in such a way that GNT Group and Olympex are successfully defending their positions in the courts, step by step. Vazha is left with very few levers of influence and opportunities. Looking at the situation, it seems that he not only misled the Americans, but also successfully got lost in the middle of his "schemes".