The company "Alcides Black Sea", which is illegally trying to use the road of the strategic enterprise "Odesa Port Plant" and one of the berths of the port of Pivdennyi, loudly declares that it is a virtuous company and allegedly does a lot for the victory of Ukraine. However, some facts make us doubt the sincerity of these words, UNN writes.
The history of Alsids under other names dates back to the 90s. However, the group of companies began to take shape in its current form in 2010, when a conflict broke out between the shareholders and each of them went their separate ways.
The group has a complex ownership structure that includes Luxembourg and Swiss companies. But it all boils down to two key players, who are Ukrainian businessman Vyacheslav Petryshche and Swiss citizen Vrins Cornelis Martinus Peter.
We'll come back to the confusing ownership structure, but the presence of companies registered in other countries gives Alsids the opportunity to constantly boast that they attract foreign investment.
However, this did not affect the integrity of some of the group's companies. In 2017, Allseeds Black Sea was sued for UAH 24.5 million in debt to a sunflower seed supplier.
Coincidentally or not, the following year, the Dutch business development bank FMO and the Ukrainian investment fund Diligent Capital Partners bought out 16% of Alsids shares through a Luxembourg company.
There is no reliable information on how much the deal cost and how much money the investors provided.
FMO's website states that the bank invests in the economies of 85 countries, and the map of cooperation clearly shows that it operates in Belarus. Of course, it is good that it is not in Russia. In the third year of full-scale Russian aggression, it is a bit strange to operate in a country that, along with Iran and North Korea, is Russia's most loyal ally.
There are also some questions about the Diligent Capital Partners fund. It is not possible to draw up a complete picture of its activities. Judging by the few posts on its website, the fund is most pleased that its representatives are members of the supervisory boards of various companies.
In view of this, we can cautiously assume that the fund is a kind of screen to demonstrate a certain respectability of Alsids in the eyes of Western investors. After all, there are questions about the activities of the group's companies, including in the West.
For example, in 2020, according to media reports, Alsids Black Sea was on the list of Ukrainian companies that carried out export operations through Swiss intermediaries and thus avoided paying income tax in Ukraine. In total, the Ukrainian budget lost $1.2 billion from such transactions that year, and the companies involved in such activities also received a VAT refund from Ukraine.
In 2019, Alsids Black Sea was involved in a criminal proceeding on tax minimization in the purchase of sunflower. And in September last year, it was searched by the BES and the SBU.
Such unattractive pages of the business biography should raise questions among current and potential investors. Therefore, Allied Black Sea needs to publicly show feigned integrity with a patriotic bias.
Context
Alsids Black Sea received an illegal permit from the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority to use berth No. 1 of Pivdennyi port, although it is not intended for loading ships with vegetable oil.
Without signing any contracts, the company tried to direct its transport to the berth, via the road, which is on the balance sheet of the Odesa Port Plant and is intended for evacuation in case of emergency.
The OPP management tried to resolve the situation in a civilized manner and on May 21 sent a draft Infrastructure Use Agreement to Alsys Black Sea. However, instead of resolving all issues, the commercial entity filed a lawsuit against the strategic enterprise.