A blow to the investment climate: how unscrupulous debtors fight with foreign investors
Kyiv • UNN
After signing an agreement to manage the Olympex port terminal, Trans Oil faced a problem - someone stubbornly did not want this asset to be managed effectively. One of Trans Oil's founders was accused of collaborating with Russia.
The American funds Argentem Creek Partners and Innovatus Capital Partners have been in litigation for several years over the property belonging to the debtor company Olimpex Coupe International (part of the GNT Group). In particular, it concerns the Olimpex Coupe International grain terminal in the Odesa Commercial Sea Port. The funds have repeatedly proved their case in Ukrainian and foreign courts, and when the terminal received a responsible manager, a media scandal began to erupt around the latter, based on accusations of ties to Russia.
Trans-Oil is a multinational company that has been successfully operating in Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and Serbia for many years. In particular, the company's assets in Ukraine include the Reni elevator, and in Moldova, Trans-Oil built the country's first grain loading terminal. The company has repeatedly attracted international investments. In particular, the construction of Trans-Oil's first assets was financed by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, now known as the Development Finance Corporation, an American development bank founded by the US government. Trans-Oil is the first and only company to receive financing from this organization in Moldova.
On April 24, 2024 this company "entered into a lease and management agreement for the Olympex port terminal with the insolvency manager of this terminal". The company was chosen as a bona fide company with experience in managing similar assets. Among other things, under the agreement signed between Trans-Oil and the company, the company undertook to make efforts to assess the current operating and financial situation of Olympex and to prevent the embezzlement of assets by the former owners.
It should be noted that the embezzlement of assets by the former owners of the terminal was previously confirmed by the decision of the High Court of England and Wales.
Label of cooperation with the Russian Federation
At the same time as signing the terminal management agreement, Trans Oil faced a problem - someone stubbornly does not want this asset to be effectively managed and operate in the legal field. One of the founders of Trans Oil, a U.S. citizen of Georgian origin, Vazha Jashi, was accused of collaborating with Russia. And this is despite the fact that there is no official confirmation that he has any business, assets, real estate or taxes there, and his entire business has been repeatedly audited by international financial and audit institutions, including for cooperation with the aggressor country
In addition, Jashi's assets in Ukraine have been heavily damaged as a result of Russian strikes on Ukraine. While Trans Oil's structure in Moldova provides jobs to Ukrainian refugees.
Read more about how the label of cooperation with Russia is used in the business war in the material of UNN.