"Galanternik refutes myths: He had nothing to do with "ROST" or the collapse of the Black Sea Shipping Company"

In recent years, the name of Volodymyr Galanternik has regularly appeared in various publications about Odesa's business world and high-profile political disputes. Particularly active attempts were made to link him to the Rost company and his alleged key role in the destruction of the Black Sea Shipping Company. In this interview, Galanternik personally refutes widespread myths and calls things by their proper names, UNN reports.

- Mr. Galanternik, some documents speak of your alleged involvement in the management of the large Odesa company "ROST". Can you comment on this?

That's absurd. I never had any connection to this company. "ROST" is a large structure, and its beneficiaries were completely open in various years, information about them is accessible and verifiable. Not only was I not a co-owner of this company, but I was also never involved in its management. This can be easily verified – you just have to open the registers, where everything is transparently displayed.

-        Then let's clarify another point. You are referred to as a person involved in the collapse of the Black Sea Shipping Company. Is that really true?

No, and again – this is manipulation. I worked as an arbitrator for six months. But that was in 2001, about ten years after the main assets of the Black Sea Shipping Company had already been sold. At the time of my short-term activity, as far as I remember, only one training ship remained, which was used to train cadets. All residents of Odesa know exactly that the destruction of the Black Sea Shipping Company took place in the 1990s, especially in the first half. More precisely, in 1991 I had just finished my military service. What kind of involvement in the privatization or liquidation of the fleet can there be? It is even physically impossible.

- Nevertheless, your name appears in numerous publications, especially in connection with the much-discussed "Odesa case". Why do you think this is?

Quite simply. The flood of fakes and blatant lies about me began when the Odesa Regional Administration, during the tenure of Governor Mikheil Saakashvili, launched attacks on Odesa businesses. It was an organized PR campaign to put pressure on me. The "Odesa case" is a political tool of repression that his team used against the city administration. These are not just my words – the materials of the criminal case contain statements, including from anti-corruption officials, confirming that the case was fabricated. During this time, all the false publications inspired by the authors of the commissioned campaign were created.

– Why do you think you became one of the main targets of this information attack?

– Because I was connected with Odesa businesses that they could not control. The goal was to discredit, slander, and conceal. But the truth will come out – sooner or later. And sooner or later there will be a legal and public assessment of how cases were fabricated in the country and how the media was used as a weapon in the political struggle. Do not be negligent in checking the facts. Public registers, archival materials, data – all of this is available. And then it will become very clear very quickly where the facts end and political fiction begins.