Pivdennyi Bank explained why half of the grain terminal Olympex was levied
Kyiv • UNN
In the bank "Pivdennyi" explained why half of the grain terminal "Olympex" was levied.
Odessa businessmen Sergei Groza and Vladimir Naumenko without the permission of the Bank "Pivdenniy" changed the management bodies of the fund "Olympex Coupe", which led to a default under the loan agreement secured by the property of the grain terminal "Olympex". About it UNN reported in the press service of the Bank.
In November 2019, Groza and Naumenko's agroholding GNT Group received a $75 million loan from an American investment fund for the development of the Olympex terminal. As collateral, the businessmen transferred half of the grain terminal to the fund. The businessmen had to repay the loan by December 5, 2021.
However, the Ukrainian businessmen did not fulfill their obligations. While Groza and Naumenko were feeding the Americans with promises, they probably came up with a scheme that would allow them to avoid paying their bills. In particular, a couple of months after receiving an investment loan from the fund, Groza and Naumenko decided to take a loan from a Ukrainian bank as well and thus secure their assets from the claims of the American creditor. In 2020, with the help of LLC "Ferko" and LLC "Vtormeteksport", which are part of GNT Group, they received a 17.5 million dollar loan in the bank "Pivdenniy". And the loan was again secured by the same half-terminal, the rights to which were already held by the Americans.
Before making a loan, the bank was required to inspect the propertybeing pledged as collateral to see if it was encumbered by other loans.
In response to the request UNN in the bank "Pivdennyi" said: "When the bank provides loans, all documents are checked, and if there are restrictions in the registers, the notary will not formalize the collateral. Bank "Pivdennyi" always acts in accordance with the terms of the contracts and within the norms of the law".
Does this mean that Groza and Naumenko deliberately hid details of a $75 million loan in order to get a new one? Or was the bank not as thorough in its due diligence?
After extending a loan against an already pledged property, Pivdenny Bank in early 2023 began urgently demanding repayment of the money under the agreement, which was due to expire on July 31, 2024.
Groza and Naumenko's companies received the Ukrainian bank's demand to repay the debt in January 2023, and they had 30 days to fulfill it. But Pivdenniy started the foreclosure procedure without waiting for the expiration of this period, which is a violation of the law "On Mortgage".
It should be noted that the bankruptcy court prohibited the alienation of the terminal's property even before the foreclosure process started. In addition, all of the terminal's property was under arrest as part of the criminal case against Groza and Naumenko. However, this did not prevent private notary T. Dmitrova from re-registering the title to the property.
Thus, Pivdenniy sold half of the Olympex grain terminal for only 4.3 million dollars to Sanolta Feed (Sunolta Group). In 2020, the terminal's value was estimated at a minimum of 300 million dollars.
After that, Sunolta Feed resold the property once again to Attollo Granum LLC, which is also part of the Sunolta group. This company was specially created for the purchase a few weeks before the transaction.
The last step of the convoluted scheme was the transfer by Attollo Granum of the received property as a pledge against 130.8 thousand dollars of mortgage to Ozirki LLC, which, according to the media, is controlled by Groza and Naumenko.
In "Pivdenny" ignored questions UNN about whether the property on the loan was checked for encumbrances under other contracts, whether the first creditor was notified, etc., referring to bank secrecy.
The financial institution merely noted that if the debtor defaults, the bank is legally obliged to foreclose in the manner prescribed by law. The foreclosure procedure started in the manner clearly stipulated by law and contractual terms after the event of default.
"July 31, 2024 is the deadline for the Master Agreement, under which the parties have certain obligations, the failure to fulfill which within a specified time frame results in events of default. Such was the case in this case. The first events of default occurred in March 2022, with subsequent events of default occurring in January 2023. This triggered the commencement of foreclosure proceedings - as provided by law and the terms of the contracts. One of the events of default was the change of the management bodies fund without the bank's authorization, which is a gross violation of the loan agreement. All norms of the law were fulfilled, the foreclosure was made after the 30-day term", - emphasized the bank.
It is highly likely that Groza and Naumenko knowingly went into default, knowing that the bank would foreclose on their property. It is also possible that they conspired with the bank representatives and coordinated their actions on foreclosure and the reasons that led to it. But this is for law enforcers to study, because the Criminal Code has an article on fraud and embezzlement of pledged property.
More details about the conflict around the grain terminal "Olympex" can be read in the material: "Groza and Naumenko's company GNT Group blocked the work of the grain terminal in Odessa. Detailed chronology of the conflict".
