Agroton agrarian group (Luhansk region), in an address to the Ukrainian president which has been posted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), has claimed that it is being subjected to an illegal seizure with the involvement of the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry of Ukraine.

"In line with your strong focus on improving the investment climate in Ukraine, we hereby draw your attention to a blatant raider attack arising in Agroton’s assets, an attack that appears directly related to the leadership of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine. If allowed to continue, the potential direct losses for Agroton and its international investors shall amount to $6.5 million. The cost for the Ukrainian economy, on top of this $6.5 million cost to Agroton, shall approach an additional $6.2 million," the company said in its address.

Agroton said that the attack involves the unlawful disposal of Novoaydarsky Elevator, a subsidiary of State Company Khlib Ukrainy and which has been lawfully rented by Agroton since 2000 until 2021. Under the laws of Ukraine, Novoaydarsky Elevator cannot be privatized or disposed of in any way.

The new owner is Civic Alliance Group LLC, a company registered to straw owners, Agroton said.

As of 5 October 2015, Agroton has been prevented from entering the Novoaydarsky Elevator by armed guards.

The armed guards have placed secure seals on silo bins, closed the elevator and blocked access to employees. At present, there is more than 91,000 tonnes of grain belonging to Agroton as well as the Agrarian Fund of Ukraine in these silo bins.

Agroton learnt this week that Novoaydarsky Elevator was transferred by a court decision to Limited Liability Company Azovska Prodovolcha Compania. The decision was rendered on 20 June 2014 by Judge S. P. Shlykova of the Kyiv District Court located in Donetsk, Ukraine – in the area under the control of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.

Agroton said that the court’s decision was based on a false contract number 12/08/2010-14, dated August 12, 2010, fabricated and signed between Azovska Prodovolcha Compania and State Enterprise Khlib Ukrainy in 2014. This fake contract was written to make it appear that Khlib Ukrainy agreed in 2010 to supply 10,000 tons of sunflower seeds to Azovska Prodovolcha Compania for UAH 3,300 per tonne.

"It is important to note that the payment terms of this fake contract were impossible at their face [value]. The fake contract states, and the Donetsk court upheld [this statement], that Azovska Prodovolcha Compania made a cash prepayment of UAH 33 million to Khlib Ukrainy – for the full value of the grain under the contract – through five cash installments of UAH 6.6 million over five days. This sort of cash transaction has been both impossible and illegal since February 9, 2005, in accordance with National Bank of Ukraine’s Decree No. 32 which sets the maximum amount of daily cash settlements companies at UAH 10,000 (all payments exceeding this amount must be conduct via wire transfer)," the company said.

"In actual fact, the purpose of creating the fabricated 2010 contract was for Azovska Prodovolcha Compania to be able to lay the groundwork for a 2014 court claim against the Novoaydarsky Elevator public asset, and to raid it into private hands. This occurred with the complicity, knowledge and full support of senior officials of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine that oversees Khlib Ukrainy and Novoaydarsky Elevator, as well as Chairman of Khlib Ukrainy Ihor Kobelia and the Head of Novoaydarsky Elevator Volodymyr Kravtsov," Agroton said.

The group has denied that Oleksandr Yefremov is one of the owners of the group, referring to the publicly available data on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The company said that to cover up its raider attack, on October 13, 2015 and November 3, 2015 the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine posted false "black PR" information on its official website about an alleged "raider attack" on Novoaydarsky Elevator by Agroton Group.

Agroton has been working in Ukraine since 1992. It specializes in the production of grains and oilseeds, and the production and sale of livestock products. The land bank of Agroton is about 150,000 ha - located in Luhansk and Kharkiv regions. The group owns two poultry farms in Luhansk region.