The appointment of a new manager for IDS Ukraine’s corporate rights concerns shares only and should not affect the company’s day-to-day operations, which the company expects to continue under its current management team, group CEO Marko Tkachuk told Interfax-Ukraine.
"The rationale for a mandatory management appointment under the current circumstances remains unclear. The main purpose of asset seizure is to preserve their economic value. The appointment of a manager concerns corporate rights and shares only. It should not affect the enterprises’ day-to-day operations," the CEO said.
According to Tkachuk, the Ukrainian management team ensures the company’s stable development, preserves more than 3,000 jobs, pays taxes, and invests in production. At the same time, all shareholders have been fully excluded from management and profits since 2022, and dividend payments have been blocked.
The company’s chief expressed hope that the group would continue operating as usual under its current management, with decisions made strictly within the bounds of the law.
As previously reported, Ukrkapital Asset Management Company LLC offered the lowest price for managing IDS Ukraine’s seized assets at a Prozorro electronic auction on September 7 - 0.01% of net profit - outbidding four other participants. The National Agency of Ukraine for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA) is currently reviewing this bid before signing a contract.
IDS Ukraine had earlier opposed holding the tender, since more than 50% of the company’s shares belong to confirmed international investors, including the Patarkatsishvili family (34.83%) and the government of Georgia (7.73%). According to the Guardian, the British co-owners from the Patarkatsishvili family have said they intend to turn to international courts if the asset is handed over to a manager through ARMA or nationalized.
Meanwhile, the High Anti-Corruption Court is hearing a Justice Ministry lawsuit seeking to transfer the group’s corporate rights to state ownership, and NABU is investigating possible misconduct by ARMA officials during procedures involving IDS Ukraine, following a complaint from New World Value Fund Limited.
