11:09 10.12.2018

Kriuchkov's Balance Group interested in purchase of Centrenergo demands over UAH 1 bln in court from energy company

2 min read
Kriuchkov's Balance Group interested in purchase of Centrenergo demands over UAH 1 bln in court from energy company

Balance Group LLC, the ultimate beneficiary of which is ex-People's Deputy Dmytro Kriuchkov, who is suspected of embezzlement of funds in Zaporizhiaoblenergo, and which declared its plans to buy Centrenergo at a privatization tender, in November 2018 demanded in court that Centrenergo pays UAH 1.058 billion for overdue money commitment.

According to court registers, the claim was filed to Kyiv's business court on November 19. The court accepted it on November 26 scheduling the preparatory hearing for January 9, 2019 and proposing to the sides to take measures for signing a possible amicable agreement.

Subsequently, on December 5, when the deadline for submitting guarantee deposits for participation in the privatization tender for Centrenergo was expired, the Balance Group page was opened on Facebook, which posted a copy of the public report on the crime signed by Kriuchkov. According to this document, the obligations of the energy company to Balance Group, a member of the committee of creditors, amount to UAH 1.119 billion, and that officials of the energy company and the State Property Fund (SPF), under cover of more senior officials, allegedly organized a scheme for withdrawing funds from the energy company in 2016 with the purpose of its purchase during the privatization.

The State Property Fund is currently refusing to disclose information about companies that submitted documents for participation in the final stage of the tender for the sale of 78.289% in Centrenergo. According to Interfax-Ukraine, two of the six companies that announced their intention to acquire the state-owned stake submitted the required documents: Ukrdoninvest LLC (Kyiv), whose beneficiary is businessman Vitaliy Kropachev, and the largest Belarusian oil trader Interservice. At the same time, the agency has not yet been able to obtain official confirmation of this information, in particular, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers declined to comment on it. These two companies did not respond to several messages seeking comment.

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