Public joint-stock company Ukrnafta has asked head of Odesa Regional Administration Mikheil Saakashvili to refute information on the alleged UAH 80 billion of loss in 2014.

"Information spread by Saakashvili is not only untrue, but it is irreconcilable with the realistic results of the company’s operation which were officially published under a procedure stipulated in Ukrainian law," the company said in a statement on Monday, which was signed by the company's board.

Ukrnafta said that in 2014 the company saw net profit of UAH 4.495 billion. The distribution of profit will be discussed at a meeting of the company's shareholders scheduled for July 22.

The company believes that these statements damage the business reputation of the company which is why it is justified in filing a claim.

"We had to ask Saakashvili to refute the untrue information spread by him within one week or presented the source of information," the company said.

Naftogaz Ukrainy owns a 50% plus one share stake in Ukrnafta, and the group of companies related to the shareholders of PrivatBank (Dnipropetrovsk) owns about 42% of shares.