PRESS RELEASE: Ruling of northern Irish court should halt the rading seizure of shopping mall ʺUkrainaʺ – Lawyers
Kyiv, 4 May 2012. The lawyers from the Magisters attorneys’ bureau shared information about the ruling of the High Court of the Northern Ireland, which declared unlawful all agreements of cession of loan contracts referred to by Lyndhurst Development Tradin S.A. in their claim against Univermag “Ukraina” for USD45.2 million. In their opinion this judgment should halt the raiding seizure of the company, which is currently being formalized in the Ukrainian courts. The text of the abovementioned ruling also contains an unambiguous evaluation of the actions of the dismissed management of the mall and the raiding group with respect to the cession of loan, defining them as transactions ʺthe parties to which, without a doubt, played an orchestrated, elaborate, illicit charadeʺ. The ruling, in particular, evaluates the conspiracy between the former director of the mall Larysa Yanez Puga, who continues to control the company through the misuse of the Ukrainian courts, and Dmytro Zaytsev, who acted as a representative of Lyndhurst Development Trading S.A. Specifically, the ruling states that ʺ…after the dismissal of Yanez Puga from the post of the director by the decision of shareholders, Mr Zaytsev, using a bogus lawsuit, instigated proceedings in the court on behalf of a minority shareholder, while not duly authorized, with the view to obstruct the registration of the newly appointed director in place of the dismissed Ms Yanez Puga. Mr Zaytsev also had a power of attorney to represent Univermag which was signed by the dismissed Ms Yanez Pugaʺ. Having considered the presented facts, the judge of the High Court of the Northern Ireland MacClossky declared all agreements of cession of debt commitments for the amount of USD 45,2 million null and void. Judge MacClossky, acting within the framework of the claim for the nullification of the cession of debt, will continue to deliberate the case of the contempt of court by Lyndhurst Development Trading S.A., as well as by the representatives of the company, the citizens of Ukraine Mr Oleksandr Serpokrylov and Mr Dmytro Zaytsev., who, it is alleged, have played a direct part in the non-fulfillment by the above-mentioned persons of the injunction of the High Court of the Northern Ireland of 23 December 2012, which prohibited Lyndhurst Development Trading S.A. from claiming the mentioned amount in the Ukrainian courts. It will be remembered, that the debt claim of Lyndhurst Development Trading S.A. against the shopping mall Ukraina was considered by the Kyiv City Commercial Court and Kyiv City Commercial Appeals Court within the framework of the case 35/465. The evidence presented to the court in this case consisted of a series of agreements of cession of debt commitments, the last of which was allegedly signed in favor of Lyndhurst development Trading S.A. The latest agreements have been signed by the forged signature of Peter Derrah Quinn, the fact he confirmed under oath. This circumstance was ignored by the Kyiv City Commercial Appeals Court, which re-endorsed the decision of the Kyiv City Commercial Court for the payment of USD 45,2 million to the offshore company Lyndhurst Development Trading S.A. Importantly, this decision was taken even after the Ukrainian court was informed about the ruling of the High Court of Northern Ireland of 23 December 2011, which prohibited Lyndhurst Development Trading S.A. from claiming the payment, noting that the violation of this prohibition will result in criminal liability for the company. A similar ruling was issued by the court of the British Virginia Islands, where the offshore company Lyndhurst Development Trading S.A. is registered. ʺBy its latest ruling the High Court of Northern Island has dotted all the ʺiʺ in the case concerning the unlawful recovery of debt from the shopping mall Ukraina. The actions of the former management of the company and of the so called ʺcreditorʺ were in effect declared by the court a conspiracy ʺwith the aim to put the assets out of reach for the lawful creditors and jeopardize their interestsʺ, stated the representative of the Magisters attorney’s bureau Arsen Milyutin. IBRC (Irish Bank Resolution Corporation) is a financial institution that is fully owned by the Republic of Ireland and thus, indirectly, by all Irish taxpayers. Prior to a name change on Oct. 14, 2011, IBRC was known as the Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Limited. Founded in 1964 in Dublin, the company continues to have its headquarters there today, with offices in other cities in Ireland and Great Britain. At the moment, the Bank is being forced to actively assert its rights and lawful interests in the suits that have been initiated very recently in the Commercial Court of the City of Kyiv with the purpose of removing encumbrances on assets that have been placed under lien in the Bank’s favor. Quinn Holdings Sweden AB was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Stockholm. Quinn Holdings Sweden AB (QHS) is the majority shareholder of PAT Univermag Ukraine, a publicly held company in Kyiv, Ukraine. Currently QHS holds nearly 93% of the company’s stock. For additional information, contact: Oleksiy Syvak, Senior Advisor, CFC Consulting Tel: +380 44 492 7599 or e-mail: os@cfc.com.ua The press release has been issued on commercial terms. The Interfax-Ukraine News Agency is not responsible for its contents.