PRESS RELEASE: 'Ukraine' on fire: majority shareholder of Ukraina department store acknowledges raider threat to his assets

Kyiv, November 17, 2011. The situation at the Univermah Ukraina (the "Ukraina" Department Store) has all the characteristics of a raider attack, according to the majority shareholder - the Swedish company Quinn Holdings Sweden AB and the newly appointed Acting Director of "Ukraine" Department Store, who took part a press conference on November 17.

According to Yaroslav Oliynyk, who represents the majority shareholder, Quinn Holdings Sweden AB (QHS), which owns a controlling stake (about 93%), for several months now they have been encountering various barriers preventing them from exercising their legal rights as a shareholder of the company.

On November 7, 2011 Larissa Yanez Puha was stripped of her duties at a general meeting of the department store shareholders. Rostislav Levinzon was appointed acting director in her place.

"Unauthorized persons have been blocking access to my office for more than a week now and do not allow me to fully perform my duties," said Mr. Levinzon.

As of today, there are three lawsuits pending rulings at the Kyiv City Commercial Court with regards to the "Ukraine" Department Store. Judge Sergiy Stanik was appointed to rule on these cases, as a result of the random case distribution procedure. Due to the injunctions that the judge applied during the review of the cases, all shares in the "Ukraina" Department Store owned by QHS are now under arrest. Their current market value is estimated at $50 million. Moreover, the main lender of QHS, the Irish state-owned bank IBRC, was prohibited from foreclosing on the building of the "Ukraina" Department Store.

There are several lawsuits filed at Kyiv City Commercial Court regarding the "Ukraina" Department Store. These lawsuits may significantly restrict the majority shareholder in performing his legal rights.

On top of that, according to the representatives of the Magisters law firm, last week they established the fact of the issuance of a Power of Attorney, which took place on November 3, 2011 and was certified by a notary. The POA was issued in the name of an unidentified person. According to the lawyers, the issuing of notary-certified POAs is usually done to perform actions that require notary certification, including transactions with real estate.

Rostislav Levinzon was able to take the necessary measures to cancel the above-mentioned Power of Attorney.

"Had we failed to annul that POA, the building of the "Ukraina" Department Store could have been illegally sold, leased or transferred to a third party without the main shareholder's consent!" said Dmytro Marchukov from Magisters.

Quinn Holdings Sweden AB is a Swedish company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Stockholm. Quinn Holdings Sweden AB (QHS) is the majority shareholder of JSC Univermah "Ukraina," a publicly held company in Kyiv, Ukraine. Currently, holding nearly 93% of the company's stock, QHS is acting to exercise its lawful right to participate in managing the company. As of today, QHS is undergoing bankruptcy procedures. Management is being carried out by an arbitration official protecting the interests of QHS creditors, including the State Irish Bank IBRC.

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 Britain, and representative offices in Boston and New York. Originally, the bank financed the acquisition of major commercial property in Kyiv worth a total of nearly $150 million. At the moment, the bank is forced to rigorously defend its rights and legitimate interests in court cases initiated in the Commercial Court of Kyiv within a very short period of time in order to return the assets that have been held as collateral.

For further information please refer to:

Oleksiy Syvak, Senior Advisor CFC Consulting

Tel.: +38 (044) 492-75-99, e-mail: [email protected]

The press release has been issued on commercial terms. The Interfax-Ukraine News Agency is not responsible for its contents.