PRESS RELEASE: New lawsuit may lead to bankruptcy of Ukraina shopping mall
Kyiv, December 16, 2011. It became known today that a foreign company filed a lawsuit against the Ukraina shopping mall, claiming the payment of tens of millions of U.S. dollars. Irish bank IBRC's representatives are convinced that this might be the first step aimed at instigating the bankruptcy procedure of the mall. "For us this lawsuit is a total surprise," said a representative of the IBRC. "We don’t understand where this debt came from, particularly in the light of the statement by the dismissed director Larysa Yanez Puga, according to which the mall is currently a profitable enterprise." The appearance of this claim is part of the general situation around the Ukraina shopping mall, which, from the point of view of the majority shareholder QHS and the Irish bank IBRC, seeks to formalize the unlawful seizure of the property rights for this asset. Commenting on the situation, Arsen Milyutin, a representative of the Magisters law firm, which, among other things, represents the interests of the IBRC, said that "currently the interests of the dismissed management of the mall and of those behind the plan to seize it are actively facilitated by lawyers who have worked together in the past on corporate insolvency cases. All of them are natives of Donetsk region, and, according to our information, have never previously worked in Kyiv. Importantly, they are also licensed insolvency administrators and have experience in bankruptcy cases. It is also known that on numerous occasions they have worked together on the same bankruptcy cases. Since in the past, for many years, the mall has worked with other lawyers, the involvement of these particular experts raises a rhetoric question – with what aim is this being done?" It is worth mentioning that the involvement of the above-mentioned lawyers in the litigations against the mall is rather considerable. On November 8, 2011 one of them filed a lawsuit against the mall on behalf of a minority shareholder, in which he requested that the court nullify the decision of a general shareholders' meeting held on November 7, 2011. The lawsuit had been filed without the consent and knowledge of the respective shareholder. As soon as the latter learned that a lawsuit had been filed on his behalf, he denounced it and cancelled the relevant power of attorney. Another of the lawyers mentioned above has on numerous occasions acted in hearings of claims filed against the mall by yet another minority shareholder. This minority shareholder demands the nullification of the decisions of the general meeting of shareholders of November 7, November 18, and November 28, 2011. The applications in these cases, as well as in the case of the shareholder lodged on November 8, are similar not only factually, but, to a large extent, textually. According to the statement by Rostislav Levinzon, the acting director of the Ukraina shopping mall, "despite the fact that contrary to the will of almost 93.3% of the owners of the mall, I am denied the possibility to manage the mall, I will try to do everything possible to ascertain the true essence of this dispute and to protect the rights of the mall." The 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 October 14, 2011, the 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. 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 Kyiv Economic Court with the purpose of removing encumbrances on assets that have been placed under lien in the bank’s favor. For additional information, contact: Oleksiy Syvak, Senior Advisor, CFC Consulting (+38044) 492-7599 or os@cfc.com.ua The press release has been issued on commercial terms. The Interfax-Ukraine news agency is not responsible for its contents.