People close to Zelensky were accused of corruption: On grain, on titanium, on privatization – they rob everything

The Ukrainian media have found out that David Arakhamia, the head of the ruling Servant of the People faction and chairman of the supervisory board of the government office for attracting and supporting investments, UkraineInvest, is involved in a conflict between two private companies, one of which is involved in the grain corridor from Ukraine. Business Censor reports that Arakhamia is lobbying for the interests of the American fund Argentem Creek Partners (ACP) in a conflict with the Ukrainian holding GNT Group, which owns a grain terminal in the Odesa Commercial Sea Port.

There is also another corruption scheme: Other media outlets claim that the top of the Presidential Office was involved in schemes to embezzle public funds at the Odesa Port Plant, Censor.NET claims, citing its sources and copies of testimony by former Deputy Head of the State Property Fund Serhiy Ihnatovsky. Ukrainian security forces claim that the organizer of this scheme is presidential aide Serhiy Shefir and Timur Mindich, who is close to the head of Zelensky’s office, Andriy Yermak.

Details

In November last year, Arakhamia met with representatives of the ACP in Vienna, and then with Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash, owner of the DF Group holding, which owns the Nika-Tera port in Mykolaiv region. Arakhamia explained that he met as a representative of UkraineInvest and discussed the launch of a grain corridor from Ukraine. The corridor is meant to transport grain from Ukrainian ports blocked by the Russian navy in the Black Sea.

However, UkraineInvest said it was not aware of any contacts between Arakhamia and ACP in his capacity as chairman of the supervisory board of UkrainInvest. According to Hubs, during his trip to Vienna, the MP discussed with representatives of DF Group the possibility of Argentem transferring GNT Group’s stevedoring asset to Dmytro Firtash’s port business.

GNT Group is a Ukrainian stevedoring company operating in the Odesa Commercial Sea Port and an exporter of agricultural products. The company took out a $75 million loan from ACP in 2019 secured by corporate rights, the value of which was several times higher than the loan.

The company reported that it took out a $75 million loan from ACP in 2019 against corporate rights that were worth many times more than the loan. The war with Russia made it difficult to repay the loan, but with the launch of the grain corridor, it became possible to settle the loan. However, in late December, at the height of the grain corridor’s operation, creditors began to enforce debt collection.

Journalists noted that this happened after Arakhamia met with the creditor’s representatives in Vienna. Prior to that, the American company had been negotiating a debt restructuring, but after that it began seizing the debtor’s assets. According to media reports, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine is helping the Americans with this. On February 17, 2023, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv ruled in favor of GNT Group.

The asset that ACP wants to sue GNT Group is worth about $200 million, although the loans with interest are about $120 million. $80 million difference is a strong argument for corrupt officials in the Ukrainian government, the media reports.

David Arakhamia has been involved in corruption scandals before. RBC-Ukraine reported that the MP was involved in the creation of a fictitious company, Vector Energy Innovation, which imported electricity from Belarus to Ukraine before the war. According to media reports, the organizers of this business received a 40% margin at the expense of public funds. A few months later, columns of Russian tanks moved from Belarus to Ukraine.

As for the other scheme involving Shefir and Mindich, who are close to Zelenskyy, and related to the Odesa Port Plant, the media have published dozens of documents that are available to the security forces. According to these documents, Shefir and Mindich directly instructed the former head of the State Property Fund, Sennichenko, who is now on the run, on what, how, where, and when to launder money. The publications claim that a criminal case on this episode is a matter of time. They say that now, due to the extremely powerful political lobby from Bankova Street, it is being hushed up.

It is necessary to achieve Ukraine’s victory in this war against the Russian aggressor as soon as possible. After all, after the victory, Ukraine will have to find answers to many questions, one of which is who robbed the country at a time when millions of its citizens are so desperately defending every piece of Ukrainian land.

Back in 2019, Zelenskyy appointed Arakhamia as secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

In January 2023, Arakhamia said:

I think we will definitely be actively imprisoning thieves this spring. If it doesn’t work out humanely, it will be according to the laws of wartime. “It’s not the right time” doesn’t work anymore. Some people have lost their minds and are looting without fear or remorse.

Well, it seems that Ukrainian law enforcement officers know where to start. Perhaps then the volume of investments will increase.

The editor-in-chief worked for many years as a literary editor in Bern's leading publications. Over time, I decided to become the editor-in-chief. The main direction of materials is international relations and society.