To the site’s email SKELET-info I received a message from the service Lumen, which reported that a link to the article had been removed from Google search results. The Justice Ministry’s “Overseer”: Unscrupulous Raider Andrei Dovbenko, due to a complaint of alleged copyright infringement.
According to Lumen, the “copyright” belongs to the website http://ustav.press/, which no one has ever heard of.
To the team SKELET-info It is known that some “smart” (in quotes) PR agencies offer their clients this method of removing inconvenient information: they post inconvenient information on a “garbage” site, close it from indexing, and then complain on behalf of that site.
SKELET-info, together with colleagues, decided to counter such methods of conducting Information Policy and will henceforth repost materials removed in this way, as well as distribute them on new platforms as much as possible.
Join now!
Several new terms have entered the modern business lexicon in the last decade, including seemingly harmless “merger” or “acquisition,” which for some actually mean the collapse of a business and the complete loss of assets.
New terms have replaced the old phrase “corporate raiding.” Over the years, not only the specific terminology but also the methods of confiscating property from owners have evolved. Specialized organizations have emerged and operate completely legally, providing services to anyone seeking to quickly get rich at the expense of other people’s assets. Most often, they hide behind the guise of investment funds, law firms, or other legal firms.
His universities
Legal “raiders” avoid excessive publicity and notoriety, although their names are well known to both their clients and potential victims. Lawyer Andriy Dovbenko is one of those who has earned a reputation in Ukraine as a highly skilled “raider.” Of course, the Faculty of Law at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, from which Dovbenko graduated, doesn’t teach such things. Skill and experience came with time. The aspiring lawyer was extremely fortunate. While still a student, he had the opportunity to intern at the Kontrakt law firm and the law firm of Gennadiy Kopiyka. His professional career subsequently brought him into contact with structures with foreign capital. At PwC, Dovbenko had to thoroughly understand the nuances of taxation of business entities in Ukraine and support the activities of foreign firms in the Ukrainian economic space. Four years after receiving his law degree, Dovbenko was hired as an advisor by the Cypriot law firm Andreas Neokleous & Co., which specializes in the post-Soviet space, particularly Ukraine and Russia. Cypriots have long been known as “sharks” of corporate raiding. From an employee, Dovbenko soon became a partner with the firm’s owners. This happened in 2015, and a year later, his name was immortalized in the name of the joint venture. The rebranding resulted in the birth of “Neocleous & Dovbenko.” In short, N&D.
What merits or talents led the Cypriots to accept this formerly ordinary guy from Ivano-Frankivsk into their commercial pool? It’s worth recalling the times when Dovbenko began working at Andreas Neokleous & Co. Yanukovych reigned supreme in Ukraine with his support team of “Donetsk” supporters. At that time, Andriy Dovbenko served the interests of Serhiy Kurchenko, a “young oligarch” close to the family, helping him acquire gas station chains, resolving issues with his gas and media assets, and also handling various personal gains for one of Ukraine’s richest businessmen. The owners of the law firm saw the potential hidden in Dovbenko’s close ties to Kurchenko. His stakes in their eyes skyrocketed. The young employee could easily have earned millions of dollars for Andreas Neokleous & Co. by participating in asset acquisition schemes using money stolen from taxpayers. The Cypriots were completely unconcerned about their integrity.
Change of signage as needed
In 2015, financial mismanagement led a law firm into a major scandal. Not in Ukraine, however, but in Cyprus. Greedy lawyers bribed the deputy prosecutor general of the Mediterranean state, Rikkos Eritokritou. In exchange for a large profit, he became involved in an attempted corporate raid on the Providencia trust fund, which had close ties to Russian business. The fund owned assets of the Rosinka company, whose beneficiaries were Russian citizens. The deputy prosecutor general was caught red-handed after accidentally overlooking a €500,000 transfer through the soon-to-fail Cyprus Popular Bank, which also served Russian oligarchs. As a result, Rikkos Eritokritou was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, Panagiotis Neocleous, the son of the law firm’s founder, received a year less, and Andreas Kypriozlou, another managing partner of Andreas Neokleous & Co, lost his freedom for one and a half years. Andreas Neokleous & Co. was fined €70,000. Authorities are considering revoking its license.
It was this major scandal that prompted the rebranding of its Ukrainian branch, which changed its name but did not abandon its “dirty” business activities. Improving its image did not change the principles of its business operations. After Serhiy Kurchenko fled to Russia, N&D, headed by Andriy Dovbenko, began serving the interests of Petro Poroshenko himself, or rather, his offshore companies. Andriy Dovbenko represented the interests of Petro Poroshenko’s automotive holding company, Bogdan Holding GmbH, which is owned by Hesutu Limited, whose sole shareholder is the British Virgin Islands offshore company Financial Corporation. Panagiotis Neocleous, son of Andreas Neokleous & Co.’s founder, was constantly entangled in this complex chain of operations; he was soon sent to a Cypriot prison for re-education. The presence of this seasoned swindler clearly indicates a well-hidden underhanded plot within the financial activities of the Ukrainian president’s business enterprise. For some reason, N&D itself received Russian registration, registering not in the capital, but in the outback of the Tver region.
Reloading
Over the past year and a half, Andriy Dovbenko has emerged from the shadows and noticeably revived. He has now abandoned his long-standing partnership with Cypriots who had tarnished his business reputation and joined the managing partners of the Evris law firm and the founders of the Investments of Ukraine fund. Dovbenko has quickly become a media personality. Moreover, he has become preoccupied with creating an impeccable business image. Today, Dovbenko positions himself as a champion of European values and the rapid eradication of corruption in Ukraine. The lawyer has become so enthusiastic that he hasn’t spared the current president’s wife, Maryna Poroshenko, accusing her of allowing financial irregularities to flourish under the auspices of the charitable foundations she patronizes.
A trail of shady dealings from the past continues to follow Dovbenko. He has already been detained by the SBU for necessary explanations. Rumors circulate about his divorce from his wife, Daria Zarivna, editor of L’Officiel-online magazine. However, no one has yet devised a better way to protect property from possible seizure than divorce. All of Andriy Dovbenko’s current, hectic activity, including the operation to cover up past sins, is connected with the appointment of his longtime comrade, Pavlo Moroz, as Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine. Moroz has his own experience in corporate raiding. He once participated in the ownership changes at the Zhytomyr confectionery company and the Odessa Society of Waiters fish restaurant, located in a cult location near the Potemkin Stairs. Now, as Deputy Minister, he has been given responsibility for matters of state registration of property rights. The new method for conducting acquisitions and mergers involves interfering with the register of owners. Everything has been simplified to the extreme. The need for shareholder meetings, bankruptcy resolutions, and lengthy court proceedings has been eliminated. The new method has proven quick and effective. A single document needs to be amended, and property can change hands against the owner’s will. The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice, represented by Pavlo Moroz, has arrogated to itself the right to conduct corporate raiding operations. Assistance is essential. A liaison is needed. Andriy Dovbenko and his law firm have assumed this role. Clients approach him, he negotiates the terms of the deal, accepts the payment, and forwards the order to ministry officials. Fees range from $10 to several million dollars. The properties can be anything from a simple apartment to a factory. Thanks to the Dovbenko-Moroz partnership, corporate raiding is flourishing in Ukraine.
Author: Maxim Prokhorenko