Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) have sent to court an indictment against seven managers and officials of the Poltava Mining and Processing Combine (PGOC) owned by Ferrexpo, which is owned by former MP Konstantin Zhevago, who temporarily resides in France and is wanted internationally on the basis of the decision on his arrest in absentia.
According to the press release of the GBR, the management of PGOK, owned by the fugitive oligarch, will be put on trial, as the management embezzled tens of millions of hryvnias.
It is specified that the management of PGOK during 2019-2021 unlawfully disposed of minerals of national importance. Without having a special permit for the use of subsoil, it illegally sold tons of minerals for almost 80 million UAH.
“Then through the enterprises involved in the scheme resold the same raw materials, but much more expensive. In particular, the top management sold without the appropriate permits crushed stone raw material, which was produced from waste extracted in the quarry of minerals. The amount of the transaction amounted to more than 370 million UAH”, – stated in the message of the GBR.
The defendants are charged under part 3, 5 of Art. 27 part. 5 Art. 191, part 3, 5 Art. 27 part. 3 Art. 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The sanction of the articles provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 12 years with confiscation of property.
Procedural management is carried out by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
In turn, PGOK-Ferrexpo traditionally stated its disagreement with the actions of law enforcement agencies, in particular, with the statement of the Office of the Prosecutor General of September 24, 2024 on the completion of the pre-trial investigation into the case of allegedly illegal mining and sale of minerals in the amount of 380 million UAH.
“PGOK categorically disagrees with the charges outlined,” the company’s statement emphasizes, considering that the company was not engaged in the extraction or sale of crushed stone, and the plant has permits for the extraction of iron ore, which it extracts, processes and enriches.
And it is added that the investigation has no facts of personal enrichment of the suspected representatives of top management, and the enterprise paid taxes and fees from the funds received for the sale of screening.
The statement also assures that PGOK is allegedly not under the control of “fugitive sub-sanctioned billionaire”, as the company belongs to the Ferrexpo group.
Earlier it was reported that other investigative actions are being conducted against the management of PGOK. In particular, in September 2023, investigators of the National Police informed Viktor Lotus, PGOK’s pre-manager, of suspicion for illegal mining of subsoil for UAH 157 billion, which also resulted in environmental damage (part 2 of article 28, part 4 of article 240, part 2 of article 364-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Ferrrexpo AG also claimed that according to the published financial statements of Ferrexpo Plc as of April 18, 2024, Fevalotinico SaRL owns 49.3% of PGOK. However, the court pointed out in one of its decisions that the 50.3% stake in PGOC had previously been seized, and subsequently there was a dilution (reduction) of the shares of Ferrexpo owned by Fevamotinico SaRL, which in turn is wholly owned by Minco Trust, whose ultimate beneficial owner is the defendant (Zhevago, the defendant in one of the cases – IF-U).
At the same time, the court noted that “the actions to reduce the defendant’s controlled share in the authorized capital of third parties during the validity of the court’s ruling on such an injunction directly contradicts the requirements of the current legislation and indicates bad faith behavior of the participants in the litigation”.
Ferrexpo is an iron ore company with assets in Ukraine. Ferrexpo owns 100% of Poltava GOK PJSC, 100% of Yeristovskiy GOK LLC and 99.9% of Belanovskiy GOK LLC.
In the period from September 25 to September 27, at the checkpoint “Mohyliv-Podilskyi – Otacs”, there may be traffic restrictions due to the installation of weighing complexes, namely
– 25.09 – in the direction of “entry to Ukraine”;
– 26-27.09 – in the direction of “exit from Ukraine”.
During the repair works, the traffic of commercial vehicles may be limited to one lane.
According to Worldsteel, August saw an increase in steel production compared to August 2023 in most of the top ten countries, except for China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.
The top ten steel producing countries in August are as follows: China (77.920 million tons, down 10.4% by August 2023), India (12.285 million tons, up 2.6%), the United States (7.048 million tons, up 0.7%), Japan (6.870 million tons, down 3.9%), and the Russian Federation (5.8 million tons, down 11.5%), South Korea (5.465 million tons, down 2.2%), Turkey (3.146 million tons, up 13.8%), Brazil (2.963 million tons, up 7.3%), Germany (2.874 million tons, up 0.5%) and Vietnam (1.793 million tons, up 1.5%).
In August, Ukraine increased steel production by 15% compared to August 2023, retaining its 20th place in the Worldsteel ranking.
In total, in August 2024, steel production decreased by 6.5% compared to the same period in 2023 to 144.834 million tons.
In January-August 2014, the top ten steel-producing countries were as follows: China (691.410 million tons, down 3.3% compared to January-August 2023), India (98.522 million tons, up 6.5%), Japan (56.665 million tons, down 2.9%), the United States (53.785 million tons, down 1.7%), the Russian Federation (48.469 million tons, minus 4.9%), South Korea (42.509 million tons, down 5.5%), Germany (25.378 million tons, up 4%). million tons, up 4%), Turkey (24.816 million tons, up 14.8%), Brazil (22.363 million tons, up 3.8%) and Iran (19.784 million tons, up 1.9%).
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Yevhen Perebyinis received copies of credentials from the newly appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to Ukraine Inga Stanitė-Tolocienė.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the deputy minister positively noted the level of bilateral political dialogue between the two countries, particularly in the context of recent visits by the President and First Lady of Lithuania, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Perebyinis expressed his sincere gratitude for Lithuania’s firm support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as military, humanitarian and financial assistance.
“The interlocutors separately discussed further practical steps to implement the Peace Formula of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and support for Ukraine on its path to full membership in the EU and NATO,” the statement said.
In turn, Ambassador Stanitė-Tolokienė assured of Lithuania’s continued support for Ukraine and emphasized the Lithuanian government’s readiness to further strengthen military, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
https://interfax.com.ua/news/diplomats.html
On September 19, Fenix restaurant celebrated its 4th anniversary. It’s not just a place for meetings and gastronomic delights – Fenix has become a symbol of the intertwining of cultures, art and traditions, which unites exquisite Pan-Asian and Mediterranean cuisine under one roof. In four years, the restaurant has gained recognition both in Ukraine and internationally. But our greatest pride is the trust and love of our guests.
The concept is based on a deep immersion in the culinary traditions of Asia and Europe. The interior of the restaurant is decorated with unique art objects brought back from travels: paintings with geishas, Murano glass elements, Chinese craftsmen’s products – all this gives the space a unique character, in which the past and the present are intertwined.
The gala evening took place in Fenix Mediterranean and Fenix Asia: each part of the restaurant gave guests a unique experience.
In the Mediterranean part, guests enjoyed a real royal evening: an enchanting program with a costume show “God Save the Queen”, a performance by the Black Tie string quartet, charismatic host Roman Dribnyi, and DJ Vitalitis.
In the Asian part, guests enjoyed festive sets from NASTY SV and NATURA with bandura, and the real sensation was the exciting Python Show.
This evening was the perfect combination of gourmet cuisine, art performances and warm meetings.
Guests received gifts from COCO and Diesel partners, as well as pleasant surprises from Fenix.
The Fenix team would like to thank everyone who shared this special evening with us! We are proud of how our restaurant has transformed over the past 4 years and strive to continue to inspire you to new achievements and be a place of your mental recovery and a source of new ideas. Fenix is a restaurant with a unique concept that creates a new restaurant history in Ukraine.
Chairman of the Customs Committee of Uzbekistan Akmalhuzha Mavlonov met with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Troy Miller in Washington, DC.
This is the first time in 32 years that Uzbekistan and the United States have held an official face-to-face meeting of this format between the heads of the two countries’ customs services.
Important agreements reached during the Uzbek-American summits in 2018 and 2023 paved the way for expanding mutual cooperation in all areas.
According to the agency, Uzbekistan’s foreign trade in US goods has increased by 48% over the past 6 years. For 8 months of this year, this figure increased by 64% compared to the same period last year.
It is emphasized that in order to increase these indicators, it is necessary to stimulate the expansion of foreign trade by establishing mutual cooperation and information exchange between the customs services of both countries.
That is why the negotiations focused on such pressing issues as monitoring risks at customs, digitalization of customs procedures and efficient use of human resources.
The heads of the customs services of the two countries signed an agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance, which is an important legal basis for cooperation in the field of customs. This document, which opens a new page in the relationship, provides for the exchange of information between Uzbekistan and the United States in the field of customs and serves to further strengthen cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking, human trafficking, transnational criminal groups, money laundering and customs evasion.
It is noteworthy that the United States has signed similar bilateral customs cooperation agreements with only 17 countries out of 200, and Uzbekistan is the 18th country on this list.
During the talks, the parties discussed in detail the possibilities of attracting specialists from the U.S. border and customs services to Uzbekistan, as well as the possibility of training Uzbek specialists in the United States.
During the visit, the Uzbek delegation is scheduled to familiarize itself with the activities of the U.S. National Targeting Center, the Academy of Cynology, San Antonio International Airport in Texas, the auto-border customs post in Laredo on the border with Mexico, and the Texas-Mexico international railroad crossing.
https://president.uz/ru/lists/view/7559
