Prosecutors of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau have informed eight persons of suspicion involved in the embezzlement of property and funds of Ukrnafta in the amount of over UAH 13 billion, the SAP press service reports.
“In the course of the pre-trial investigation, it was established that the officials of five commercial enterprises, by prior collusion with the officials of PJSC Ukrnafta, in particular the acting chairman of the board and the heads of two structural units of the enterprise (positions indicated at the time of the crime), which in Violation of the requirements of the current legislation, which provides for advance payment for the supply of oil without its implementation during March-August 2015, placed in favor of commercial enterprises oil with a total value of more than 10 billion hryvnias, which the officials of these enterprises took possession of, causing losses to PJSC “Ukrnafta” for the specified amount,” the Telegram channel said.
It was also established that in July 2015, Ukrnafta officials concluded 52 contracts with a commercial enterprise for the supply of oil products in the amount of over UAH 2.5 billion for the benefit of Ukrnafta, which, in turn, made advance payments in full. However, in the future, “Ukrnafta” entered into additional agreements to postpone the delivery of oil products until the end of 2018, which as a result, the commercial enterprise never delivered, and the officials of the commercial enterprise took possession of the money paid in advance and transferred it to the accounts of non-resident enterprises.
The actions of the suspects are classified under Part 5 of Art. 191 (seizing someone else’s property by abusing an official’s official position, by prior collusion by a group of persons, in particularly large amounts) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The specified actions are punishable by deprivation of liberty for a term of seven to 12 years, with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years, and with confiscation of property.
Yesterday a new academic year began in Ukrainian schools. At the same time, due to the realities of martial law, the organization of the educational process in different regions differs significantly. Territorial became the determining criterion for choosing the form of education this year. According to Minister of Education Sergei Shkarlet, students are divided into categories depending on their place of residence at the start of the school year. Depending on this, the forms of education can be selected: full-time, distance, mixed, family, or external studies.
In Kyiv, most schools will continue to use the traditional full-time form of education. According to the KMDA, about 68% of schools in the capital are equipped with shelters, the capacity of which will directly affect the number of students in the classes. This should be determined by a special commission. At the same time, according to the survey, about 70% of parents of Kyiv students choose the full-time form of education for their children.
Oksana Poenko, the founder and director of the Mainstream school in the capital, believes that the choice of the form of education in the current conditions should be individual.
“Now the safety of the child is of decisive importance, depending on this, the format of education can be different. If the school is equipped with a reliable shelter, then it can be even a safer place than a residential building where such shelter may not be,” she said.
According to Oksana Poenko, one should not forget about the traditional advantages and disadvantages of distance or face-to-face education.
“The best option for learning, in my opinion, is now a mixed form, when individual subjects can be taught remotely. The specifics of the course itself are of great importance. Some disciplines are much better perceived by students through the full-time form. We have implemented several concepts at our school as full-time, For example, there are specialized classes for older students, as well as an online school for distance education,” Poenko stressed.
In her opinion, the initiative of the Ministry of Education to reduce the number of students in classes and introduce two-shift education is correct not only for security reasons but also from a purely pedagogical point of view.
“Since 2016, the Mainstream School has been using a methodology to create a special social environment for students, when their individuality is maximally supported. It is optimal for a teacher to maintain communication with no more than 10 students during a lesson. Yes, there are state standards that say about 25-30 students, but, in my opinion, this is an outdated practice that should be abandoned long ago. In such a class, the teacher simply does not have time to pay enough attention to everyone, and this is very important for the development of the child’s individuality,” Poenko said.
The Mainstream School was founded in October 2016. The purpose of creating an educational institution was the need for quality education for children. The school appeared as an alternative to the state one, and over the years of working with children, it can be said with confidence that studying in a private school of a new format has its advantages. And the increase in the number of students by 10 times suggests that the positive aspects of such education are obvious!
Education in the school is focused primarily on the quality of education and the preparation of the student. The educational process at the school is focused primarily on the quality of education and the preparation of the student. The level of education of the child meets not only the requirements of state standards but also the obligatory needs of a modern person – the ability for independent and harmonious development, self-learning, and self-organization.
DISTANCE_EDUCATION, EDUCATION, MAINSTREAM_SCHOOL, OKSANA_PAENKO, SCHOOL
The State Agency for Highways of Ukraine (Ukravtodor) is considering the possibility of attracting additional funding for road repairs this year.
“We are considering all possible options, in particular, both credit and grant funds. We are negotiating with our European partners and not only with them about raising funds from various sources. It is too early to talk about any specific decisions and projects, but I think that in a month we will be able to substantively announce the final stage of negotiations and the amounts that we can raise before the end of this year,” Andriy Ivko, first deputy head of Ukravtodor, said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
He noted that even after the agreed deferment of payments on Eurobonds, international partners are ready to meet halfway in matters of attracting additional financing by Ukravtodor.
“Even in civilian life, these are common practices in both the public and private sectors. We have force majeure, the biggest war on the European continent continues, so they meet us halfway. And restructuring will make it easier for us to endure what is happening today. I have from a financial point of view,” he said.
As reported, since August 11, 2022, Ukravtodor, which placed debut Eurobonds worth $700 million maturing in 2028 at a rate of 6.25% in June last year under state guarantees, received the consent of the holders of these securities to defer interest payments on them and transfer their maturity for two years.
The composite index of the largest companies in the Stoxx Europe 600 region rose by 0.87% by 11:43 a.m. to 411.21 points.
The German DAX index gained 1.56%, the French CAC 40 – 0.9%, the British FTSE 100 – 0.84%. The Italian FTSE MIB and the Spanish IBEX 35 added 1.17% and 0.25% respectively.
Meanwhile, major indicators could fall by more than 5% over the week, which will be the third and most significant weekly decline since mid-June, writes Trading Economics.
Traders are waiting for key data on the US labor market, which will be published on Friday and may be another reason for the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to continue to raise rates at an aggressive pace.
Germany’s trade surplus collapsed to 4.9 billion euros in July from 17.8 billion euros in the same month a year earlier, official statistics show. Imports jumped 26.1% to 122.7 billion euros, while exports rose 10.8% to 127.6 billion euros.
Among the components of the Stoxx Europe 600, InPost S.A. led the way with gains of 6.9%.
Shares of Volvo Car AB fall 0.8%. The company reduced car sales in August by 4.6% in annual terms against the backdrop of the energy crisis and new outbreaks of COVID-19 in China.
British Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC rose 1.9% despite the news that the head of the company, Laxman Narasimhan, left for the American Starbucks Corp., which owns the world’s largest coffee shop chain.
Shares of Shell Plc add 2%. The British oil and gas company, together with the American Exxon Mobil Corp. sells California JV Aera Energy LLC to German investment company IKAV Capital Partners GmbH.
Alfa-Bank’s (Ukraine) Supervisory Board offers Alfa-Bank (Ukraine) shareholders to direct 90% of net profit for 2021, or UAH 2 billion 987.21 million, to cover losses of previous years.
According to the agenda of the annual meeting of shareholders, which is scheduled to be held remotely on September 30, it is planned to send the remaining 10% of net profit or UAH 331.91 million to the reserve fund, and not pay dividends.
In addition, the meeting plans to approve the supervisory board of Alfa-Bank, consisting of six people, while before the war, at an extraordinary meeting in January this year, the supervisory board was expanded from 10 to 12 people.
At present, out of the 12 members elected by the then meeting in the Supervisory Board, according to information on the website, exactly half remained, of which three independent directors are Yevhen Davidovich, Volodymyr Zhmak and Viktor Lysenko and three representatives of ABH Ukraine are Roman Shpek (Head of the Supervisory Board), Andrew Baxter and David Mark Brown.
Since January, for various reasons, the Supervisory Board has left the representative of ABH Ukraine Petr Aven, Ilyadr Karimov, Vladimir Voeikov and independent directors Ernest Galiev, Adnan Anachali and Elena Volskaya.
According to the bank, its largest shareholders at the moment indirectly are Andrey Kosogov (40.9614%, after the war he received packages of German Khan and Alexei Kuzmichev, who fell under the sanctions in the amount of 20.9659% and 16.3239%, respectively), Mikhail Fridman (32.8632%), Petr Aven (12.4018%), UniCredit S.p.A. (Italy, 9.9%), Mark Foundation for Cancer Research (3.8736%). Ex-Finance Minister of Bulgaria Simeon Dyankov, who in mid-April, in agreement with the National Bank, was given the right to vote on the majority stake in Alfa-Bank, is a trustee of the NBU on the stakes of Kosogov and those sanctioned by Fridman and Aven.
Alfa-Bank (Ukraine), according to the NBU, as of July 1, 2022, ranked 7th (UAH 104.03 billion) in terms of total assets among 68 banks operating in the country. The bank’s net loss, according to the National Bank, for January-June this year amounted to UAH 2 billion 348.5 million.
Last year, Alfa-Bank (Ukraine) increased its net profit to UAH 3 billion 319.12 million from UAH 1 billion 154.79 million a year earlier.
The vessel Lady Zehma with grain from Ukraine was refloated in the Bosphorus Strait, the local publication Maritime Executive reports.
According to reports, after a 173-meter dry cargo ship with 3,000 tons of Ukrainian corn got stuck in the strait, rescue tugs were sent to help, which “quickly launched it into the water.”
“As of Thursday evening, the ship was moving at a slow pace, accompanied by several tugboats,” the publication said.
On August 30, the UN reported that the Joint Coordinating Center (JCC) had given permission for six ships, including the Lady Zehma ship carrying 3,000 tons of corn, to leave Ukrainian ports on Tuesday as part of an Istanbul food deal.
On July 22, in Istanbul, with the participation of the UN, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, two documents were signed on the creation of a corridor for the export of grain from three Ukrainian ports – Chernomorsk, Odessa and Yuzhny.
