A French court on January 5 evening released on bail of EUR 1 million businessman, former MP Konstantin Zhevago, who was arrested on December 29 after being detained in Courchevel at the request of the State Bureau of Investigation (GBI), reports the publication Le Dauphine Libéré.
“I did not do all the things I am accused of. I have always fought corruption. Over the past three years, I have asked for my country’s justice to hear me 15 times and 15 times I have been denied,” the businessman was quoted as saying in the article.
According to it, Zhevago is now living in Dubai and has applied for asylum in Gibraltar.
The former deputy said that he is not an oligarch and has always fought against oligarchs, while his lawyers stressed that the businessman needs to be free to continue running his business.
Earlier, it was reported that the court on the same day postponed a hearing on Zhevago’s extradition to Ukraine until January 19 so that the prosecutor and lawyers could prepare.
The State Bureau of Reconstruction and Development accuses Zhevago and a number of top managers of Finance and Credit Bank of organizing a mechanism for embezzlement of $113 million, thus causing damage to the interests of the state and the bank depositors.
According to the State Border Service of Ukraine, the property of the suspect and his associates has been seized, in particular, “shares of his companies worth hundreds of millions of hryvnias, 26 properties, … 14 property complexes, 21 pieces of property complexes, 30 non-residential premises and 10 apartments”.
Kiev’s Pechersky Court decided to detain Zhevago in late 2019, and he was put on the international wanted list in the summer of 2021, although his lawyers denied this fact.
In 2022 LNZ Group agricultural holding produced 7 thousand tons of frozen berries, fruits and vegetables at its plant for frozen berries, vegetables and vegetables in Shpole (Cherkasy region). They are sold under TM Tevitta – raspberry, sweet corn, seedless cherry, pumpkin, elderberry, currant, blueberry etc.
According to the LNZ website, the Tevitta brand has a closed circle of production and performs all production processes on its own, from growing to direct sales of packaged products.
In particular, the nursery has grown 2 million seedlings of strawberry, 220 thousand of raspberry and blackberry and about 50 thousand of other cultures: dog rose, elderberry, currant and cherry. In addition, in 2022, the company planted two new nurseries for raspberries and strawberries, a nursery for nursery seedlings, and built nearly three dozen tunnels for growing berries on an area of more than 2 hectares.
“Despite the war, the Tevitta brand was able to ramp up production, storage and direct processing capacity. And while the brand was already in operation in 2021, it was 2022 that was the year to fully launch and operate. The brand combined seedling production, berry, vegetable and fruit freezing and market sales. That is, the full-scale military invasion of the Russian Federation, the company actually met at the stage of formation,” the company said.
In addition, in the fields Tevitta planted 60 hectares of land for growing different raw materials for processing – from strawberries to rose hips. The nursery works not only to meet its own needs, but also supplies seedlings to farmers who are engaged in industrial berry production.
“The company is pleased with the result: the plant in 2022 came out to almost 100% utilization. What’s more, it has expanded its export boundaries. Products have already reached the markets of France, Belgium, Germany, Estonia and England. In addition, in early 2023 frozen products of Tevitta brand can be found on the shelves of stores in Ukraine and other European countries”, – summed up the holding.
LNZ Group was established on the basis of Lebedinsky seed plant. It specializes in selling corn, sunflower, wheat and barley seeds, as well as growing agricultural products and livestock. The group cultivates 70 thousand hectares of land, the number of cattle is about 6 thousand heads.
LNZ Group owns two elevator complexes in Sumy and Kirovograd regions with total storage capacity of 170 thousand tons of grain, and also has its own fleet of cars.
In the unified state register of legal entities and individuals the ultimate beneficiary of PJSC Lebedinsky seed plant (Cherkasy region) is Dmytro Kravchenko.
Dynamics of balance of payments of Ukraine in 1998-2022 (USD mln)
http://www.minfin.gov.ua
Asia-Pacific (APAC) stock indexes are mostly rising in trading on Friday, except for Hong Kong indicator, following the dynamics of the U.S. stock market.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index was up 0.6 percent by 7:06 a.m. Ksk.
Shares of electronic components producer Taiyo Yuden Co. Ltd. (+4.75%), transport and logistics Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (+4.2%) and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. (+3.7%).
Shares of Mazda Motor Corp. (+3.1%), Tokyo Electron Ltd. (+2.7%) and Sony Group (+2.6%) are also up.
China’s Shanghai Composite stock index was adding 0.1 percent by 7:18 a.m. Ksk.
The Hang Seng index is losing 0.13%. The Hong Kong indicator rose earlier in trading amid reports that China will reopen border crossings with Hong Kong starting Sunday. Border posts have been closed for three years.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) on Friday lent 2 billion yuan to banks in seven-day reverse repo transactions at an annual rate of 2 percent. At the same time, similar loans worth 386 billion yuan matured on the same day. As a result, the net outflow of funds from the market amounted to 384 billion yuan, writes Trading Economics.
Leaders of the fall in Hong Kong are securities of casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd (-4.4%), Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd (-4.1%) which provides IT services in medical sphere and sports equipment manufacturer Anta Sports Products Ltd (-3.2%).
South Korea’s KOSPI was strengthening 1.3 percent by 7:18 a.m. Ksk.
One of the world’s biggest chip and electronics maker Samsung Electronics Co. is up 1.4%, carmaker Kia Corp. is up 0.8%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.65%.
The capitalization of the world’s largest mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto rose 3.2% and 2.4%, respectively.
Ukrainian UPG Group has entered into an agreement to acquire assets of Polish company Baltchem SA Zakłady Chemiczn, as a result the network has got at its disposal a powerful marine terminal in Poland for transshipment and storage of oil products.
According to the group’s statement on its website, this will enable uninterrupted fuel supplies to Ukraine at affordable prices.
It is emphasized that all fuels sold by UPG come from Europe and comply with the fifth environmental standard.
“Adapting our business to today’s challenges, we have established reliable and stable partnership relations with such European producers of high-quality oil products as Royal Dutch Shell, Total Energies SE, Neste Oyj, Glencore Energy in the shortest time,” the statement says.
As UPG notes, from the first days of the large-scale war in Ukraine, the group terminated its partnership with the Belarusian fuel producer, completely abandoning their products, and does not supply Russian fuel since the beginning of the aggression of the Russian Federation in 2014: the annexation of Crimea and the occupation of certain territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The UPG brand belongs to the fuel company Ukrpaletsystem (Korosten, Zhytomyr Region), which has been operating on the market since 2003.
Ukrainian business paid 80 billion UAH more in taxes in 2022 than in peaceful 2021, Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said.
“Despite continued hostilities and enemy attacks, we will do everything possible to make 2023 the first step for a great recovery of the Ukrainian economy. In 2022, we did the impossible and financed absolutely all budget expenditures. In total, these expenditures amounted to about 2.7 trillion UAH,” Shmygal said at a government meeting on Friday.
According to him, Ukrainian citizens and businesses last year paid more than 900 billion UAH to the state budget, another 425 billion UAH were paid to the Pension Fund and social insurance funds.
“Due to the issue of military bonds, about 600 billion UAH were received. We are grateful to the citizens and businesses who bought these bonds and thus invested in a strong army and a stable state,” the prime minister added.
Shmygal thanked Ukrainian businesses, which paid 80 billion more in taxes in 2022 than in 2021.
“Your steadfastness, patriotism, adaptability and social responsibility allowed to keep the economy of Ukraine afloat. 2023 should be the year of our victory and the year of the beginning of the recovery of our economy. We work together for this,” he concluded.
