U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced sanctions against oligarch and former Ukrainian official Ihor Kolomoisky due to his involvement in major corruption.
“This designation is made under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020. In addition to Ihor Kolomoisky, I am publicly designating the following members of Ihor Kolomoisky’s immediate family: his wife, Iryna Kolomoiska, his daughter, Andzelika Kolomoiska, and his son, Israel Zvi Kolomoisky. This action renders Ihor Kolomoisky and each of these members of his immediate family ineligible for entry into the United States,” Blinken said in a statement released by on the website of the U.S. Department of State on Friday.
Blinken said that in his official status as the head of Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine from 2014 to 2015, Kolomoisky was involved in corrupt acts that undermined rule of law and the Ukrainian public’s faith in their government’s democratic institutions and public processes, including using his political influence and official power for his personal benefit.
“While this designation is based on acts during his time in office, I also want to express concern about Kolomoisky’s current and ongoing efforts to undermine Ukraine’s democratic processes and institutions, which pose a serious threat to its future,” the secretary of state said.
“This designation reaffirms the U.S. commitment to supporting political, economic, and justice sector reforms that are key to Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic path. The United States continues to stand with all Ukrainians whose work drives reforms forward. The Department will continue to use authorities like this to promote accountability for corrupt actors in this region and globally,” Blinken said.
Aforementioned Section 7031 of the Department of state, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act gives the Secretary of State the power to deny entry to the United States of foreign government officials and their immediate family members, in respect of whom there is reliable information that they are involved in significant corruption (including related to the extraction of natural resources) or in gross violation of human rights.
An exception may be entry into the United States if it will contribute to the achievement of important goals of the U.S. law enforcement agencies or occurs within the UN Headquarters Agreement.
New missile boats for the Ukrainian Navy will be designed in the UK as part of a previously signed memorandum on re-equipping the Naval Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Defence Attaché at the British Embassy Tim Woods said.
“These missile boats are designed specifically for Ukraine, so they will be original and will have a length of approximately 50 to 65 meters, which will provide a speed of 40 knots. It is planned to install artillery systems and missiles on them. It depends, among other things, on what kind of missiles are needed. And these can be short- or long-range missiles. This is the issue that British companies are considering right now. But these will be missiles of a new class, specially designed for Ukraine by the British industry,” Woods said in an interview with the Day newspaper.
He said that the first four boats will be constructed in the UK. At the same time, Ukrainian shipbuilders will be able to observe construction, learn and train.
Woods said that the second part, namely, four missile boats, will be constructed in Ukraine. It will be great for Ukrainian shipbuilding and also for the Navy, so these capabilities will be available in Ukraine.
The attaché believes the construction of the first ship will start early 2022.
Woods also said another option that we they studying has not yet been formalized, it is the joint design of warships of the British industry with the Ukrainian design bureau in Mykolaiv.
The mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may resume work in Ukraine in April immediately after the maximum price for gas for the population set by the government loses force, said head of the Servant of the People party Oleksandr Korniyenko.
“The IMF mission has completed its interim work: they pointed out the aspects in our joint work that concerns them about the implementation of the agreements. They said they would return soon, in particular after our story with gas ends. It continues until April 1,” Korniyenko told the Internet publication Suspilne on Thursday.
Korniyenko noted that manual regulation of gas prices is not the only remark made by the IMF. According to him, “they are also worried about judicial reform and anti-corruption legislation.”
Earlier, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal announced five key issues in negotiations with the IMF and expects a staff level agreement for the second tranche until June.
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 05/03/21
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of March 05
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
JSC Greta (previously – Druzhkivsky plant of gas equipment, Donetsk region), a leading Ukrainian manufacturer of gas, electric and combined stoves, ended 2020, according to preliminary data, with a net profit of UAH 5.46 million, while in 2019, its loss amounted to UAH 8.52 million.
According to the information on the agenda of the general meeting of shareholders on April 8, published in the disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine, the retained earnings of the company as of January 1, 2021 amounted to UAH 107.34 million (as of the same date in 2020 – UAH 101.88 million).
The shareholders at the meeting plan to consider the distribution of profits and the procedure for covering losses, while the draft decision is supposed to send the net profit to the development of production, not to pay dividends.
Over the past year, the company’s current liabilities grew by 16.6%, to UAH 76.07 million, noncurrent by 15.5%, to UAH 122.58 million.
The total accounts receivable of Greta increased by 18.5%, to UAH 9.54 million, assets in general – by 11.7%, to UAH 312.48 million.
The company’s equity capital by the beginning of this year is UAH 113.84 million, including the charter capital being UAH 5.198 million.
