The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has fined state-owned enterprise Medical Procurement of Ukraine (MPU) UAH 1 million for failing to submit information to the committee.
According to the AMCU press release, such a decision was made by the AMCU administrative board on April 11.
The AMCU notes that the committee had twice sent a request for information to the state-owned enterprise, but the MZU did not provide a response “on the merits of the issues raised.
“This position of the state-owned enterprise created obstacles in performing the tasks assigned to the committee,” the antimonopoly agency stressed.
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) allowed Tikrait LLC (Kiev) to privatize Zhovtnevyi distillery (Karlovka, Poltava region), which is part of state enterprise Ukrspirt, for 85 million and 1 UAH.
The relevant decision of March 2, 2023 is reported on the AMCU website on Friday.
According to the Unified State Register of legal entities and natural persons-entrepreneurs, the ultimate beneficiary of “Tikrait” with a share capital of 25 thousand UAH is Alexander Nazarenko. The company is engaged in activities in the field of law, consulting on business matters and activities in the field of real estate agencies. Earlier the company had no experience in privatization of alcohol assets in Ukraine.
According to the State Property Fund (SPF), the auction for the privatization of Zhovtnevyi distillery was held on December 7, 2022. The main activity of the company is the production of organic chemicals.
SPF specified that the asset consists of 93 buildings and structures with a total area of 13.5 thousand square meters. m. It includes production and administrative buildings, a distillery, granaries, cooling towers, a carpenter’s workshop, a sawmill, a chalk-and-oil station, a treacle station, alcohol storages, hangars, pumping stations, livestock farms, 23 vehicles and 506 pieces of equipment. The distillery is equipped with all necessary technological equipment and communications.
The company has seven land plots in Karlivka with a total area of 90.2 hectares, which belong to the state enterprise on the right of permanent use.
According to the SPF, Ukrspirt received UAH 58 million in revenue in 2020, UAH 162 million in 2021, and UAH 158 million in the first nine months of 2022.
As reported, the Office of the Prosecutor General in August 2021 announced the suspicion of the acting director of Zhovtnevyi distillery in evasion of excise tax in the manufacture of diluent and disinfectants in August 2020 for a total of about 182 million UAH.
The State Property Fund plans in 2023 to complete the full privatization of the alcohol industry, for which it will hold online auctions for the sale of 26 distilleries across the country.
In general, for 2.5 years, Ukraine has already held 39 successful auctions for the sale of distilleries, which added more than 2 billion UAH to the country’s budget. In particular, between September and December 2022, the SPF held 12 such auctions. The winning bidders offered more than 849 million hryvnias for these objects, which exceeded their aggregate starting price by three times. Thus, distilleries became one of the most popular destinations for investment in state property last year.
Tobacco products manufacturer Philip Morris Ukraine is ready to cooperate with the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) in its initiated investigation into the legality of advertising of tobacco heating systems IQOS as a less harmful alternative to regular cigarettes.
The company’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine news agency that the claims used by the manufacturer of IQOS when advertising tobacco heating systems were and are clear, credible and scientifically confirmed.
“There is ample evidence to support that while IQOS is not devoid of all risks, it is the best alternative to continuing to smoke. Such evidence includes thorough laboratory studies and 10 clinical trials by the company, as well as numerous independent studies, including government agencies in several EU countries such as Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands,” the manufacturer’s press office stressed in a statement.
According to the company, the AMCU inquiry into the legality of advertising IQOS will begin the process of determining whether the charges against Philip Morris Ukraine are valid. At the same time, Philip Morris Sales and Distribution LLC has not received a single message from the AMCU about the initiation of an investigation against it.
“Thousands of smokers in Ukraine have switched to IQOS and stopped smoking. It is important that consumers continue to receive reliable information and not be misled, which may encourage them to continue smoking or return to cigarettes – one of the most harmful forms of nicotine use – that are harmful to both their health and public health in general,” the company’s press service comment states.
“Philip Morris Ukraine” also reminded that the reliability of the information distributed about IQOS has previously been confirmed when the AMCU considered the application on similar accusations of another complainant.
“The company also urges the AMCU and the press to avoid expressing or disseminating premature conclusions until the evidence in the case is fully completed and to comply with proper standards and principles of law,” the Philip Morris press service stated in a comment.
As reported, the AMCU December 30, 2022 initiated a case against “Philip Morris Sales & Distribution” for possible unfair competition, as the company in advertising their systems to heat tobacco IQOS claims their greater safety for the health of smokers compared with conventional cigarettes. The office called the cause of the case the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, according to which any heating tobacco systems are dangerous and do not reduce the risks of smoking.
Philip Morris International, which includes Philip Morris Ukraine, is one of the world’s largest tobacco manufacturers. It operates in Ukraine for more than 20 years, owns a factory in the Kharkiv region. Before the Russian armed invasion the company employed about 1.3 thousand people. Before the war the factory was an export hub for more than 20 countries, in particular large markets like Japan and Egypt.
The company’s brand portfolio includes Marlboro, L&M, Chesterfield, Parliament, Bond Street and other brands. PMI also produces IQOS tobacco heating systems and tobacco sticks for them.
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) allowed Timekol LLC (Kyiv) to privatize Borschevsk distillery (Ternopil region), which is a part of state enterprise Ukrspirt, the right to buy for UAH 17.7 million the company won at an online auction in October 2022.
The text of the respective permit No.306-r, dated December 22, 2022, was published on the Committee’s website on Tuesday.
According to the Uniform State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, the ultimate beneficiary of Timecool (till November 2020 – Business Star Group LLC) with the registered capital of 25 thousand UAH is Oksana Zakharova (earlier the company was owned by Sergey Afanasiev). This legal entity is engaged in the purchase, sale and lease of real estate, organization of building construction and non-specialized wholesale trade.
This company already has experience in privatization of assets of state enterprise “Ukrspirt” – in November 2021 it won the right to privatize Uladivskyi distillery (Vinnitsa region) for UAH 50,1 mln in an online auction “Prozorro.Selling”.
According to the State Property Fund (SPF), the only property complex Borschevsk distillery consists of 812 buildings, structures, movable and other property, including industrial buildings, bard storage facility, boiler room, distillery, fermentation and carbonic acid plants, pigsty, greenhouses, hangars, warehouses, garages, etc. The facility is equipped with basic technological equipment and the necessary utilities.
The enterprise is located on two plots of land in Borschev with a total area of 7.4 hectares.
The temporary administrative board of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) decided to impose a fine on LLC “Ukrstalpostach” and LLC “Ukrainian Pipe Plant” for collusion in their participation in public procurement.
According to a press release on Tuesday, the case involves eight procurement procedures that were announced by different customers.
“When considering the case, the circumstances were established, which in their totality indicate the commission by the defendants of anti-competitive concerted actions to eliminate competition between them when participating in the tenders. There were irrefutable facts that indicate coordinated behavior of the companies in the preparation and participation in the bidding, communication between them and exchange of information,” – stated in a press release.
According to the AMCU, such concerted actions of public procurement is a violation (Clause 4 Part 2 Article 6, Clause 1 Article 50 of the Law on Protection of Economic Competition).
For collusion LLC “Ukrstallpostach” and LLC “Ukrainian Tube Works” have been fined by the Committee in the total amount of UAH 103,256 million. In particular, “Ukrstallpostach” LLC was fined in the amount of 94,890 million UAH, “Ukrainian Pipe Works” LLC – 8, 366 million UAH.
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) allowed Aqua Solar Invest LLC (Bershad, Vinnytsia region) to purchase Kobylovoloki distillery (Kobylovoloki village, Ternopil region), which is part of Ukrspirt, and Vitagro Energy LLC (Gvardeyske village, Khmelnitsk region) was allowed to purchase the Marylivsky distillery (Nagirnyanka village, Ternopil region) from Ukrspirt.
The Committee approved the corresponding permits for the privatized assets at its meeting on December 1.
LLC “Aqua Solar Invest” won the right for privatization of Kobylivolokskyi distillery for UAH 70,25 mln on September 19, 2022.
According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, the ultimate beneficiaries of “Aqua Solar Invest” with a registered capital of 25 million UAH are Alexander Yaroshenko (25% in the share capital), Lilia Astapova (25%) and Elena Smirnova (25%), while until December 2020 the company was fully owned by Felix Lutsky. The legal entity is engaged in distillation, rectification and blending of alcoholic beverages, while before January 2021 its line of business was real estate trade.
This company already has experience in privatization of assets of state enterprise “Ukrspirt” – in October 2020 it won the online auction “Prozorro.Sells” the right to privatize Bershadskyi distillery for 19.81 million UAH, and in early February 2022 closed the deal to purchase it, having received permission of the AMCU.
The immovable property of the Kobylivolok distillery to be privatized with a total area of 11.5 thousand square meters is located on seven plots of land in Terebovlyansky district of Ternopil region with a total area of 36.95 hectares. The plant includes production buildings, granary, distillery, hangars, pumping stations, greenhouse, starch and malt shops, gas station, etc., as well as the technological equipment and the necessary communications.
The daily capacity of the distillery is 2.7 thousand dal of ethyl alcohol. The company was founded in 1905 and modernized in 2016. Production at the facility has been temporarily suspended.
In turn, Vitagro Energy won the right to privatize Marylivskyi distillery for UAH 150 mln on September 20, 2022.
According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, the ultimate beneficiary of Vitagro Energy LLC with a registered capital of 10 thousand UAH is Serhiy Labaziuk, a member of parliament (the Za Maybutne parliamentary faction). The main activity of the company is the production of electricity, but the legal entity may also engage in the cultivation of root crops and melons, as well as auxiliary activities in crop farming.
The company is part of the large Vitagro holding, which is engaged in the production and processing of crops, including fruits and vegetables, dairy farming and pig breeding. The Group cultivates about 85 thousand hectares of land in Khmelnytsky, Ternopil and Rivne regions and has a livestock of 110 thousand pigs.
According to Vitagro’s website, Vitagro Energy was founded in 2018 to develop renewable energy projects. The company has four solar power plants in the Khmelnitsky region on a total area of 29.5 hectares with a total capacity of 12.9 MW, and also works with other sources of renewable energy, such as wind and biomass.
The Marylivsky distillery is located in the village of Nagirnyanka, Chortkivsky district, Ternopil region. The list of assets includes 1518 items of buildings, equipment, movable and other property.
The enterprise is located on three land plots with a total area of 26.6 hectares and consists of an administration building, seven production shops, a bard storage facility, a starch workshop, greenhouses, hangars, warehouses for grain, finished products and alcohol, as well as other constructions and infrastructure facilities.
The distillery was founded in 1928, the maximum production capacity in 2009 was 7300 thousand dal per day.
Thus, the privatization of these two assets of Ukrspirt will allow the State Property Fund of Ukraine to transfer 220.25m dollars to the state budget.
