Category: Ukraine

Aequo has acted as Ukrainian legal counsel to the EBRD in connection with a USD 20 million secured loan granted to Ukrainian subsidiaries of the Astarta Group, Ukraine’s leading agribusiness operator and sugar producer.

The proceeds from the loan will be utilized for Astarta’s working capital needs. According to Aequo, “Astarta is going to employ modern IT solutions necessary for the precision farming it is promoting in Ukraine. In the context of the project, Astarta will also offer a high quality, comprehensive training program to high school graduates and students willing to work in the agribusiness sector in Ukraine.”

In addition to Aequo, the project included English, Dutch and Cypriot law matters.

The financing is provided within the framework of long-standing cooperation between EBRD and Astarta, which included previous loans in 2016 as reported by CEE Legal Matters on August 23, 2016 and earlier this year as reported on January 25, 2018, both of which Aequo also worked on.

Aequo’s team consisted of Senior Associate Bohdan Dmukhovskyy and Associate Glib Bukharin, supervised by Partner Yulia Kyrpa. 

Avellum has successfully represented a UK citizen in Ukraine’s Supreme Court in a dispute regarding the return of a wrongfully retained child.

The Ukrainian Supreme Court provided the first-ever clarification on the procedure for dispute resolution related to international child abduction, the application of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction of 25 October 1980, and the interpretation of criteria for refusing to return a child to his or her state of permanent residence.

According to Avellum, “the judgment of the Supreme Court will bring a new approach to dispute resolution related to international child abduction and will become judicial precedent in Ukraine.”

The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine first filed a claim in early 2013, and since that time the case has bounced repeatedly between Ukrainian courts of all instances, including the country’s Supreme Court.

Avellum filed a cassation appeal and a request seeking the renewal of the term of cassation appeal on behalf of its client with the High Specialized Court for Civil and Criminal Cases in early 2017. However, due to the country’s ongoing process of judicial reform, the Supreme Court did not make its final decision until late August 2018.

When it did, according to Avellum, “the Supreme Court … rightfully held that the primary focus of the above 1980 Convention is that one parent or family member cannot independently decide to change the child’s place of permanent residence. The Court also noted that the child’s place of permanent residence is of major importance in restoring the status quo, since the illegal removal or retention of the child violates the child’s rights and interests, as well as the right (custody right) of the parent without whose consent the child was taken from the country of habitual residence.”

Finally, according to Avellum, the Supreme Court also emphasized that when considering the issue of returning a child to the home state, it does not address or decide which person will have custody rights, which instead falls within the jurisdiction of competent authorities of the child’s country of permanent residence.

Avellum’s team was led by Associate Oleksandr Gubin, working under the supervision of Partner Iryna Moroz.

Asters has advised VR Capital Group on its acquisition of 50% of shares in PVK Energy Investments from ICU, an independent asset management, private equity, and investment advisory firm specializing in the emerging markets of Central and Eastern Europe. ICU was represented by Avellum.

According to Asters, “VR Capital Group is an alternative asset manager with a historical orientation towards emerging markets, including Ukraine. The company operates offices in London, New York, and Moscow and has a presence in Buenos Aires.”

PVK Energy Investments is the owner of Solar Capital, which is building a 34.75 MW solar power plant in the Kherson region of Ukraine.

The Asters team included Partner Yaroslav Petrov, Counsel Anzhelika Livitska, Senior Associates Marta Halabala, Oleh Furmanchuk and Oleksandr Tselevych, Associates Diana Kondratieva, Olena Nikolenko and Olena Yasentiuk. Counsel Tetiana Vovk and Associate Pavlo Verbolyuk advised on antitrust aspects.

The Avellum team was led by Partner Yuriy Nechayev, with support from Associates Dmytro Symbiryov, Vladyslav Aleksandrov, and Daryna Mykhailenko.

Vasil Kisil & Partners has successfully represented Mondelez Ukraine a dispute against the Trostianets City Council regarding an increase of the rent for a land plot.

The City Council filed a lawsuit against Mondelez Ukraine seeking to enforce a supplemental agreement to a land lease agreement increasing the rent. 

According to VKP, the local court dismissed the claim in full, agreeing with Mondelez’s arguments that neither the law nor the agreement provided for the lessor’s right to amend the agreement on its own initiative. Therefore, the decision of the City Council to increase the rent could not serve as a legislative ground for amending the agreement. The City Council did not appeal the court’s decision.

Mondelez Ukraine is a member of the Mondelez International group, which is a chocolate, cookie, and candy manufacturer.

The VKP team consisted of Partner Oleg Kachmar, Senior Associate Yuriy Kolos, Associate Oleksandra Bortman.

Dentons has advised Natixis on Ukrainian law requirements for carrying out certain unspecified banking transactions and regulatory and banking and finance law matters.

Natixis is a French corporate and investment bank that was created by merging Natexis Banque Populaire and IXIS on October 17, 2006.

Dentons‘ team was led by Partner Natalia Selyakova and included Counsel Nadiya Shylienkova and Associates Artem Lukyanov and Alla Kushnirenko..

Asters has successfully defended the interests of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in a dispute involving the extension of a patent term for a medical product for an additional three years.

“As a result of our work, the Supreme Court has rejected the cassation appeal of the opponents, the State Intellectual Property Service of Ukraine, and Synthon, another generic developer and producer,” Asters stated in a firm press release. According to Asters, “earlier, [our] team successfully defended Teva in the court of first instance and the Court of Appeal canceling the refusal of the Patent office to grant patent term extension.”

Asters’ team working on the project was led by Co-Managing Partner Serhii Sviriba and included Counsels Taras Kyslyy and Viktoriya Podvorchanska, Senior Associate Vitaliy Kulinich, and Associate Olena Kozhokar.

Asters has successfully defended the interests of PrivatBank CB JSC in a dispute against Pivdenmedbiosintez Design and Survey Institute JSC before the Commercial Cassation Court of Ukraine’s Supreme Court.

The current dispute arose from Pivdenmedbiosintez Design and Survey Institute’s claim that PrivatBank CB JSC owed it UAH 2 billion. The Supreme Court’s panel of judges dismissed the claim.

The court’s judgment was the second Asters has obtained for PrivatBank against Pivdenmedbiosintez Design and Survey Institute in recent months, following a similar decision this past July as reported by CEE Legal Matters on July 9, 2018.

Asters’ team in this recent case included Partner Andriy Pozhidayev, Counsel Oleg Lazovsky, and Associate Vira Baulina.

Avellum has advised a private equity vehicle managed by ResponsAbility Investments AG on Ukrainian law matters related to its acquisition of a shareholding in Bank Lviv. On English law, ResponsAbility was counseled by Norton Rose Fulbright.

ResponsAbility Investments AG is an asset manager in the field of development investments that offers professionally managed investment solutions to private, institutional, and public investors. The company supplies debt and equity financing to firms in emerging economies. The company is headquartered in Zurich and has local offices in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Lima, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Nairobi, Oslo, and Paris.

According to Avellum, “Bank Lviv is the first investment project of ResponsAbility in Ukraine. Further on, ResponsAbility intends to increase its stake in the bank to 51%.”

Bank Lviv is a public joint stock company supervised by the National Bank of Ukraine that is active across Western Ukraine. The bank’s financing offer is mainly targeted at SMEs and agricultural companies.

Avellum Partner Yuriy Nechayev commented that: “Ukraine is continuing to increase its attractiveness to foreign investors and this deal is a promising example. It indicates a gradual recovery of the Ukrainian banking sector after the severe turmoil in the recent past.”

Avellum also advised ResponsAbility on obtaining the approval of the National Bank of Ukraine and on requirements to obtain the approval of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine in connection with the transaction. The firm’s team was led by Partner Yuriy Nechayev and Associate Andriy Romanchuk with support from Associates Andrii Gumenchuk, Dmytro Tkachuk, Vladyslav Alexandrov, Anton Arkhypov, and Anna Mykhalova. Counsel Vadym Medvedev advised on the tax aspects of the deal.

Former CMS Reich Rohrwig Hainz Senior Associate Taras Tertychnyi has joined Kyiv’s Hillmont Partners at Associate Partner.

Tertychnyi is a specialist in corporate and commercial law, as well as international dispute resolution and asset recovery. He has over 15 years of experience advising international companies in Ukraine and managing international legal matters on behalf of Ukrainian companies. 

At Hillmont Partners, he manages a team advising and representing clients in matters involving international financing, investments, corporate governance, international contracts, employment, and IP rights.

“Taras Tertychnyi can significantly strengthen the team of our corporate law department, which will improve the quality of legal decisions for our clients,” said Partner Vadym Halaichyk. “It will help to mitigate threats and vulnerabilities that ensure the sustainable development of our clients’ businesses in Ukraine and abroad.”

Prior to joining Hillmont Partners, Tertychnyi spent four and a half years at CMS, and has previous experience at Magisters and Konnov & Sozanovsky. He also worked for ITT Lex / Legato, MBLS, and the Ukrainian Music Alliance.

Tertychnyi studied at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy and Business Consulting Academy.

PwC Legal Ukraine has successfully represented Pravexbank in a dispute against Ukraine’s tax authority.

According to PwC Legal, the case was related to recognition of bad debt provisions for tax purposes, which had never been raised by the tax authorities before, “considering that Ukrainian joint-stock bank Pravexbank’s accounting rules are strict and complicated.”

In challenging the position of Pravexbank, the tax authorities adhered to the literal interpretation of the law. According to PwC Legal Ukraine, in its defense on behalf of Pravexbank, it “focused on the applicability of a complex interpretation of the law, instead of a literal one.  As a result, the State Fiscal Service partially supported the position of Pravexbank and cancelled the most significant part of tax reassessment.”

In addition, PwC Legal Ukraine reported, “in the course of a pre-trial procedure PwC Legal Ukraine insisted on the issue of the general tax ruling by the Ministry of the Finance of Ukraine to strengthen Pravexbank’s arguments. Such ruling applies to all banks of Ukraine and prevents similar tax assessments in future. Further, PwC Legal successfully challenged the remaining part of the tax assessment.”

The PwC Legal team was led by Partner Dmytro Donets and Head of Tax Litigation Zhanna Brazhnyk.