Category: Ukraine

Dentons is representing Bojer Innovativ Ingenior Radgivning, an engineering consulting company from Aarhus, Denmark, on its appeal of a lower court judgment regarding a raid of its property in Odessa, Ukraine.

Bojer Innovativ Ingenior Radgivning (BIIR) currently employs more than 100 professionals in Odessa, and it aims to expand to 500 within the next few years.

In the spring of 2017, BIIR acquired a property in Odessa for USD 400,000 for the construction of a new office. In summer 2017, the building was seized as a result of a claim by former owners. These former owners, who Dentons reports had not paid the mortgage for six-and-a-half years and ignored a foreclosure notice three months earlier, claimed that they had been fraudulently dispossessed of the building and launched a court case against BIIR. The judgment in that court of first instance, according to Dentons, “[deprived] BIIR of its ownership right for the property without any compensation.

Dentons Kyiv’s team from includes Partner Adam Mycyk and Senior Associate Maksym Sysoiev.

Editor’s note: On March 21, 2018 Dentons announced the Odessa Appellate Economic Court awarded a victory to BIIR and ruled that the disputed property belongs solely to BIIR. In addition, the court ordered BIIR’s opponent to pay his previously unpaid court costs plus the court costs incurred by BIIR in its defense, for a total of more than UAH 158,000.

Eucon has successfully represented Ukraine’s Savik Shuster Studio TV Channel in a tax matter regarding the proper determination of the regular sale price of national TV programs compared with the sale price of programs to the Inter TV channel.

According to Eucon, the firm’s lawyers managed to prove that tax inspectors did not take into account the portfolio approach to the determination of the appropriate sale price of programs and the unlawfulness of the “sale analogues” method used to determine the regular price. They also showed that the State Fiscal Service officials acted in a biased way and did not obey the law.

Thus, the Kyiv Administrative Court of Appeal denied the appeal of the tax authorities and upheld the decision of the Kyiv District Administrative Court regarding the cancellation of tax notice decisions in the amount UAH 13 million.

Vasil Kisil & Partners has promoted Counsels Volodymyr Igonin, Oleg Kachmar, and Anna Sisetska to the firm’s partnership.

According to VKP, Volodymyr Igonin, who leads the firm’s corporate/M&A practice, “provides legal assistance in comprehensive transactions involving foreign and local clients and related to assets and companies based in Ukraine. Another area of Mr. Igonin’s practice is corporate governance and corporate structuring of business. The core industries where Mr. Igonin has deep expertise and significant practical experience are agribusiness, telecommunications, media and technologies. Volodymyr’s client portfolio includes Arricano, LNZ Group, Mellanox Technologies, Modern Times Group, Seven Hills, Agro-Region, Astarta, Epicenter, Intellectual Communications, Lekhim, [and] Nicmas.” He joined Vasil Kisil & Partners in 2007.

Oleg Kachmar, who joined VKP in 2005, leads the real estate and construction, land, insurance and lending disputes practice. According to VKP, Kachmar “has been advising Piraeus Bank, Raiffeisen Bank Aval, Baltic International Bank, Pravex-Bank, Uniqa, Mott MacDonald, NCH, Akron, Astellas Pharma, Alvogen, Pioneer, Dragon Capital, Hongyang Metal Industry, Multi Veste Ukraine, Rele, Smart Invest Holding, Hyundaі, Geely, ViDi Group, and other major companies and holdings.”

Anna Sisetska, who leads the VKP antitrust & competition practice, specializes in project and trade finance. VKP reports that “among Anna’s clients are the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, BOC Aviation, SMBC Aviation, Castlelake, Alterna, Geely, Mitsubishi Corporation, Global Space Management, Arricano Group, Malteurop Group, Dragon Capital, CAT Cargo Ukraine, Ciklum, Coca Cola, UPS.” She has been employed with the firm since 2006.

In a statement released by the firm, Managing Partner Andriy Stelmashchuk said: “We are happy to welcome as partners our colleagues who are renowned professionals in their practices. For years of their work at Vasil Kisil & Partners, Anna, Volodymyr, and Oleg have been acting at a high professional level, and deservedly received recognitions from clients and colleagues on the legal market. Having expanded our partners team, we continue developing and strengthening our leading positions in the key practices and industries.”

Aequo has advised Ukraine’s Dragon Capital Group on the acquisition of a logistics and an industrial center in the Kyiv region of Ukraine. The sellers were private individuals, whose names were not disclosed.

One logistics center is located in Bucha, and it has an area of 31,508 square meters, while the second, an industrial center from Hostomel, has an area of 10,203 square meters. Aequo describes both centers as “modern high-quality assets occupied by solid tenants, including Unilever, a long-term lessee.”

“We are happy to have assisted Dragon Capital, our long-standing client, with these and other landmark transactions, which mark a steady revival of the Ukrainian commercial real estate market,” commented Aequo Partner Yulia Kyrpa, who supervised the work of Senior Associate Bohdan Dmukhovskyy and Associate Mykhailo Soroka on the deal.

Clifford Chance and Avellum have advised the EBRD on a loan of up to USD 350 million to support the modernization and environmental upgrade of Ukraine’s largest steel mill, PubJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih. ArcelorMittal was advised by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and the Kyiv office of Kinstellar.

The EBRD loan, which Clifford Chance describes as “the largest private sector investment program in Ukraine in recent years,” will be structured as an A-loan of up to USD 200 million provided for the bank’s own account and a B-loan of up to USD 150 million, which will be syndicated to commercial banks. According to Clifford Chance, “the investment will allow ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih to upgrade its facilities for sintering – one of the early stages in the process of refining iron ore – and reline one of the plant’s blast furnaces. The investment will also allow the addition of two new continuous casters, along with improvements to the plant’s competitiveness, energy efficiency, and environmental performance.

The project supports the EBRD’s Green Economy Transition approach as it will reduce ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih’s CO2 emissions. It will also significantly reduce dust emissions from a current 14,700 tonnes per year to about 3,000 tonnes per year, as well as other specific emissions, including nitrogen oxide.”

The Clifford Chance team was supervised and co-ordinated by Warsaw-based Counsel Rafal Zakrzewski, supported by Luxembourg-based Senior Associates Constantin Iscru and Sadan Ramovic.

The Avellum team was led by Partner Glib Bondar, supported by Associates Tetiana Mykhailenko and Orest Franchuk.

The Cleary team included Partner Andrew Shutter, Associates Jessica Man and Simarpreet Panesar, and Trainee Associate Jack Winfield.

The Kyiv-based Kinstellar team consisted of Counsel Andriy Nikiforov and Associate Serhiy Mykhaylyk.

Aequo has advised JSCB Industrialbank on the restructuring of Mercury LLC’s EUR 19.7 million debt under a syndicated loan secured by the mortgage of Kyiv’s Khreschatyk hotel.

According to Aequo, the loan was the first-ever financial restructuring made under Ukraine’s On Financial Restructuring law involving multiple creditors: JSCB Industrialbank, JSC Express-Bank, and the financial company Capital Express LLC.

Aequo’s team was supervised Partner Yulia Kyrpa and included Associate Valeriy Savva.

Vasil Kisil & Partners has been acting as legal counsel to the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine, operating under the auspices of the Council of Europe, in relation to a change in its regional structure.

According to VKP, the firm’s lawyers “have been giving comprehensive legal support to the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC) at all stages, including the analysis of the company’s current structure and staff. They are now developing, together with directors of UA:PBC Central Directorate, a general strategy and step-by-step algorithm to optimize the staff configuration of the public TV [network].”

“Building up an independent public broadcaster in Ukraine is a very challenging and important project; therefore, we are proud to be involved in the reforms the public TV team is currently implementing,” commented VKP Partner Oksana Voynarovska, the Head of Labor & Employment at the firm.

“This law firm is one of the best in the country; so, we are happy that the most qualified experts are involved in planning and implementing the reform of the Public Broadcasting Company’s regional structure,” said Oleksandr Liiev, UA:PBC Executive Director. “We still have ahead of the most complicated stage of implementing all of our plans. I am sure that this professional legal support will allow us to pass it successfully and in compliance with all legal provisions.”

Ilarion Tomarov has joined Vasil Kisil & Partners as Counsel and head of the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group.

Tomarov spent seven and a half years as Senior Lawyer on Intellectual Property at the Nemiroff Ukrainian Vodka Company, two and a half years as a Senior Associate and Head of IP at Eterna Law, and the past seven months as Counsel and Head of IP/IT at Taylor Wessing Ukraine. He focuses on judicial protection of intellectual property rights, protection of IT company assets, legal support for e-commerce projects, IP due diligence, and data protection. 

“We are glad to welcome Ilarion Tomarov as a member of Vasil Kisil & Partners’ team,” said Vasil Kisil & Partner Managing Partner Andriy Stelmashchuk. “Ilarion’s experience and professional skills meet high expectations of our IP clients, among which are both IT startups and major international companies.” 

“Vasil Kisil & Partners is one of the few firms where I have been dreaming to work since I changed my professional path from an in-house lawyer to a counsel,” said Tomarov. “I share the trust, leadership, and responsibility values that Vasil Kisil & Partners are supporting, and I am happy to have such an opportunity to develop this firm’s intellectual property practice among like-minded people.”

Konnov & Sozanovsky has merged with ARTEX Ukraine, an intellectual property services firm, with former ARTEX Ukraine Managing Partner Alexander Molotai becoming K&S’s Head of IP.

ARTEX Ukraine operated in Ukraine from 2011 until joining K&S. According to K&S, “the firm possesses a large clientele, and its team is experienced in providing Ukrainian and international clients with services in the area of intellectual property rights protection.”

According to Konnov & Sozanovsky, “such joining forces will allow Konnov & Sozanovsky to strengthen its IP practice, diversify services as well as to provide a competitive edge in the Ukrainian market of legal services.” In addition, according to K&S, Alexander Molotai (pictured), “has over fifteen years of practice in various aspects of intellectual property and unfair competition law. Alexander’s experience embraces a range of issues related to intellectual property subject matter, such as drawing up and deploying of IP protection strategies for various types of businesses, structuring of transactions that involve IP assets (transfer and licensing of technology and goodwill), suppression of unfair business practices and IP litigation.”

Konnov & Sozanovsky has successfully represented Microsoft Ukraine in a UAH 2.38 million labor dispute.

According to K&S, “having considered the case, the Goloseevsky District Court of Kiev dismissed all claims brought against Microsoft Ukraine and its Director.”

K&S Partner Alexey Pokotylo represented Microsoft Ukraine’s interests before the court.