In view of misinformation being spread on the role of DCH in settling of debts by AIS Group of Companies to UkrSibbank JSC, DCH press service states the following officially:
1. It is commonly known that foundation of UkrSibbank, a modern bank, a successful market player and a strategic financial institution of Ukraine, is an important milestone of the DCH investment history. After selling the asset to BNP Paribas International Group DCH experts consulted the bank on various issues including those of unscrupulous debtors’ toxic assets recovery as it was initiated by the Bank. DCH cooperates with a number of its foreign partners on this kind of issues if it is necessary to protect their investment in Ukrainian economy.
2. Among toxic loans granted by UkrSibbank JSC, a special place is occupied by the debts pool of AIS Corporation whose amount equals to about 50 mln. USD secured on real estate in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Rivne, Donetsk, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Khmelnytsky as well as on pledged vehicles. In terms of separate borrowers, the sum total of the loan has the following structure:
- AutoserviceT Ltd. – about $ 18 mln.
- Inter-Auto Ltd. – about $ 11.8 mln.
- Kremenchuh Car Assembly Plant – about $ 15.5 mln.
- Autoholding Ltd. –about $ 2.5 mln.
The co-founders of AIS Corporation Dmytro Svyatash and Vasyl Poliakov (who were beneficial owners of AIS Group at the time the indebtedness was formed in 2007-2008 and who still are, as far as we know, the beneficial owners) became securities, that is, according to Ukrainian law, solidary debtors.
3. In 2009, AIS Corporation defaulted on a pretext of the global economic crisis and refused the fulfillment of its obligations to UkrSibbank JSC. At the same time the name AIS Corporation – a well-known corporate brand – was changed into “Comp Concord” Corporation. Almost all the participants, their number equal to dozens of legal bodies, left AIS Corporation; 2 waves of bankruptcy were held which automatically meant debt moratoria. According to experts in law and economics, these steps were taken on purpose in order to ignore their debt obligations to banks. Moreover, when debt moratoria were introduced, AIS decision-makers (today, they are under the accusation of fraud, sham business) sold the real estate that had been mortgaged to UkrSibbank JSC after removing court orders to alienate mortgaged objects on the basis of a fake decision of the Voroshylovsky district court of Donetsk. Later, the real estate would be resold several times, shared by several legal bodies; the latter attempting at further division/splitting of the mortgaged property in order to change the property’s registration numbers and addresses. The mentioned above manipulations with the mortgaged property cannot but be legally classified as illegal withdrawal of mortgaged property. Especially taking into account the fact that in the “defaulted” year of 2009 the regional network of AIS centers was booming as described in numerous news bulletins on the official website of AIS Corporation during the period.
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4. Since 2009, UkrSibbank JSC has been trying to recover the debts mentioned in point 2 from the securities – Dmytro Svyatash and Vasyl Poliakov – through legal action. Being
solidary debtors, they are to discharge liabilities of the borrower companies. Taking into consideration the fact that the real estate was illegally withdrawn, recovering the debt from the securities and beneficial owners is the only way for the bank to get its money back. Yet, Dmytro Svyatash and Vasyl Poliakov have been evading fulfillment of their obligations for almost 10 years. They do not deny the fact of making bail but they aim at cancelling the bail at formal pretexts through legal action (e.g. a free form of bail instead of a paid one).
5. During 2009-2017, UkrSibbank JSC and Dmytro Svyatash and Vasyl Poliakov had numerous negotiations on debt rescheduling, sometimes involving DCH. On various stages of the negotiation process, the parties were trying to agree on settlement options: rescheduling at the initial stage and AIS debts purchases at a discount at further stages. Also, some agreements were formalized. Yet, the borrowers refused from fulfilling their obligations to the bank on this or that pretext.
6. AIS Group of Companies also had debts with other banks besides those to UkrSibbank JSC. In 2012, the government got the letter on the issue of AIS debts that was signed by Oleksandr Lukanov (president, CEO of Alpha-Bank JSC), Vadym Pushkarev (VTB Bank JSC board chairman), Serhyi Panov (acting chairman of the board of UkrSibbank BNP Paribas Group), Olena Yefremova (acting executive supervisor of the Independent Association of Ukrainian Banks). “We are forced to make this consolidated appeal by the facts of willful evasion of obligations to repay the loan in full by the companies that belong to AIS Group. These companies, in their turn, are connected with Ukrainian businessman and member of the Party of Regions Dmytro Svyatash,” the letter goes. “We, representatives of the biggest banks, are sure that this kind of actions by big businessmen who lead active social and political life are dangerous for the stability of the banking system of Ukraine and contradict economic interests of Ukraine interested in attracting investors… The borrowers manipulate legislative provisions. Documents are falsified, notaries are bribed, the mortgaged real estate is illegally withdrawn, companies are artificially made bankrupt in order to evade incurred liabilities,” states the document.
7. At the moment, AIS Corporation beneficial owners Svyatash and Poliakov are further manipulating debts and mortgages in order to evade incurred liabilities to loaners within personal guarantees:
- all the real estate that was illegally withdrawn by AIS as stated in point 2 now belongs to legal bodies whose final beneficiaries are Dmytro Svyatash’s immediate family: his parents Larysa Svyatash and Volodymyr Svyatash;
- all the debts of AIS to other lending banks (Svedbank and VTB) were purchased by legal bodies whose final beneficiary is a member Vasyl Poliakov’s immediate family, his sister Iryna Poliakova.
This information is proven by extracts from the State register.
8. The credit status of AIS Companies and their co-founders’ strategy adopted during the negotiations with UkrSibbank JSC have resulted in DCH acquiring the rights of outstanding claims. In its turn, DCH is also trying to recover the debts mentioned in point 2 through legal action.
9. In the aggregated debts pool that was resold by UkrSibbank JSC to DCH there is a personal debt of Dmytro Svyatash that amounts to 150,000 USD and 150,000 EUR – these are his credit cards “overdrafts”; the credit cards were issued in his name as AIS beneficiary on exceptional conditions. Because of the loan loss and interest accrual by court order 468,000 USD and 450,000 EUR were enforced. The debt in USD has existed since 2005; the debt in EURO – since 2008. Their due date is 2009 according to contracts. For 10 years that the debt has existed Dmytro Svyatash has paid back less than 1,000 USD.
Note.
According to Dmytro Svyatash’s declaration:
Salary of a people’s deputy of Ukraine 25,000 UAH.
Dmytro Svyatash lent 28 mln. UAH to Arevadze David Piruzovich
Dmytro Svyatash borrowed 5 mln. UAH from Lypynska Ilona Eduardivna
10. DCH is a responsible acquirer of the debts pool of the companies making up AIS Group as well as of Dmytro Svyatash’s debts. Fair court decisions on indebtedness recovery, in our opinion, will improve Ukraine’s investment image in the eyes of investors, including those representing the banking sector as it will testify to a possibility to really protect their rights against the invasion of unscrupulous people, including defaulters.
11. We are ready to provide all the interested mass media representatives with documentary evidence of the mentioned above facts.
