Is
Uncle Sam “tossing” Kolomoiskii?
Kolomoiskii
23 March,
2015
Events in the Ukraine
are taking a very serious turn: Poroshenko has declared that private
“pocket” armies of governors will no longer be tolerated and he
has now given Kolomoiskii 24 hours to lay down arms.
Poroshenko’s chief henchmen – Arsen Avakov and the CIA’s
Valentin Nalivaichenko – have indicated that Poroshenko has their
full support and loyalty. In other words, the full power of the
junta is now threatening to come down on Kolomoiskii’s head.
Kolomoiskii, in turn, is preparing some kind of pro-Kolomoiskii
“maidan” in Dnepropetrovsk for Wednesday. In order to
prevent that, several death squads (“national guard battalions”)
have been sent to the city.
It sure looks like the
freaks are really going to go after each other.
It will be very
interesting to observe how this will play out. The US seems to
be fully supporting Poroshenko as will most other countries.
For the Empire, it might be a good moment to get rid of such a
fantastically odious figure like Kololmoiskii.
Interestingly,
Kolomoikii has recently declared in an interview that if new
elections were organized in Novorussia he believed that Zakharchenko
and other Novorussian officials would probably be reelected.
Such overtures to the Novorussian leadership are a sign that
Kolomoiskii is in a tough spot and that he is considering his
options.
As for Poroshenko, he
appears as bellicose as ever, making grand statements about
everything and running around in battle fatigues. Whether that will
be enough to impress a thug whose net worth is estimated at 1.3
billion
dollars is unclear to me. And yet, I don’t see Kolomoiskii
prevailing in this fight. Not only is the Empire clearly
supporting Poroshenko, as key “power figures” in the junta, but
even Russia has (reluctantly) accepted that, at least for the time
being, Poroshenko was if not fully legitimate, then the real de-facto
leader of the Nazi occupied Ukraine. So while left one on one
Kolomoiskii would probably easily defeat Poroshenko, the fact that
the latter has the full backing of the Empire will probably be
crucial.
I would add that for
the Empire to support the weaker party is normal, but not out of some
sense of justice for the little guy, but simply because the stronger
party does not need external support to win whereas the weaker party
always does. This is the real reason why the Empire will always
side with the minority, with the smaller group – it is easier to
control. Siding with Poroshenko just makes the him even
more dependent on US support.
So it all adds up:
Kolomoiskii is a universally loathed figure, there is a very good
chance that MH17 can be fully dumped on him (thereby providing the
Empire with a face saving “out”), he is probably very hard to
control and he is threatening the junta. If I was sitting in
Langley my recommendation would be clear: send him to Muzychko.
The Saker
Kolomoiskii
Kolomoisky finishing Ukraine up
By Valentin Katanosov
23 March,
2015
About 15
years ago, “natural selection”-based oligarchic capitalism
started being developed in Ukraine: oligarchs devoured small and
medium businesses, as well as state-owned assets. As resources of
primitive accumulation were going to be exhausted, oligarchs began to
devour each other by means of administrative pressure, raider
attacks, corrupt courts, trumped-up charges and, if necessary,
murder. This process was quite similar to a fight of scorpions in a
can.
After the
2014 coup, this “natural selection” fight sharply escalated. Such
oligarchs as Dmitry Firtash fizzled out, whereas other oligarchs are
still struggling to survive. For instance, Ukraine’s former
oligarch n.1, Rinat Akhmetov, has been already eliminated from the
world’s 100 richest people list: according to Bloomberg, he dropped
from 88th to 121th place. Just last year, Akhmetov’s wealth
decreased by 4.3 billion USD and dropped down to 9.6 billion USD.
Be that
as it may, only two scorpions succeeded in coming through to the
final battle: Petr Poroshenko and Igor’ Kolomoisky…
Even if
evaluating Poroshenko’s position in the business world became a
somewhat difficult task after his election, it’s still possible to
say something about Kolomoisky’s.
Let’s
see the latest news about him. On February 19, it was reported that
Kolomoisky’s company shares, traded on the London Stock Exchange,
had lost a quarter of their value just in a day. We are talking about
oil-and-gas company JKX Oil & Gas (hereinafter – JKX), which is
registered in the UK. Well, its blocking stake (27.47 %) belongs to
an offshore structure called Eclairs Group Ltd. Eclairs.
As Nagel Moore, Chairman of the Board of Directors, reported last spring in a letter to the shareholders, this company was registered “through an intricate network of offshore trusts” in the British Virgin Islands, its 59.1% share is owned by Kolomoisky, the remainder belongs to Ukrainian oligarch and Kolomoisky’s closest business partner Gennady Bogoljubov and his family.
As Nagel Moore, Chairman of the Board of Directors, reported last spring in a letter to the shareholders, this company was registered “through an intricate network of offshore trusts” in the British Virgin Islands, its 59.1% share is owned by Kolomoisky, the remainder belongs to Ukrainian oligarch and Kolomoisky’s closest business partner Gennady Bogoljubov and his family.
As for
the 19 February losses, the largest slump in JKX stock prices was
recorded in the middle of the day: 34 % below its opening price,
whereas there was a 25% rate to the end of the day. According to a
Reuters survey, at the beginning of February JKX had a market
capitalization of 90 mln USD. The company operates mainly in the
Ukraine (85% of revenues).
JKX has
also assets in Russia, Hungary and Slovakia. In Ukraine JKX holds
“Poltava Petroleum Company” (PPC), which is licensed to develop
Novo-Nicholas complex’s oil-and-gas fields in Poltava region, as
well as to explore the potential of Zaplavskoe, Elizavetskoe and
Chervonojarski-Vostochnoe oil fields.
Analysts
attributed the JKX February 19 stock collapse to Russian investment
group Proxima Capital, which, after two weeks of careful
consideration, eventually gave up its initial intention to acquire
JKX. The reasons of such a choice are quite understandable: JKX has
been rapidly losing ground all last year. As of February 4, company’s
securities had a 73% price loss in comparison with the same
activities in the previous year. In absolute terms, we’re talking
about a 250 million USD loss.
Kolomoisky
invested millions of dollars in JKX a few years ago, hoping to turn
them into billions in a short time. The company was expected to do
business in dealing with shale fields. In 2013, JKX launched a major
multistage fracturing project, which is still considered to be the
largest in Europe. According to experts, this project was going to
lead the country to an environmental disaster, with consequences
spreading far outside Ukraine and affecting Russia as well as
neighboring countries in Europe. But chaos started in Ukraine soon
after the project had been launched and JKX’s plans were thwarted.
An important role was also played by oil-price collapse, which made a
great deal of shale projects unfeasible.
To
Kolomoisky (an Israeli citizen) and his company is related another,
even more interesting story. JKX, which is controlled by Kolomoisky
and is based in UK, recently filed a 180 million USD lawsuit against
Ukraine government for violation of the European laws concerning the
Energy Charter and several bilateral investment protection agreements
(both signed by Ukraine with the United Kingdom and the Netherlands
).
JKX
applied to the International Court of Arbitration, seeking
compensation for the oil-and-gas exploitation rental payments, which
the Ukrainian division of JKX «has been illegally compelled” to
pay out since 2011.
As it was
stated in the lawsuit, official Kiev, though not being able to
fulfill such obligations, guaranteed JKX “stable and fair”
investment conditions. Bilateral agreements were intended to protect
foreign investors from the growth of tax burden, as well as from any
other change in the “rules of the game” in the oil-and-gas sector
in Ukraine.
However,
Kiev suddenly increased rental fee royalties from 28% to 55% for oil
and gas deposits, reaching a depth limit of five kilometers. In
addition to that, there were imposed some other toughening conditions
concerning taxes and rental payments, that had not been fixed in the
initial agreements. In mid-January 2015, the arbitration held in
Stockholm Chamber of Commerce confirmed that the company’s rental
fee should not exceed 28%. Official Kiev did not respond to this
decision at all.
It’s
funny that Kolomoisky, who has been holding the post of
Dnipropetrovsk region governor since March 2004, is making such high
demands of the same power he belongs to. He is accustomed to making
money through the use of “administrative resources”, anyway. If
the International Arbitration Court upholds the claim of JKX as well
as of the Ukrainian ” beneficiaries” behind it (namely,
Kolomoisky and Bogoljubov), Kolomoisky will make pretty sure through
all of his “administrative resources ” that Ukrainian treasury
fulfils the Court’s decision and pays the necessary “compensation”
.
Igor
Kolomoisky should be viewed as the perfect type of parasite that
feeds on state treasury. Here it is a recent example. “Naftogaz
Ukrainy” (dealing with oil extraction, transportation and refining)
is the largest state-owned company in Ukraine. “Naftogaz”
controls a number of subsidiaries, whose parent company has a full
(100 %) share capital or controlling stakes. One of “Naftogaz”’s
most famous “daughter” in ukrainian oil-and-gas market is the
company “Ukrnafta”, whose 51% share capital is owned by
“Naftogaz”, i.e., formally “Ukrnafta” belongs to the category
of state-owned companies. But only formally. Because it is actually
run by Kolomoisky’s trusted people. So, on February 10 Kolomoisky’s
management team of the state-owned “Ukrnafta ” filed a lawsuit
against the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy
and the Energy Ministry. “Ukrnafta” is pressing for the
disaffirmation of the 16 October 2014 Ukrainian Governments decree on
the allotment of four “Naftogaz” representatives into the auction
committee for the sale of crude oil, condensated and liquefied gas.
“Ukrnafta” is also expecting the exclusion of these representatives.
Verkhovna Rada’s
Deputy Serhiy Leshchenko disclosed the reasons of such a strange
claim by a state-owned company to state-run public authorities:“Ukrnafta” is also expecting the exclusion of these representatives.
“Before filing that claim, Kolomoisky has exhibited ‘Ukrnafta’ resources in fictitious (in essence) stock exchange market auctions for many months. These resources were bought by Kolomoisky’s companies on a non-competitive basis at the starting price (even with a 15 per cent allowance!). Kolomoisky’s savings and state-owned “Ukrnafta”’s losses amounted to 0.5-1 billion hryvnias at each auction”. According to Leshchenko, last week Kolomoisky was denied any allowance and was prevented from holding an auction, where oil was calculated at the rate of 15 hryvnias for one dollar (at a real exchange rate of more than 23 hryvnias). “That’s why now “Ukrnafta” is sabotaging a new auction, where oil is going to be sold at real market rate. It could seem to be an absurd approach, because “Ukrnafta” is depriving itself of additional profit. However, there is no absurdity at all: actually, state assets, no longer hiding, are working in the interests of “patriot” Kolomoisky”.
Last
year, Kolomoisky suffered serious losses in different fields and
became much poorer. Only in Crimea, he estimated his own losses at 2
billion USD. To these figures we must add the arrests of some other
assets in Russia and loss of assets in south-eastern Ukraine.
According to “Forbes”, in early 2015 his fortune was estimated at
1.3 billion USD (whereas two years earlier it reached 2.4 billion
USD)
Although Kolomoisky became poorer, other Ukrainian oligarchs are losing their money even faster. In order to somehow compensate for his losses, Kolomoisky is showing some quite remarkable resourcefulness. He is cunning and ruthless. It is not even excluded that he will succeed in eating that other big parasite Poroshenko. What next?
Although Kolomoisky became poorer, other Ukrainian oligarchs are losing their money even faster. In order to somehow compensate for his losses, Kolomoisky is showing some quite remarkable resourcefulness. He is cunning and ruthless. It is not even excluded that he will succeed in eating that other big parasite Poroshenko. What next?
Well,
then there will be nothing to devour anymore. Economy and State will
be destroyed completely in Ukraine. According to experts, Ukraine’s
overall production will fall from 10 to 20 percent in the current
year. And then Ukraine will be affected by a very different,
world-caliber kind of parasites, who will expropriate anything
Kolomoisky managed to steal. In other words, present-day Ukrainian
expropriators will be expropriated in their turn. Ukraine and
Ukrainian oligarchs are a visual aid for those who want to study
“natural selection” processes in a world of predators.
'New
details of assassination attempt on Givi' Interview with Givi
23.03.2015
Ukrainian crisis news. Latest news of Ukraine, Kiev, Kolomoisky, DPR,
LPR, NATO
Kolomoisky
stand off heats up at Odessa Oil Refinery
Коломойский проиграл битву за Одессу?
23 March,
2015
The Odessa oil refinery (NPZ) workers reported that there are fifty armed men at the factory. Who are they? They say it is the punisher battalion Dnepr-1. What mission do these militants have at the Odessa enterprise? By the way, the current owner pan Kurchenko does not have his own army of loyal and ruthless guard dogs ["dogs" refers to the Right Sector - KR]. Did he borrow them from the famous feudal Lord?
The employees of the company think quite differently: here, besides the fighters are also civillians and their mission is not constructive! The goal - is the dismantling and removal of the most valuable equipment and supplies of oil products.
Wow!
I.e. the people of Kolomoisky are preparing for the flight from Odessa, under the good traditions of marauders, grabbing the most valuable property from the local population.
And surely no one in town will protect the interests of the citizens, many of whom are fed by this famous plant!
Of course, you cannot count on ALPHA of the SBU - for several weeks these valiant fighters against separatists are sweeping the Nikolaev and Kherson regions from undesirables.
May be Odessans can count on other law enforcement agencies? Could... if the law enforcement chiefs were not Avakov and Katerynchuk!
Who will dare to quarrel with Benya because of some Kurchenko? And as for the fate of the citizens of this "separatist" city, the care for them does not extend beyond attempts to take their last, and to sent the naked and the hungry to the trenches of Debaltsevo or Izvarino.
Would anyone dare to shout: help, robbery!
Silence in response...
Analyst:
The conflict between Poroshenko and Kolomoisky could bury the
Ukrainian economy
23 March,
2015
Translated by Kristina Rus
The conflict between the authorities and Kolomoisky can derail the entire economy of Ukraine. This opinion was expressed by the head of the Kiev Center for Political Studies and Conflictology, Mikhail Pogrebinsky in an interview to "Kharkov News Agency".
According to the analyst, Kolomoisky has already shown his power to the authorities, and he really has something to back it up.
"The oligarch owns "PrivatBank" - the largest private bank in Ukraine. And the collapse of such a giant can bury the entire banking system of the country. Kolomoisky also has great assets in the oil industry, which brings him the largest profit. In addition, Kolomoisky controls not only Dnepropetrovsk region, of which he is a governor, but also has influence on the situation in the Odessa and Zaporozhye region. So you cannot fight with him, you have to negotiate with him. Otherwise, this war could bury the entire economy of the country", - says the analyst.
According to Pogrebinsky, in resolving the conflict, much will depend on the U.S. Ambassador. Meanwhile, according to the analyst, Jeffrey Payett failed to influence Kolomoisky to the extent that was expected in Kiev. The scandal around "Ukrtransnafta" quieted down, but is not over.
Earlier, the analyst suggested that if the President decides to refuse the services of Kolomoisky, it can lead to the formation of another self-proclaimed Republic in Ukraine.
"I can argue with anyone that Kolomoisky is not going anywhere, and then battalions of Kolomoisky can create a third People's Republic," - Pogrebinsky said at a press conference, commenting on the creation of a parallel general staff [by Dmitry Yarosh] in Dnepropetrovsk.
To the question of "Kharkov NA", if the likelihood of such a scenario increased today, the analyst explained that he spoke of such an option hypothetically, and in reality he hopes, this will not happen.
"But much in this conflict depends on the actions of the U.S. Ambassador", - he stressed.
Last week, the Parliament amended the law on joint stock companies, resulting in Kolomoisky loosing control of Ukrnafta. In addition, his protege Aleksandr Lazorko was dismissed from his position as the head of the company. The oligarch "showed his teeth" and took over the office of the company with his "private army". The President of Ukraine reprimanded the Governor of Dnepropetrovsk, but not for the armed seizure, but for being rude to the journalist of "Radio Liberty" (Svoboda). In response Kolomoisky blocked the accounts of Poroshenko for 50 million dollars in his "PrivatBank".
Kolomoisky
vs. Poroshenko: Kiev junta split into two camps because of a secret
Minsk protocol?
Translated by Kristina Rus
23 March,
2015
It
happened. The junta finally split into two camps. Benny yesterday
went all in. Poroshenko accepted the game. Today was very eventful.
1.
Nalyvaychenko accused the circle of Kolomoisky of involvement in the
murder of SBU captain.
2.
Poroshenko ordered to disarm all armed guards near the office of
"Ukrnafta".
3.
Continuing the theme, Poroshenko said:
"Territorial
defense will obey the clear military vertical of power and no
Governor will be allowed to have his own pocket UAF (armed forces of
Ukraine).
4.
In response to this four deputies withdrew from the faction of PPB
(Peter Porosjhenko Bloc): Korban, Liynyl, Filatov, Denisenko and
made a statement:
Peter
Poroshenko has decided to implement one of the decisions of the
secret protocol of the Minsk agreements. In it was the item on
the destruction of the "Right Sector".
"I
hope it's not true. But there are doubts, based on the reaction and
persecution," - said the deputy governor of Dnepropetrovsk,
Gennady Korban, stressing that "against him there are 8
criminal cases, and none against the deputies of the Opposition
bloc".
"Putin
broke his teeth on Dnepropetrovsk region, Poroshenko will break them
too. I'm out of the party. We invite all to the new veche
(popular assembly) on Wednesday at 18:00 on the square of Heroes of
Maidan. Petro Poroshenko has no relation to the revolution of
dignity. He is afraid of the third maidan, but actually the second
revolution is not over yet".
5.
A complete list of claims to the authorities was
announced by Deputy Kupriy.
The
Kiev regime has long been going towards this split. At the end of
last year only the US intervening in oligarchic quarrels was able to
keep the imaginary unity of the Maidan. But today even they were
powerless (or vice versa - managing the process of demolition of the
junta).
The
question of autocracy is relevant to any power: whether it's the
junta, or whether it's LDNR. LDNR was dealing with issues of
autocracy since the fall. Mostly successfully, but there are
problems. Now Poroshenko decided to deal with this problem.
Kolomoisky,
who is unwelcome on the ship of power, is not just going to go away.
Against him is the state apparatus. But he is not what he was a year
ago. Plus the popularity of Poroshenko is moving towards zero. People
are tired of war and all that is connected with it (death, poverty,
lack of prospects). The army is tired of constant betrayals, which
are associated with military leaders loyal to the President. Thus
Kolomoisky has a chance. He went for an open rebellion against Kiev.
His trumps are the Right Sector and other "volunteers",
whom Kiev sentenced to slaughter, and PrivatBank, which can crash the
finances of Ukraine.
In
any case, the dice is cast. Any coup lives by its own laws. It must
escalate. Anyone who will slack and backs off, will be swept away and
crushed. The coming days will clarify who is better prepared to
fight.
P.
S. This battle could have happened in November-December, February,
but each time the puppeteers delayed it. Apparently now is the time.
It is important that the initiator is Poroshenko. Kolomoisky actually
is only defending himself. Benya [Kolomoisky] cancelled his coup in
February (on the order from Washington).
PPS
An important indication of victory will be the kneeling proclamations
of loyal followers. For now everyone is frozen and waiting, afraid to
bet on the wrong side, which indicates some uncertainty of the
situation. Kolomoisky needs to raise the stakes and to be half a step
ahead. Otherwise, he will lose. For Poroshenko to win it will be
enough to stop the attempts of the opponent in the early days.
PPPS
It is noteworthy that Kolomoisky and his underlings began to make
quite socialist slogans about nationalization of unlawfully
privatized property.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Gordienko:
I remember how Kolomoisky's appointment saved the country. How Dnepropetrovsk became a fortress, I remember how Odessa breathed with hope [crediting Kolomoisky for Odessa massacre? - KR]
I am convinced that one of the conditions of the Minsk agreement is to destroy Putin's personal enemy - Benya.
Putin is not afraid, but is amused by the militant bunny [Yatsenyuk] and the candy king. And all the firtashs-levochkins-akhmetovs are just his personal slaves.
The scumbag Yeremeev with his gang are just refurbished bastards. Stalin described these people well: you are like an apple - red on the outside, white on the inside.
There is no doubt that these #ssholes will give up the country, without blinking an eye, and cheaper then for 30 silver coins.
But Benya wouldn't.
This is why the howl of the journalists, who don't see any enemies, besides Benya, is not journalism, it's a contract killing.
I agree that we should deal with Benya as an oligarch, but he should be last in line.
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