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understands this, with even Zelenskiy’s own 95 Kvartal comedy troupe performing skits depicting the two oligarchs abusing their excessive power,” Zenon Zawada of Concorde Capital said in a note.
“While Akhmetov has been treading between the pro-Western and pro-Russian camps, never committing himself to either one, Kolomoisky has swung entirely to the pro-Russian camp since Zelenskiy’s election in spring 2019. Unfortunately, neither of these figures has done much for Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration and it’s apparent the US is acting to reduce Kolomoisky’s influence. So we see Akhmetov retaining much of his power and influence, while Kolomoisky has reached his peak, facing much litigation in the US,” Zawada added.
2.4 Oligarchs trying to derail Ukraine’s privatisation programme, warns the head of Ukraine’s State Property Fund
The head of Ukraine’s State Property Fund (SPF) Dmytro Sennychenko warned that oligarch groups were actively trying to derail Ukraine’s privatisation programme by using law enforcement agencies to illegally raid and investigate the objects slated for sale.
The state budget risks losing UAH12bn (425mn) this year from failed privatisations as a result.
"The SPF strongly condemns any attempts to stop and roll back the privatization of public property by law enforcement agencies, former shadow owners and oligarchic groups. Any attempt to put illegal pressure on enterprises threatens the process of building a market and investment attractive economy in Ukraine. Denationalization of the economy is a priority for the president and government of Ukraine, as well as part of Ukraine's international obligations," Sennychenko said as cited by Interfax Ukraine.
As bne IntelliNews recently reported in a feature “The Oligarch Problem” interference in government by vested interests is amongst the biggest problems countries in transition face. And privatisations are a particularly attractive target for oligarchs. If they can make a privatisation unappealing they can buy attractive assets for pennies on the dollar.
A favourite tactic is to load a state-owned company up with debt by offering cheap loans to an inefficient and cash-strapped state-owned enterprise (SOEs) so that it becomes exposed to a threat of bankruptcy making it impossible to sell to any investor that doesn't hold the debt.
This tactic as been employed with Odessa Port Plant (OPP), one of the most attractive assets on Ukraine’s privatisation list. However, as bne IntelliNews has reported the privatisation attempts have failed multiple times as outside investors are afraid of the Ukrainian oligarchs that hold large debts by the plant.
Potential buyers must reckon with repaying $251mn in debt to Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash's Ostchem company, $32mn to banks and traders for previously supplied natural gas, and invest at least another $100mn in
10 UKRAINE Country Report February 2021 www.intellinews.com
