Great confiscation. That awaits Russian and Belarusian assets in Ukraine

After all, by court decision, the company was arrested and submitted to the Office of the National Agency of Ukraine for the detection, search and management of assets obtained from corruption and other crimes (ARMA). The reason for the arrest was the connection of the owner of 67% of shares with the Russian oligarch from the close environment of Vladimir Putin - Arkady Rothenberg. This is not the only precedent of Russian business stop in Ukraine.

If, during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, Russian capital in Ukraine felt confident and planned further expansion, then after the annexation of Crimea and the beginning of the war in the Donbass in 2014, the existence of business of the Russian Federation in Ukraine in Ukraine was somewhat complicated, and after February 24, 2022 it became impossible.

According to the focus the experts interviewed, in Ukraine there are a number of legal paths for arrest and confiscation of property related to the aggressor country. In particular, the governing partner of the Advocacy Association "Chudovsky and partners", lawyer Igor Chudovsky points to the law on confiscation of property of Russians and Belarusians (No. 7194). It is about changes adopted to the Law on Panctions, which is already in effect in Ukraine.

"This law provides for the possibility of confiscation and recovery of assets of individuals or legal entities, as well as the assets that these persons can directly or indirectly dispose of - specifies Chudovsky. beyond.

”Agia Zagrebelskaya, founder of the league of antitrast, notes that the legal mechanism of asset-related assets related to the aggressor country was provided by the Law on Sanctions and provides for the following algorithm: Agia Zagrebelskaya adds that as a result, as a result of Russian Assets in Ukraine awaits confiscation, sale and coverage at the expense of the proceeds of part of Russia's aggression.

However, the interlocutor of focus is still unknown successful precedents of performing this algorithm. In the ARMA, the ARMA answered that there are three mechanisms in Ukraine today Seened, arrested and confiscated Even. Law enforcement officers violate criminal cases against Russians, Belarusians and collaborators, seize their assets and in many, but not in all cases, transfer them to the ARMA management, " - specified in the agency.

that law enforcement agencies are currently operating in the framework of traditional legislation-first and foremost articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine №110-2 (financing of actions taken for the purpose of violent change or overthrow of the constitutional order or seizure by financial items (tax evasion, dirty money laundering, etc. ).

It is important to understand that the transfer of an asset to ARMA is not confiscation, nationalization or collection for the benefit the court will not decide them to finally confiscate or return to the owners. For the boost The resolution of the value of assets of the ARMA applies the following steps: as reported by focus in the ARMA, since April 2022, more than 170 court decisions were approved in Ukraine to transfer assets to the agency's management.

This is several times more than in previous years of work since 2015. About 2/3 of the decisions concern Russian and Belarusian assets. More than 120 public competitions have announced the selection of these assets of the ARMA.

As a result, they chose the heads of such assets: the ARMA government also transferred the following strategic assets to the State Administration: Among the arrested Russian assets, Dmitry Gorununov distinguishes the following sign cases: in addition, assets of Belarusian companies were arrested: but not all property Ukraine, ARMA has already been transferred. Many assets related to the aggressor are probably still hidden by nominal owners. But there are precedents of arrest and such objects.

Dmitry Goryunov cites as an example of Marmalade shopping mall in Kiev. After all, the National Police of Ukraine found that the actual owners of part of this enterprise are officials of the Russian Federation, and the profit from the activities of the mall could well be directed to financing subversive activity against Ukraine. Russian business has left a deep mark in Ukraine, and its value should be significant in scale of the Ukrainian economy.

However, so far, it is obviously about the "tip of the iceberg. " "As of the end of June, the Economic Security Bureau reported about the seizure of assets by UAH 31 billion. If you add amounts from all subsequent reports about individual precedents, it turns out about UAH 53 billion," - said Dmitry Goryunov. So far in Ukraine the property of Russians and Belarus has been arrested and arrested in the amount of UAH 53 billion. However, this is the tip of the iceberg.

The ARMA reports that the value of assets transferred to the agency is measured by tens of billions of hryvnias. "When we are given a certain asset, no one conducts its professional assessment, so these figures are very approximate," ARMA noted. "Law enforcement officers focus on average market prices using a general methodology.

" The ARMA is added that the exact cost of assets becomes clear after the competitions for the selection of executives, because during this they attract professional appraisers. Any amounts cannot yet be final, since the search for assets associated with the aggressor continues. "Here you should pay attention to the foreign investments that came to Ukraine," said Vitaliy Sokurenko, lawyer of JSC Legal Strategy. "Very much of them came from offshore - Cyprus, Panama, Virginian Islands.

Ukrainian "Tovstosum". Establishing who exactly acts as the final beneficiary of these assets is a very difficult job. " In addition, in war, assets cannot sell the company to the new owner at a real price, so their estimation is still quite relative. "It is possible to realize assets in our conditions, but only for small amounts - about one tenth of real value," continues Vitaliy Sokurenko.

"Based on economic logic, this property is better transferred to management, and only when its value is higher" .

According to the ARMA, within the sanctions mechanism, the High Anti -Corruption Court (VAKS) recently made the first decision on the confiscation of assets related to Russian oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenko, namely: also in the ARMA add that within the framework of the mechanism of seizure of Russian assets in early August In 2022, the Government made a decision on confiscation of 900 property of Russia in favor of Ukraine. In addition to tangible assets, money is arrested.

At the beginning of the war, they were offered to fund the state budget through the purchase of military bonds. "After working with the People's Deputies on changes in the legislation and the long efforts to implement the new ARMA mechanism, it purchased the first package of securities worth 150 million UAH that the government can use to strengthen their defense capability," the ARMA reported.

Compared to the expenditure of Ukraine for the war and the aggressor, 150 million losses have the appearance of a drop in the sea. However, the ARMA deposit portfolio continues to grow by transferring the arrested funds and receiving money from the sale of property, and the mechanism of use of frozen funds for state defense has already been launched.

While the search, seizure and confiscation of Russian property in Ukraine continues, the media appeared in the media that the aforementioned Ocean Plaza shopping mall is restored. This was possible after the Pechersk Court of Kiev issued permission to use a commercial object. The situation was explained by UDP, which has a share of 33%in the mall.

"The court's decision to which the Ukrainian owner (UDP) is returned the right to manage his own package of shares, only unlocks the right to use the object. Namely - the right to conduct a business activity that will allow the shopping mall to restore work and instead of losses to generate the state as a new manager (in a person Arma) income, " - said in the company.