The rule of law and independence of the judicial system are integral for both Ukraine’s fight against corruption and foreign investments. These have also been important messages in Volodymyr Zelensky’s presidential campaign.
According to RBK-Ukraine, however, the president’s entourage has affected a curious court decision regarding a company called T.M.M. Serving as a precedent, the case may result in a number of bigger consequences.
In a nutshell, the Supreme Court decision canceled the arbitration court's verdict on the collection of debts from T.M.M. The essence of the issue at hand: the bank is trying to force T.M.M. into repaying a loan the company doesn’t want to repay, and it appears like Mr. Zelensky’s associates played a role in changing the court’s mind.
T.M.M, owned by Mykola Tolmachov, has been operating in the construction market since 1992. In 2011, Tolmachov was even considered one of the wealthiest Ukrainians, with his fortune estimated at $892 million. At the same time, his company has been a focal point of numerous scandals – from fraud to the violation of building rules, from tax evasion to complaints of residents.
According to Channel 24, in the past, Tolmachov used to have close connections in the Kyiv City State Administration.
Then, in 2016, three Ukrainian banks – Ukrsotsbank, PUMB, and Oschadbank – accused T.M.M. of failing to repay 1 billion UAH. Tolmachev’s firm also didn’t repay Ukrsotsbank 15 million euros. T.M.M. requested a deferment, and the bank proposed a restructuring program. In 2017, however, new delays began, and Alfa-Bank (the owner of Ukrsotsbank) started negotiations with T.M.M. on debt settlement. After T.M.M. failed to comply with agreements, Alfa-Bank was forced to initiate legal proceedings. As a result, the court decided to put up the debtor’s property for auction. T.M.M. paid off a significant part of its debt, yet it tried to challenge the evaluation of the property and the legality of the action. It lost.
In 2019, however, Ukraine’s Security Service reopened the case on alleged auction violations.
As RBK-Ukraine noted, the SBU’s actions have intriguing roots. The financial director of T.M.M. is Larysa Chivurina, the wife of Andrii Chivurin, who is the editor of the show "Liga Smikhu" (“League of Laughter”). “Liga Smikhu”, in turn, is produced by Studio Kvartal-95, where both President Zelensky and SBU head Ivan Bakanov had worked. At the same time, Larysa Chivurina has businesses in the occupied Crimea, which SBU conveniently ignores.
In the end, the Supreme Court appealed the decision of the arbitrary court.
“Such a change in the T.M.M. case is rooted in the friendly relations between the debtor company's management and the president’s entourage. The latter doesn’t yet realize that the consequence of this kind of “justice” might hit far more than one bank,” the article concluded.