Anastasia Radina, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada’s Anti-Corruption Committee, has raised questions regarding the participation of «Prioritas“ Law Firm LLC in ARMA’s repeat tender for the management of IDS Ukraine’s corporate rights. The agency declared the firm the winner of the tender on 21 September; however, the actual transfer of assets will only take place following audits and the necessary approvals.
Briefly about the main points
- ARMA has selected «Prioritas» as the successful bidder in the selection process for the corporate rights manager of IDS Ukraine.
- Radina raised concerns about possible irregularities during the company’s participation in the tender.
- She said she had sent enquiries to the Cabinet of Ministers and ARMA.
- The transfer of assets to the successful bidder is still subject to checks and approvals.
What is the status of the ARMA decision?
On 24 September, ARMA announced that, on 21 September, its commission had selected «Prioritas» as the winner of the selection procedure for the administrator of IDS Ukraine’s corporate rights. The group includes assets associated with the «Morshynska», «Mirgorodska», «Alaska» and other brands.
At the same time determining the winner does not mean that asset management has begun. According to ARMA, the company still has to undergo a check of its professional and financial capacity, finalise the contract and complete antitrust and other authorisation procedures.
What Anastasia Radina said
In a video message, Radina stated that her analysis of the network of connections surrounding «Prioritas» leads to Yaroslava Pakholchuk, whom she described as a business partner Timur Mindich. This is a public statement by the MP: no documents that would independently confirm this chain of connections have been made public in the available materials.
Furthermore, according to Radina, forged documents may have been used to take part in the selection process. She also claimed that a competitor had been brought into the potential administrator’s team, viewing this as a conflict of interest. There are no specific court rulings, decisions by law enforcement agencies or the ARMA in the available materials that would establish these violations.
Radina stated that she had sent enquiries to the Cabinet of Ministers and ARMA regarding the next steps in the tender. No responses had been received from the addressees at the time of the publication of her statement.
How the second round of selection took place
ARMA announced the first tender for the appointment of a corporate rights manager for IDS Ukraine on 15 May. In June, the agency decided to repeat the procedure, as only one bid had been received.
A second round was announced on 10 July, and on 7 September an electronic auction took place with five bidders participating. According to ARMA, the winning bid provides for dividend income for the state of at least 1 billion hryvnias after deduction of the administrator’s fee. This is a parameter of the tender bid, not funds already received by the state.
The next steps in the procedure depend on ARMA’s checks and approvals. The comments raised by Radina require a response from the recipients of her enquiries or documentary evidence.
