U.S. Funds Win Ukraine Court Support in Odesa Grain Terminal Spat

U.S. funds Argentem Creek Partners and Innovatus Capital Partners said they have won the support of a Ukrainian court in their bid to wrest control of an Odesa grain terminal operator from local financiers.

An appeal court in Lviv on Thursday rejected a request by the shareholders of Olimpex Coupe International, part of GN Terminal Enterprises, to dismiss the appointment of independent bankruptcy managers, the funds said in an emailed statement.

A spokesperson for GNT didn’t return calls and emails seeking comment. Olimpex and GNT are controlled by Serhiy Groza and Volodymyr Naumenko.

The ruling is a key step in the tussle for the ownership of the port facility. Olimpex defaulted on its loans even before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and creditors allege grain and sunflower seeds worth $130 million has disappeared from the terminal, according to the statement. The U.K. High Court imposed a $118 million worldwide freezing order against Groza and Naumenko. 

The Odesa region is home to Ukraine’s largest ports, where most of the country’s grain is shipped for export. The city has been targeted by Russian missiles and drones over the last two years. Even as the government in Moscow quashed a grain-export deal last year, Ukraine was able to reopen maritime shipments by forcing Russia’s navy to stay away from the north-western part of the Black Sea.

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• Source: https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/39437-us-funds-win-ukraine-court-support-in-odesa-grain-terminal-spat