On January 14, 2023, the High Court of England issued an order to seize the assets of Sergiy Groza and Volodymyr Naumenko, owners of GNT Group and Olimpex Coupe International, which owns a grain terminal in Odessa, thereby satisfying the claim from GNT Group creditors - American investment companies Innovatus Capital Partners ("Innovatus") and Argentem Creek Partners ("ACP").
An investigation initiated by the creditors proved that the GNT Group liquidated all the grain pledged to Innovatus without the consent of the creditors.
Grain leaving Odessa’s port has become a critical aspect of negotiations between Ukraine, Russia, and world leaders due to its significance for global food security. The Black Sea Grain Initiative extension, which enabled the partial resumption of Ukrainian grain exports, highlights the importance of ensuring terminals in the region operate efficiently, transparently and with integrity.
Ana Firmato – Managing Director at Innovatus, said: “We find it despicable that the owners of GNT Group would exploit the war to commit fraud. Investigations show that all grain pledged to Innovatus has been fraudulently liquidated by the owners of GNT Group. Innovatus therefore had no choice but to pursue a worldwide freezing order to prevent further dissipation of assets by Volodymyr Naumenko and Sergiy Groza."
John Patton, Portfolio Manager – EMEA & Asia at ACP, added: "ACP and Innovatus have joined forces because of material failings of transparency and governance, and suspected large-scale asset dissipation and corporate wrongdoing. Since enforcement actions have begun; we have identified the transfer of members of the GNT Group which own silos to an entity in Switzerland which we understand is controlled by GNT Group’s Chief Financial Officer Dusan Denic. Once GNT Group relinquishes control of the port to responsible operators, these issues will be resolved with minimal disruption to the grain corridor. We are determined to continue our broader commitment to invest in Ukraine."
Innovatus and ACP have a long-standing history of investing in Ukraine. Both companies remain committed in ensuring that this grain terminal is managed correctly within Ukrainian and international guidelines.
