Ukrainian billionaire sues business rivals in London
KYIV |
KYIV May 20 (Reuters) – Ukrainian billionaire industrialist
Viktor Pinchuk is suing two of his compatriots in London’s High
Court, saying they failed to hand over an iron ore business for
which he paid $143 million.
The Krivy Rih Iron Ore Combine is one of Ukraine’s top ten
iron ore producers and made a net profit of about $100 million
last year.
Pinchuk, a son-in-law of former Ukrainian president Leonid
Kuchma, says he agreed to buy the factory in the city of Krivy
Rih from Gennadiy Bogolyubov and Igor Kolomoisky in 2004,
according to his claim filed in March.
It says Bogolyubov and Kolomoisky did not transfer the asset
to Pinchuk after receiving the money and that the two have since
sold a 50-percent stake in the plant to steelmaking mogul Rinat
Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man and one of the key backers of
President Viktor Yanukovich.
“Every step of the way, Viktor Pinchuk has fulfilled his
part of the bargain but Gennadiy Bogolyubov and Igor Kolomoisky
have done exactly the opposite,” a spokesman for Pinchuk said on
Monday. “Our attempts to resolve the matter amicably over the
years have all failed.”
At the time of the deal, the parties agreed to settle all
potential disputes in an English court, and Bogolyubov’s
residential address is in England, according to the claim.
A lawyer for Bogolyubov said he would fight the claim.
“Mr Bogolyubov regards the claim as misconceived and we will
be vigorously defending it,” said Ian Terry of law firm
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Kolomoisky could not be reached for comment.
Bogolyubov and Kolomoisky are co-owners of Ukraine’s largest
bank, Privatbank, which had no immediate comment.
Pinchuk’s business interests range from pipes and metals to
media.
(Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Additional reporting by Natalia
Zinets; editing by Tom Pfeiffer)