According to media reports, Canadian energy company TIU has withdrawn from the Ukrainian market after a standoff with the Nikopol ferroalloy plant owned by Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoysky
“The justice system in Ukraine proved unable to protect our investment in Nikopol. Therefore, we decided to withdraw from there”, – said TIU Canada CEO Michael Jurkovic.
Previously, the company had installed a solar power plant that supplied Nikopol with energy for three years. However, after a conflict with Kolomoysky’s plant, the Canadian company decided to dismantle the equipment and leave the town.
According to the Canadian investors, their company was raided by oligarchs. The solar power plant operated on the premises of the Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant, but two years ago the facility was disconnected from the plant’s power grids, explaining this by the need for repairs.
But in all the two years of downtime, no one has started repairs. At the same time, the owners of the ferroalloy plant made an offer to sell the facility for next to nothing.
The appeal to the courts did not reach a positive result for the Canadian investors: the court of first instance did not satisfy the plaintiff, and the appeal court decision was not in favour of the investor either. Meanwhile, the judges, Yurkovich said, recused themselves one after another for fear of crossing the Ukrainian oligarchs.
“The last straw for me was the way we were treated in court. And how some people tried to influence our people – through political pressure, through threats. And we decided – we will move, it will be better”, – said Yurkovich.
TIU said that they made a video addressed to President Zelenski, but did not receive a response from the head of state.
“And before that, the president said he would protect Ukraine from the oligarchs”, – Yurkovich summarised