The head of Naftogaz admitted that it is almost impossible to defeat Kolomoisky in a Ukrainian court
The state-owned company Naftogaz has two main opponents, the oligarchs, who are engaged in the theft of state assets.
Andrey Kobolev, head of the board of NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine, spoke about this on Channel 5, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“We have several classic opponents with whom we are in disputes regarding key issues of the company’s activities. I think that our main opponent, without exaggeration, can be considered Mr. Firtash and his structures. Kolomoisky is also a person whose interests contradict the interests of Naftogaz, but on the issue of Ukrnafta we are now in the process of a so-called divorce. We want to make sure that part of Kolomoisky’s property is left to Kolomoisky, and the part belonging to the state holding remains to the state holding, and not cooperate together under one legal entity,” Kobolev explained.
“Mr. Firtash’s business, and I am deeply convinced of this and can prove it with numbers, is not built on business. It is built, first of all, on the theft of assets of a state company, that is, Naftogaz. If he promises to steal less, this still will not solve the issue, so, in fact, there is no room for compromise here.
If we talk about Mr. Kolomoisky, then the situation there is different. He has a desire to part ways with Naftogaz, and we have a desire to do this. The flows of both money and oil between his private structures and those of Naftogaz were almost completely separated.
We cannot separate them completely, because the only oil refinery in Ukraine belongs to Kolomoisky, and whether you like it or not, the Ukrnafta company or any other company that produces oil will transport it to this plant, and we need to negotiate with him . These agreements take place on more or less understandable grounds, so the ideology of our divorce from Ukrnafta is very simple - gas remains to the state, oil goes to Kolomoisky. As long as he controls the refinery, he will always have the upper hand in matters of oil. We have it in gas issues,” added Kobolev.
The presenter also allowed the official to listen to a recording of his telephone conversation with Igor Kolomoisky in 2014, where the oligarch threatened him with seizing the Kremenchug Thermal Power Plant if it was turned off. Answering the question why he did not sue Kolomoisky for threats, Kobolev replied that in Ukraine there is practically no chance of winning in court against the oligarch.
“I think that it is almost impossible to win a trial against Kolomoisky in Ukraine with such a record. At least that’s what my lawyers explained to me. It makes no sense. I’ll tell you that our success in foreign courts, if compared with our success in Ukrainian courts, then in Ukraine it is much more difficult for us to litigate than abroad,” the head of Naftogaz concluded.
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