British JPKenny is no longer a founder of Poltava Oil and Gas, although POGC thinks differently
A year ago the Supreme Arbitration Court overruled the March 21, 2001, resolution of the stockholders’ meeting of a joint venture known as the Poltava Oil and Gas Company (POGC). Presently, the Supreme Court of Ukraine reversed the decision, once again striking the British company JPKenny Exploration & Production, Ltd. from the list of founders. This time the court ruling is final and cannot be appealed to any Ukrainian court, reports Interfax Ukraine. Interestingly, the scent of what had transpired was first taken by the media from a telegram of the National Bank of Ukraine, admonishing the banks that the signature of Tymofiy Kaunov, chairman of the board, POGC, on any payment documents was henceforth null and void.
On March 14, 2001, the State Property Fund of Ukraine called a POGC stockholders’ meeting (using coercive means, a fact later mildly regretted by SPF Chairman Oleksandr Bondar at The Day’s round table) in which the British side took no part. The meeting resolved to banish JPKenny from the founders and transfer its 49% interest to the Oil and Gas Technologies Company. It was also then SPF replaced all POGC executives. Oleksandr Somov was appointed general director. He would subsequently head a limited company of the same name (POGC was re-registered as one, as decided by the Poltava city executive committee). That same March resolution relieved Tymofiy Kaunov of his post but he had continued in office, not as an impostor but in compliance with the said court decision reinstating JPKenny. In other words, according to Justice Oleksiy Shulhyn, the stockholders’ resolutions ousting JPKenny, replacing the POGC leadership, and adding OGT to the originators’ number were likewise annulled. The court further invalidated POGC re-registration as a limited partnership and canceled the latter’s registration.
The Day got in touch with POGC to know their reaction to the Supreme Arbitration Court ruling. Serhiy Laktionov, head of the company office in Kyiv, said he could not comment on a court decision. Simultaneously, he insisted that the company status remained the same and that all the founders remained.
Meanwhile a source affiliated with the POGC told The Day that the information about the Supreme Court decision being irreversible is a bit overstated, and that the case has been transferred to the Kyiv City Economic Court for review. The SCU press service could not offer any explanation. Its head Liana Shliaposhnykova said that the judges tend to decline comment. Calls placed to the city court were also fruitless, so the issue remains open. One thing is certain: the case will long travel from one court to the next within and quite possibly without Ukraine, for the persons and money involved are too conspicuous. Last year, British Premier Tony Blair sent a message to President Kuchma, expressing concern over SPF encroachments on JKX Oil & Gas assets and asking Mr. Kuchma to guarantee that JKX Oil & Gas would be able to manage its own assets; he noted in particular that foreign investment in Ukraine would suffer irreparable damage if the law did not reign supreme. On the other hand, The Day’s experts believe that several newly elected deputies from Our Ukraine are also interested in this conflict being settled. One can only wonder why the SPF is playing into their hand, via Oil and Gas Technologies, transferring public state-owned corporate property practically free of charge, without tenders. The Day called SPF Deputy Chairman Serhiy Hlushko for comment (he is the case officer, according to the SPF press service), but he was unavailable. The Editors are willing to offer him space for comment at his earliest convenience.
