PrivatBank has put up for sale the Odesa port of Borivazh and is even ready to cut the price by almost half

PrivatBank has put up for sale a claim to one of Ukraine's largest operating grain ports for over UAH 3.5 billion. However, contrary to the usual practice, the auction provides for a nearly halving of the lot value: to UAH 2 billion.

At the same time, there have been recent events around the port that may indicate the possible implementation of dubious schemes involving fictitious transactions with the participation of companies associated with Ukrainian businessman Hennadii Boholiubov.

According to the SETAM trading platform, PrivatBank has put up for sale its claim under loan agreements to Borivazh LLC in the amount of almost UAH 3 billion 556 million. The starting price of the lot is about UAH 3 billion 428 million.

However, contrary to the established practice, the auction provides for a reduction of the lot value to UAH 2 billion (by 44% of the initial amount). Usually, banks hold the first auction without the possibility of reducing the price. And only if the auction fails, the lot is put up for sale again, with a reduction in value.

In the case of the debt of Borivazh LLC, one of the country's largest operating grain ports, Borivazh, was pledged as collateral for the loans received from PrivatBank. Moreover, it is quite profitable: according to publicly available data, in 2022 and the first half of 2024, the operator of the port, Terminal Borivazh LLC, received more than UAH 1.3 billion in net profit from its operation.

Recently, the port was mortgaged to Terminal Borivazh LLC and then arrested by the court. The courts are currently considering about a dozen lawsuits challenging the loan agreements, pledges, and guarantees entered into, including those between Borivazh LLC and PrivatBank. Therefore, PrivatBank's claims in such circumstances look questionable and may be challenged in court. In addition, the port itself was transferred to a fictitious mortgage.

Therefore, only the party involved in the conflict can buy the lot. It would be much more profitable for the bank to foreclose on the port itself and then sell it to the highest bidder.

On August 19, the Commercial Court of Dnipropetrovs'k Region declared Borivaz LLC bankrupt, and liquidation proceedings were launched. Ten days later, on August 28, the court banned the auction of the right to claim against Borivaz LLC. After that, lawyers for Privat and companies associated with Boholyubov are said to have bombarded the court with motions and complaints, delaying the transition of Borivaz LLC into liquidation.

It seems that while PrivatBank's supervisory board is selecting a new chairman of the board after Gerhard Bösch's dismissal, interested parties have decided to take advantage of the situation. And the state-owned bank is essentially appealing the ruling in a lawsuit that could return the "illegally withdrawn collateral" to the bank.

Earlier, it was reported that one of the key shareholders of Privat Group, Oleksii Martynov, was going to sue Boholyubov after the latter sold joint assets and claimed that he "does not remember the partnership."