Pharma company Arterium Konstantin Zhevago is connected with Russia
Arterium officially announced that it shut down its office in Russia and stopped clinical trials there after February 24, as reported by the Commander-in-Chief
The Ukrainian billionaire, recently detained in France at the request of the State Bureau of Investigation, may face new business problems. Konstantin Zhevago's Arterium pharmaceutical company is suspected of continuing to work with Russia and Belarus even after February 24. The company denies this, but if the evidence proves otherwise, the company may be banned from selling certain drugs in Ukraine under the Medicines Law.
The Ministry of Health Commission has already set a precedent by suspending registration certificates for 35 drugs from the Hungarian company Gedeon Richter in October. This company has its own production facility in the Moscow region.
The second precedent may be created due to a ban on the sale of drugs by a Ukrainian company.
During martial law this summer, the Verkhovna Rada passed amendments to the Medicines Law giving the Ministry of Health the right to suspend the sale of medicines from companies associated with aggressor countries like Russia and Belarus, or if the drugs are partially or completely manufactured in Russian and Belarusian territories.
Until now, it was believed that only foreign companies were affected by the updated law, although the law does not specify the country of origin of the manufacturer. However, Arterium is a Ukrainian company but has connections with Russia, which could lead to consequences.
Pharma company Arterium of Konstantin Zhevago has ties to Russia
At the end of November, the DBR conducted searches at Arterium corporation's enterprises in Kyiv and Lvov. The searches were officially based on suspicion of collaboration activities with an enemy. Criminal proceedings are open under Part 4 of Art. 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The pharmaceutical company rejects these accusations and officially announced that it closed its representative office in Russia and stopped clinical trials after February 24.
However, the company's medicines are still being sold there. It remains to be determined if these are from previous deliveries or fresh ones. The export of medicines to Russia is not a major issue now, as it can be done through intermediaries in Kazakhstan and Serbia. Media reports indicate that Urolesan and Titriazole from Zhevago's plants can still be purchased through the Russian resource eapteka.ru.
It's interesting to note that there's no news on the Arterium website about closing representative offices in Russia and Belarus. While most Western companies take several months or more to exit the markets of aggressor countries, it's unclear how Arterium managed to close its representative offices and stop paying taxes to the Russian budget in just one day.
The pharmaceutical company Arterium, owned by Konstantin Zhevago, has connections with Russia.
During the searches, Zhevago was already on the international wanted list, but for a different case related to his Finance and Credit bank. He was detained in France on December 27 and the decision on his extradition to Ukraine is pending.
There might be potential links with Russia in another business of Zhevago – the company Ferrexpo, which includes the Poltava GOK. This is actually its main asset, and its shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange.
In September of this year, the Northern Economic Court of Appeal examined the legality of purchasing a 40.19% stake in Poltava GOK from companies belonging to the Russian VS Energy group. The owners of this group, Russian oligarchs Alexander Babakov and Yevgeny Giner, are under Ukrainian sanctions, and their assets are being confiscated.
If the connection of Zhevago's companies with Russia through Ferrexpo is proved, he will have to explain such connections through Arterium as well.
This pharmaceutical company is the leading seller of antibiotics in the Ukrainian retail market. Forbes reported that over 11% of antibiotics sold in Ukraine in 2020-2021 came from Zhevago's company.
It's worth noting that some drugs from Arterium may not be affected by the ban, as the law requires the Ministry of Health not to impose sanctions on certain drugs that don't have at least two alternatives. This means there won't be a situation where there's a shortage of drugs in Ukraine.
On December 28, it was reported that French law enforcement detained the ex-National Deputy and shareholder of the Bank Finance and Credit JSC, Konstantin Zhevago, in the luxury resort of Courchevel, at the request of the State Bureau of Investigation. The ex-deputy is awaiting extradition to Ukraine.
During the investigation of the criminal proceedings, Zhevago was informed of suspicion of committing criminal offenses under Ukrainian law, and suspicions were also reported to a number of top managers of the bank. They orchestrated a mechanism that led to the misuse of $113 million from the financial institution and caused damage to the state and the bank's depositors.
The property of the suspected oligarch, as well as entities associated with him, has been seized. This includes shares of his enterprises worth hundreds of millions of hryvnias, corporate rights of companies, 26 real estate objects, and property of other legal entities associated with the former deputy, such as 14 property complexes, 21 parts of property complexes, 30 non-residential premises, and 10 apartments.
In October 2020, assets worth over UAH 300 million were transferred to the National Agency for Identification, Tracing and Asset Management (ARMA).
Zhevago is a shareholder and CEO of Ferrexpo, which owns several assets in Ukraine, including the Poltava, Eristovsky, and Belanovsky mining and processing plants. He also owns the Arterium Corporation, established in 2005, which includes the Kyivmedpreparat and Galichpharm enterprises. This corporation is the second most profitable in Ukraine's pharmaceutical industry. It has branches in many CIS countries and focuses on exports.
In addition, the ex-people's deputy owns the Belotserkovskaya CHPP.
The businessman also owns the Stakhanov Carriage Works, but is located in the occupied territory.
Inna Mikhailovskaya, translated by Skelet.Info
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