Nikolay Kucherenko // “Agroinvestgroup” cheats everyone
Agroinvestgroup holding specializes in growing grains and oilseeds for sale in Ukraine and abroad. Anticorrosive.
This article delves into the history of a significant scam in Ukraine's agricultural sector and its implications, particularly the individuals involved.
“Agroinvestgroup” cheats everyone
Nikolay Kucherenko established Agroinvestgroup in 2008, which grew to over 300 employees and a land bank of 32,000 hectares by 2019. The company became one of the largest agricultural holdings in southern Ukraine, benefiting from its strategic location near major seaports and owning a fleet of machinery and more than 20 silos.
Nikolay Kucherenko
By early 2019, Agroinvestgroup reportedly stopped honoring contracts, leading to layoffs and financial trouble. The company owed around $70 million.
Agroinvestgroup. As the saying goes: “Something went wrong…”
The bankruptcy of this major player caused significant losses, amounting to $200 million in 2019.
What led this market giant to bankruptcy? The question is not 'what' but 'who'.
Nikolai Kucherenko, along with his business partners Ivan Lefi, Vladimir Bograd, Vasily Kalashnik, and Vitaly Masyura, played key roles in this story.
Much has been said about these individuals and the events. Nikolai Kucherenko made public statements where he addressed his partners, who publicly disowned him, implying that they would face consequences. spoke So, why should they face consequences and why do some partners believe not everyone will be held accountable?
The partners lived lavishly and accrued significant debt over the years without financial planning or accounting, spending money on luxury items and expenses.
This was done using the scheme: “Vitalik, tell Lena that you need money.and indulged in expensive cars, leisure, and other 'essential' expenses. purchase seats in political parties.
Men simply didn't want to count, or didn't want to. They didn't work at a street stall, but managed one of the biggest holdings in southern Ukraine, which seems strange, don't you think?
But at this moment, the most logical question arises: "Did they really manage, or did they systematically lead to controlled bankruptcy?
The sphere of influence of the agricultural holding “Agroinvestgroup” includes PJSC “Ilyichevsk Oil and Fat Plant”, LLC “Ilyichevsk Grain Port”, PJSC “Odessa Oil and Fat Plant”.
After analyzing the judicial practice, it's clear that the problem with the unprofitability of the agricultural holding didn’t suddenly appear, but began to be created artificially since 2016 (our editors suspect even earlier).
PJSC Ilyichevsk Oil and Fat Plant, bankruptcy case No. 916/80/16. The Economic Court of the Odessa Region declared PJSC “Ilyichevsk Oil and Fat Plant” bankrupt and opened a liquidation procedure by a decision dated October 07, 2021. The legal case began in 2016.
Ilyichevsk Grain Port LLC, bankruptcy case No. 910/18929/16, Economic Court of the city of Kyiv, by a decision dated October 24, 2016, opened proceedings. After 8 years, no decision was made.
PJSC “Odessa Oil and Fat Plant”, bankruptcy case No. 916/4933/15, Economic Court of Odessa Region, by the Decree dated November 15, 2017, declared PJSC “Odesa Oil and Fat Plant” bankrupt and opened a liquidation procedure.
Three cases of bankruptcy of enterprises under the influence of Agroivestgroup have been dragging on for more than 8 years. It's hard to believe that the gentlemen “partners” or “non-partners” didn't know why they are doing this and are now trying to sell the “bike” that they just took the money and that’s it? They didn’t just take money. They took money and implemented a “scheme” so they could get away with it in the end.
For more than 8 years, the controlled bankruptcy of the three largest enterprises in the Odessa region has been dragging on, and they want to convince someone that the word “controlled” is unnecessary here?
For all these 8 years, the key persons of the scam have been earning money. Bankruptcy existed only so these individuals could continue to live lavishly, while the company’s creditors struggled in vain to achieve justice and compensation.
Finally, it's important to identify the main “conductors” of this process.
Vitaly Masyura. Yes, the one we mentioned at the beginning of the article. The one that rarely appears in the publication in the same text with the case of Agroinvestgroup and the Kucherenko family, the same one that Kucherenko Jr. first mentions in his posts, and then edits them so that Masyura’s surname successfully disappears.
Vitaly Masyura
Vitaly Masyura isn't just leading the process of bankruptcy of the agricultural holding's enterprises. He is a real “professional” in his field with significant experience, particularly in the banking sector, including a closed “case” involving illegal appropriation $50 million as a top manager of Delta-Bank, put on the wanted list in 2016.
Hiding from Kyiv, changing his job from a banker to agrarian (a very entertaining career growth), Mr. Masyura moved to the Odessa region and started to oversee the process of bankruptcy of Agroinvestgroup enterprises, in order to conceal all those numerous violations and abuses that had previously been committed by Kucherenko and Co. and the main goal is to make this process as long and difficult for all its participants as possible, while earning maximum funds along the way.
Vitaliy Masiura is an experienced individual who previously took out money from banks, and by getting involved in this process, he arranged it in such a way that, as of today, he essentially manages these enterprises, continues to gain for himself and his close associate Ivan Lefi (yes, the one who was the original partner, non-partner of Kucherenko Sr.). Meanwhile, many creditors continue to be left with nothing, and many are still struggling in order to fulfill all the obligations that arose against the backdrop of the Agroinvestgroup scam, which many have managed to safely forget about.
Of course, it would be incorrect not to mention a few words about Ivan Lefi, who, together with Masyura, continue to derive personal benefit and obstruct all legal proceedings at enterprises as much as possible, it would be incorrect.
Those same non-partners from left to right: Nikolai Kucherenko, Vasily Kalashnik, Ivan Lefi
Interesting fact: Ivan Lefi and Vitaly Masiura, among other things, are connected by one bank, specifically the previously mentioned Delta-Bank. Only Vitaly, being a top manager, successfully withdrew money from it, and Mr. Lefi, having a substantial amount of credit debts to the bank, successfully managed not to give them back, illegally removed bank property from mortgage collateral and continued to build his own business using other people’s money. Individuals like Lefi and Masyura eventually caused many Ukrainian banks to go bankrupt and led to the global crisis of the Ukrainian banking system.
I wonder if the modern Ukrainian society and the modern Ukrainian judicial system will once again “pull off such a scam”, only this time in the agricultural sector?
Our editors do not forget, but continue to ask other important questions: “How long will comrades like Masyura, Lefi and the Kucherenko family continue to go unpunished? How long do creditors have to wait for the situation in the courts to get off the ground so that they can legally receive what belongs to them, how long do other honest businessmen in the agricultural sector have to sort out the consequences of this situation?”
And of course, the main, last question is “Will everyone really have to sit?”, because it is important to consider that such a long and difficult scheme, which was organized by the main beneficiaries of the entire process, Vitaliy Masyura and Ivan Lefi, covers “high positions” among law enforcement agencies of Ukraine , as well as top officials. We are already preparing material to reveal individual details about these “patrons”.
Mikhail Romanenko
