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02
September
2021

HACC decides to return next batch of ilmenite concentrate of UMCC seized in April to Singapore's IMMCO Trade

KYIV. Sept 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has ordered the return of a batch of ilmenite concentrate produced by the United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC) in the amount of 23,599 tonnes, intended for the supply of the Chinese Xiamen ITG Group Corp., Ltd., seized on April 17 this year during a search to the trading company IMMCO Trade PTE. Ltd (Singapore).

According to the court ruling dated August 3 of this year, a copy of which has been forwarded to Interfax-Ukraine, it comes into force from the moment of its announcement and is not subject to appeal.

According to the documents of the court case, the decision was made following an open court hearing of a complaint by a representative of the property owner in the interests of IMMCO Trade PTE Ltd against the inaction of a detective of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and a prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP), which implied the non-return of seized property, in criminal proceeding No. 62021000000000183 dated March 2, 2021.

This is not the first seizure of batches of titanium raw materials produced by UMCC for foreign companies. So, on January 13, 2021, UMCC announced another attempt to disrupt privatization as a result of searches carried out on the territory of its branch – Vilnohirsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant (Dnipropetrovsk region), in the central office in Kyiv and in the premises of some of the company’s employees. At the same time, it was noted that "this is not the first attempt to disrupt the privatization of JSC UMCC: in August 2020, attackers unsealed 10 hoppers of the company with ilmenite concentrate, which was shipped under a contract with U.S. Chemours, and earlier that they set the company’s manager’s car on fire."

"Representatives of the prosecutor’s office and the SBU conducted a number of unprecedented procedural violations during investigative actions. The criminal proceedings, which became the reason for organizing simultaneous searches at the company’s head office and at the Vilnohirsk branch, were dated August 2020, two months ahead of the signing of an allegedly unprofitable contract with the East Asian trading firm IMMCO Trade PTE. Ltd," UMCC said earlier in the press release.

At the same time, the carrier vessel with the rutile concentrate intended by IMMCO Trade PTE. Ltd, was deliberately blocked in the port for dubious criminal proceedings. On January 29 of this year, the Dzerzhynsky District Court of Kryvy Rih overturned the illegal seizure of UMCC products and returned 5,617 tonnes of rutile concentrate.

In turn, UMCC said that all contracts between UMCC and IMMCO TRADE PTE LTD, as with all other counterparties, were signed absolutely legally, in compliance with all the necessary procedures. Customs clearance of the goods is carried out in full compliance with the requirements of the law.

The management of UMCC linked the attempt to disrupt privatization with the previous management.