BY
A few days ago, your author bumped into the ever
radiant Lily Lynch, owner of the Balkanist. Rather flatteringly a request for a few
(hopefully erudite) lines was subsequently requested for inclusion in the
Balkanist in the near future – albeit lines with little to do with the
Balkans.
Today, those few lines were written relating to
corruption schemes at the ports of Odessa, a brief look at the who’s who, the
what’s what, and how far the scheme(s) climb up the nefarious Ukrainian
hierarchical tree.
Upon completion and emailing, the first news
read by your author related to Cargill confirmingthe long-known intention of a $130 million
investment in Yushni Port, Odessa.
As such, this entry would be far better as a
follow-on to the essay/article now in possession of the Balkanist awaiting
editing if they decide to use it. If not, undoubtedly it will appear here
some time in the future.
Just as Lord of the Rings trilogy was shown in
cinemas prior to the making of The Hobbit, you now have a far less
entertaining, but equally out of sequence entry.
Suffice to say, what currently sits with the
Balkanist outlines the relationship between nefarious and corrupt goings-on at
port terminals in collusion with, and also expressly instigated by the Customs
and Borders, State Fiscal Service, Administration of Seaports of Ukraine,
and the Ministry of Infrastructure. It also identifies suspicious roles
and personal relationships from Odessa to those in Kyiv. Hence this entry
would be better read post and not pre any Balkanist publication – but that’s
life! After all you watched Lord of the Rings before The Hobbit.
Anyway the Cargill announcement was long
expected, it is of course good news for Odessa, and Yushni in particular.
Cargill is obliged to acquire 51% of the terminal to be built by MV Cargo
and the new terminal will allow Cargill to ship up to 5 million (more) tonnes
of grains and other goods per year.
Two things are striking about the announcement
however, the first is that whilst the figure of $130 million is stated in the
signed memorandum yesterday, the initial numbers mentioned by Prime Minister
Yatseniuk were that of “about
$100 million“ only one month ago.
Does an additional $30 million class as “about”
on a forecasted $100 million project? Who costed the job so badly to be
out by 30% upon initial costing? Can there really be an additional $30
million in client desired “extras” added in the course of a month from Mr
Yatseniuk’s first announcement?
Having shipped from, and heavily invested in
other ports in Odessa since 1993, Cargill knows very well what it is doing –
and the nefariousness of the ports and associated authorities.
None are more nefarious than the Administration
of Seaports of Ukraine currently headed by Andrei Amelin – who just happens to
be a “Yatseniuk man”, and co-signatory of the Memorandum with Cargill.
This leads to the other striking issue.
During the past 22 years it has managed to export enormous quantities of
grain from Odessa ports that are nowhere near as deep as Yushni. Yushni
is by far the deepest Ukrainian port at 18.5 meters, yet such a depth
requirement has never been an issue for Cargill in all these years. In fact
at 18.5 meters, Yushni
is the deepest port on the Black Sea.
For some unknown reason, Andrei Amelin has
stated the Administration of Seaports of Ukraine will dredge the bottom of
Yushni port – despite it already being considerably deeper than existing ports
that Cargill have invested in and work from.
So be it, although it would seem unnecessary
prima facie and raises questions – At what cost the (actual verses
invoiced) dredging? At whose cost the dredging? Part of a $30
million investment hike in the space of a month? An ask no questions,
just send the invoice, way of facilitating the corruption chains that run from
Odessa to Kyiv via the nefarious entity that is the Administration of Seaports
of Ukraine?
Perhaps, coincidently (or not), Cargill having
managed to rescue more than $100 million from
Delta Bank when it liquidated, passing those losses on to the State Deposit
Guarantee Fund and depositors with sums greater than the deposit guarantee – in
short Ukraine – the deal was that the money would be reinvested in Odessa
should the Ministry of Finance allow Cargill to save otherwise “dead” capital
and turn it into capital that stands a chance of making a profit? A very
grubby little deal?
Keep these questions in mind, and await the
Balkanist piece.
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