As is clear from investigative journalism, the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko was a client of law firm Mossack Fonseca, which created an offshore company in the British virgin Islands (BVI). This information was published on the website of the International consortium of investigative journalists (ICIJ) on 3 April 2016.
As stated in the investigation, Cyprus law firm, which represented the recently-acquired company Prime Assets Capital, describes it as “a Cypriot holding company and Ukrainian companies of the group, Roshen, one of the largest confectionery manufacturers in Europe.” A company representative reported that, while Prime Asset Partners and was established for “the person who is engaged in politics”, she “had no relation to his political activities”.
During the presidential campaign of 2015 Petro Poroshenko promised to sell most of its assets. They were handed Prime Assets Capital.
In October 2014 the “international invest Bank” is a Ukrainian Bank in which Poroshenko holds a controlling stake of the shares, sent a letter of recommendation in Mossack Fonseca, advising that accounts Poroshenko “serviced properly”.
The authors of the study ICIJ/OPPCR believe that the President Poroshenko could double to break the law: “He opened a new company, being in the presidential chair, and did not specify this asset in the financial Declaration”. Bi-bi-si could not yet independently confirm this assumption.
The representative of Petro Poroshenko said that the creation of the trust and its related companies had no relation to political and military events in Ukraine. Although Poroshenko did not include Prime Asset Partners in its Declaration, its financial advisors noticed that neither Prime Asset Partners, nor the two related companies in Cyprus and the Netherlands had no assets. They claim that the company was part of a corporate restructuring, which took place for the preparation of the group’s sales companies Roshen.
Advisors Poroshenko, according to the ICIJ website, wrote that this structure was responsible “market practice in Ukraine for businesses that want to prepare for the sale, bring in large capital markets or IPO, etc.” Also, the advisers of the Ukrainian President said that although Poroshenko is a shareholder, the shares it manages the licensed company, and the assets the Fund holds Prime Asset Capital, which was managed independently. According to advisers, these assets will be transferred in a “blind trust”, as soon as will be resolved legal formalities.
Billionaire and owner of the group of companies Roshen Petro Poroshenko was elected Ukraine’s President in 2015. At the beginning of his presidency he promised to confront the oligarchs.
The materials of the investigation against Poroshenko is part of a larger investigation by the International consortium of investigative journalists (ICIJ). During the investigation it was processed 11 million of Panamanian legal documents of the company Mossack Fonseca.
In the documents referred to 72 current or former heads of state, including dictators who are accused of embezzlement of public funds of their countries.
