Family schemes or coincidence? How the company of the son of ARMA Deputy Katamadze won the tender for "UkrBud"
Kyiv • UNN
Family schemes or coincidence? How the company of the son of ARMA Deputy Katamadze won the tender for "UkrBud"
A scandal recently erupted over the sale of the state-owned company "UkrBud" to a firm owned by a Georgian oligarch with suspicious ties to Russian business. Behind the facade of an auction with "market conditions," there may be hidden lobbying by an official with access to confidential information and a direct family connection to the winner of the bidding, writes UNN.
This refers to Grigol Katamadze, Deputy Head of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency. His son, Irakli Katamadze, according to YouControl, heads the company "Petro Oil and Chemicals," which became the winner of the tender for the sale of "UkrBud."
According to YouControl, Grigol Katamadze himself was once the head of this company, which may indicate a personal interest in the outcome of the competition and a potential conflict of interest.
This company was the only participant that, at each stage of the auction, offered a price exactly 1,000 hryvnias higher than the next competitor. The structure of "Petro Oil" itself, as YouControl data shows, is connected through offshore companies to the Georgian oligarch David Bezhuashvili, who, according to journalists, "controls Georgia's energy sector with Russian money and 'fronts' Russian assets in this region."
It is worth noting that the ties between the Katamadze and Bezhuashvili families have a long history. In 2007-2008, Katamadze worked as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia in a government where Gela Bezhuashvili, the brother of oligarch David Bezhuashvili, was the minister.
Despite the fact that the State Property Fund conducted the bidding, ARMA has access to a large volume of classified information about seized assets, including those potentially attractive to investors. Grigol Katamadze, as a key figure in ARMA, likely had information that could influence the awareness of participants and the course of the bidding. Especially considering that it concerns the interests of his son.
Whether Grigol Katamadze directly influenced the bidding process, or at least had access to information that gave an advantage to his son and the company associated with him, should be investigated by the competent authorities. But even now, there are too many "coincidences" not to attract the attention of law enforcement.
Despite the fact that the law does not prohibit relatives of civil servants from participating in open auctions, such a situation involving the combination of family, political, and business ties indicates a possible influence. In particular, suspicions are reinforced by the unusually synchronized behavior of the winning company during the bidding – bids exactly one thousand hryvnias more than competitors look more like technical participation than real market competition.
The "UkrBud" story once again points to the need to verify the integrity of officials of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency. Only a public clarification from law enforcement agencies can dispel suspicions about a potential conflict of interest and the abuse of official position by an ARMA official. If the investigation confirms the existence of such violations, those responsible must bear political and criminal responsibility.
