Kernel delays payment of USD 35 mln debt for STIOMI-Holding by illegal means — statement
Kernel Holding S.A., the parent company of Kernel agricultural holding owned by Andrey Verevskiy, by illegal means, attempted settling the case of non-payment of the debt for the purchase of STIOMI-Holding from Mikhail Stadnik, STIOMI Sellers statement reads.
As stated, in 2012, Mikhail Stadnik, Inessa Stadnik and Perryvale Enterprises Inc sold their agricultural companies in Ukraine to Kernel. However, according to the sellers, Kernel refused to pay the full amount for a long time under various excuses. So they filed a lawsuit with the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), which ruled that Kernel has to pay USD 35 mln of debt and USD 6 thou. of daily interest.
"Kernel has repeatedly tried to settle the case in an illegal way. In February 2020, the company used a forged assignment agreement as a reason to deny payment. This forged document allegedly stipulated that Inessa Stadnik sold her USD 35 mln debt claim to Oleh Oleinik for UAH 1 mln. But in fact, Inessa Stadnyk never sold the right to claim the debt to Kernel as she had no right to do so," the lawyers point out.
According to the statement, the investigation revealed that the assignment agreement was concluded on the basis of a forged power of attorney, and the agreement itself was attested by notary Aleksandr Zolotykh. As stated, Aleksandr Zolotych has been repeatedly accused of fraud and document forgery and even denied access to state registries. The interests of Oleh Oleinik were represented by Konstantin Likarchuk, a lawyer for Kernel.
"After the evidence of forgery was made public, Kernel was forced to recognize the contract as fake and withdrew both the document itself and all allegations against Oleh Oleinik upon consideration of the case in the Geneva Court," the lawyers explained.
However, they argue that in the Luxembourg courts, Kernel continues to claim that the assignment agreement is valid. After this disagreement, a commission of lawyers in Luxembourg began its investigation against Kernel's lawyer for the use of forged documents.
"Mikhail Stadnik and other creditors have no interest in the bankruptcy of Kernel, but only demand payment of the debt to them. They will seek compensation for financial losses caused by Kernel's illegal actions," the statement reads.
Previously reported that Kernel Holding S.A. denied bankruptcy allegations and intended to seek a dismissal of the case by the Luxembourg District court as promptly as possible.
