Monday, May 30, 2011

Fuel and Energy minister linked to drilling rig scam?

On April 1 this year minister of fuel and energy Yuriy Boyko appeared on on the 'Velyka Polityka' tv programme. He announced: "Today we have purchased a most up-to-date drilling platform from Singapore. I have in mind 'Naftohaz Ukrainy'".

The current 'Dzerkalo Tyzhnya' exposes a massive scam surrounding its purchase. The drilling rig was bought for $ 400 million, supposedly via competitive tender, by the state company 'ChornomorNaftogaz' . However, only two companies - the New Zealand Falcona Systems Ltd, and the Cardiff UK-based Highway Investment Processing LLP submitted tenders.

The initial suppliers of the rig, the Norwegian SDRL-Seadrill, received almost $250 million for the rig, so the winners of the tendering process, Highway Investment Processing LLP, took a mind-numbing $ 150 million 'cut' on the deal.

Strangely, the images of the rig in question on the latter's website, are entitled 'tovar001' and 'tovar002', which means 'goods' or 'article of trade' in Ukrainian and Russian.The website's designers and owners are registered in Kyiv, and its name is also registered in Ukraine. The website, written in appalling sloppy English [almost certainly- google-translated -*see below] was set up two weeks before the 'winner' of the tender was announced.

Detective work by 'DzT' provides prima facie evidence that the two companies submitting tenders are linked - the bidding was, dare we say, "rigged"? The heads of the companies, Erik Vanahels and Stan Gorin were named in the US 'Trout Cacheris' report investigating alleged 'dodgy business' in Yulia Tymoshenko's goverment [page 151 of the report]

And, no surprise at all, Highway Investment Processing LLP is merely a 'name plate company' behind which are concealed two off-shore companies registered in the British Virgin Islands.

Highway Investment Processing LLP's registered address is 82 Whitchurch Road, Cardiff, CF14 3LX. A few minutes on Google street view shows this to be a nondescript street with small nondescript shops, in a distinctly average neighbourhood - hardly the location for a business trading in hundreds of millions. Number 82 is a small bathroom and kitchen installation company.

What LEvko finds amazing is how little effort the organisers of this scheme have made to cover their tracks..what arrogance..what sh*tbags..what two-bit shysters..

Meanwhile former Interior minister Yuriy Lutsenko has been 'banged up' in prison over half a year accused of overpaying his driver...[The current Prosecutor-General, in a recent tv interview added that former minister of the interior Lutsenko was detained after he had sent indecent written comments to his successor...he had been out on parole prior to this..]

*"e.g. "We organizes bizness on the sale of the borings settings and supplying with all necessary for high-quality research bottom exterminating. «HIGHWAY INVESTMENT PROCESSING LLP» is a global contractor, with the strong local being in strategic and appearing areas as for example Western Africa, North Africa, FSU, Central Asia, Middle East, and South East Asia."!?!?! - This is the company Yuriy Boyko paid $400 million ?! - Was this crap written by Borat?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Why should they bother covering their tracks. What's anyone going to do about it? The Predidency, the judiciary and Parliament are all in their hands. So it's in a newspaper. What do they care. The only chance is if they start fighting over the spoils but they seem to well practised to let it spill over.