Owed millions

Ukrainian oligarch’s company goes bankrupt

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(Bild: © Markus Mainka (www.aviation-stock.de))

Bankruptcy proceedings against OSTCHEM Holding GmbH were opened at Salzburg Regional Court on Monday. As reported by the Austrian Creditreform association, the Salzburg-based company is part of the corporate network of the Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtasch, who lives in Vienna.

The GmbH in question is structured as a classic holding company whose sole purpose is to hold and manage company investments. The majority shareholder (86%) of the holding company is a company in Cyprus that belongs to Firtash. 

With the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the company lost control of a chemical plant located there. With the loss of the factory, the operating business of the second-tier subsidiary, PJSC Ukrainian Chemical Products, which is currently in liquidation, was also completely lost, according to the reasoning.

Debts in the millions to the tax office
However, the debtor still has high tax arrears to the Republic of Austria that cannot be paid. According to the Creditreform association, for example, corporation tax for 2011 amounting to EUR 3.36 million and EUR 4.21 million for 2012 are outstanding. The payment date would have been December 27, 2024. It is no longer possible to appeal against the corresponding notices or decisions of the Federal Fiscal Court.

According to the balance sheet from the 2023 financial year, there are de facto no assets but liabilities amounting to almost 43 million euros. According to Creditreform, no list of creditors is yet available. The company is to be closed and liquidated; no more employees will be employed.