Assets tracing. Ukrainian Law Firms 2017. A Handbook for Foreign Clients by Volodymyr Bogatyr

Assets Tracing

Assistance to Foreign and International Tribunals

First of all, we would also like to mention the unique opportunity we have encountered in our practice regarding the United States. In 2016, we acquired an order from the United States Southern District Court of New York granting discovery under 28 U.S.C. section 1782, “Assistance to foreign and international tribunals and to litigants before such tribunals”. This is a federal statute that allows a party to a legal proceeding outside the United States to apply to an American court to obtain evidence for use in a non-US proceeding. This opportunity should be also considered when dealing with international litigation.

Volodymyr BOGATYR PhD in Law, Senior Partner, BOGATYR & PARTNERS. Foreign Lawyer in Russia and Poland

he legal team of BOGATYR & PARTNERS supports clients in international court cases in countries such as the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and others in order to protect their interests. We have also succeeded in acquiring refugee status for our clients in a number of different jurisdictions and have represented clients in institutions such as Interpol and the European Court of Human Rights.

Applying the New York Convention

We would like to draw the attention of our foreign colleagues to the practice of use of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention) in Ukraine. Foreign arbitration awards are generally easier to enforce in Ukraine than foreign court decisions, as Ukraine is a signatory to the 1958 New York Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.

A foreign arbitral award will be recognised as binding and can be enforced provided that the appropriate motion is filed with the competent Ukrainian court, unless the losing party proves that: (1) the agreement to arbitrate is invalid under the chosen law; (2) one of the parties was legally incapable of entering into the arbitration agreement; (3) the losing party was not duly notified of the appointment of the arbitrator or the commencement of the arbitration proceedings; (4) the losing party could not submit its explanations for valid reasons; (5) the arbitration award rendered was beyond the scope of the arbitration agreement; (6) the arbitration panel or procedure did not comply with the arbitration agreement or with the rules of the place of arbitration; or (7) the arbitration award did not come into force or was annulled or its execution was suspended by the court of the country under which the laws of the arbitration award were rendered. Similarly, the arbitration award may be unenforceable in Ukraine if a Ukrainian court determines that either the object of the dispute cannot be subject to arbitration under Denied to initiate proceedings/ to satisfy the claim/ motion, complaint/ orders not executed

Order issued (canceled) /proceedings initiated/ the claim/ motion, complaint satisfied/ orders executed

In total

Reviewed (total)

Returned

Left without consideration

2014 Motion for recognition and enforcement of foreign judgment, that have to be coercively enforced

683

604

129

350

2015 Motion for recognition and enforcement of foreign judgment, that have to be coercively enforced

611

480

113

2014 Motion for recognition of foreign judgment, that does not have to be coercively enforced

267

2015 Motion for recognition of foreign judgment, that does not have to be coercively enforced

Left without consideration by the beginning of the review period

Reviewed (total)

Returned

2016 Motion for recognition and enforcement of foreign judgment

Motion for recognition and enforcement of judgement of International Courts

Requests

Fulfilled

Reviewed with violation of the time period established by the Criminal Procedural Code

Left without consideration by the end of review period

WWW.UKRAINIANLAWFIRMS.COM

BOGATYR & PARTNERS

Address: 32/34 Shovkovychna Street, Office 24, Kyiv, 01024, Ukraine

OGATYR & PARTNERS represented both corporate clients and individuals in a wide variety of matters, including fraud claims, white collar matters, challenging sanctions, assets tracing, post M&A disputes, partnership and joint venture disputes and have also provided advice on contractual and insolvency matters as well as issues relating to the enforcement and recognition of judgments in Ukraine and abroad. During this year the firm successfully challenged Interpol Red notices aimed at its international clients and has assisted in the granting of foreign refugee status. The firm has also obtained court orders against extradition from Cyprus and the UK.

Ukrainian legislation or that the recognition and enforcement of such arbitral award contradicts public policy. Thus, if court proceedings in Ukraine are not the case in a dispute between the same parties on the same subject and on the same grounds, the presentation of a foreign court for recognition in Ukraine is not satisfied, the application for cancellation of the award matter of the dispute by the laws of Ukraine shall be subject to judicial review, and the recognition of the said decision does not threaten the interests of Ukraine, then a foreign judgment may be enforced in the territory of Ukraine on the principle of reciprocity (ad hoc). We have also acquired data for Criminal Cases in 2016.

Dealing with Interpol Red Notices

Talking of international litigation, we have to take Interpol into account, since our recent practice shows that the number of Ukrainian citizens being subjected to Interpol Notices has increased. It’s important to keep in mind that quite often in the process of international litigation, especially in cases where Governments are involved, one might find that an Interpol Notice was issued of by the National Central Bureau (NCB) one’s own country. Interpol notices are international requests for cooperation or alerts allowing police in member countries to share critical crime-related information. There are several types of notices: Red, Blue, Green and others. In the case of Red Notices, the persons concerned are wanted by national jurisdictions for prosecution or to serve a sentence based on an arrest warrant or court decision. Interpol’s role is to assist the national police forces in identifying and locating these persons with a view to their arrest and extradition or a similar lawful action.

WWW.UKRAINIANLAWFIRMS.COM

Tel.: +380 44 363 7722 E-mail: volodymyr@bogatyr.kiev.ua Web-site: www.bogatyr.com

BOGATYR & PARTNERS are also very actively involved in the process of developing arbitration and intellectual property law in Ukraine and had experience in cross-border disputes. The firm also cooperated closely with a range of legal advisors and investigators from the United States, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Switzerland, France, Austria, Lichtenstein and other jurisdictions. Moreover, BOGATYR & PARTNERS have created a precedent of recognition and enforcement of judgments by the High Court of Justice in Ukraine. Besides, the firm also had experience of supporting clients facing international criminal charges.

If we look at this issue from one’s point of view, this would de facto mean that you will find it almost impossible to travel between the borders of different countries. You might be subject to arrest following extradition to the country which has requested for the Red Notice to be released. In most cases, we offer our clients a procedure consisting of a number of stages. After receiving the required documents and having signed the Engagement Letter we move on to draft a letter requesting access to files related to our client that are stored in Interpol’s files, addressed to the Commission for the Control of Interpol Files, residing in Lyon, France. At the same time, we write a request to the Interpol NCB of the country which presumably issued the diffusion letter, in order to clarify the details. Thus, we act at both International and National levels. When writing requests addressed to the Commission for the Control of Interpol Files a strict procedure has to be followed for the request to be admissible. It is very advisable that you study Interpol’s Constitution and other documents regulating its activity in order for your request to be successful, as it’s no great surprise that you have to appeal with direct reference to these documents. It is important to keep in mind that the process of communicating with Interpol is a long-term one. The timeframe for a response to a request for access to data consists of four months from the date on which the request was declared admissible, while for a request regarding correction and/or deletion of data it is within nine months from the date on which the request was declared admissible. After we have received an answer from the Commission as to whether our client is subject to a Red Notice, we move on to the next stage. If our client is subject to the Red Notice we begin drafting a request for deletion of

data related to our client, which is stored in Interpol’s files. This process usually takes time, since we have to collect and be ready to present a number of solid arguments for our case. In case our client is not subject to any notice, but believes that he will be in future, we propose to act in advance, by writing a request to Interpol so as to warn of future requests coming from law-enforcement bodies. By doing this the chances are high that these requests will be stopped for investigation prior to their publication. If the end result is successful, Interpol is obliged to remove any information it has on the person in question and inform all National Central Bureaus of this. It should also be stressed that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recently released a Resolution 2161 (2017) with regard to the abusive use of the Interpol system. It states that: “in a number of cases in recent years, Interpol and its Red Notice system has been abused by some member states in the pursuit of political objectives, in order to repress the freedom of expression or to persecute members of the political opposition beyond their borders.” It cannot be stressed enough as to how vital it is to study recent cases regarding this issue in order to successfully achieve the desired result when challenging an Interpol Red Notice.

Conclusion

The legal team at BOGATYR & PARTNERS has huge experience of protecting clients’ interests on both the national and international level. We cooperate with a range of foreign partners and agencies around the world in order to provide our clients with the full spectrum of solutions. We ensure that we stay up to date in order to provide the most innovative ways in battling crime and protecting the rule of law.

IN UKRAINIAN LAW BY PRACTICE AREAS ⁄ INDUSTRIES Criminal Law / White-Collar Crime

WHO IS WHO

EDUCATION: Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

PRACTICE AREAS: Oleksandr ZAVADETSKYI Advocate, founder of Zavadetskyi Advocates Bureau

Criminal Defense, Dispute Resolution, Banking, Corporate Finance, Tax, Financial Regulation, Human Rights.

LANGUAGES: Ukrainian, Russian, English.

www.zkadvocates.com Tel.: +380 50 416 9258 E-mail: zk.request@zkadvocates.com

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Oleksandr established the firm in 2009 and since then the firm has been recommended by the leading international law practice directories, such as Chambers and Partners, IFLR1000, Legal500, due to its successful work, first and foremost in the areas of dispute resolution and white-collar crime. In the area of criminal advocacy Oleksandr has represented clients both on the defense and complainant sides in various white-collar crime cases. The specific feature of Oleksandr’s competence is his vast experience in representing commercial entities, including foreign ones, in criminal proceedings. Oleksandr’s expertise in white-collar crime area is substantially enhanced by his experience in financial and commercial sectors, where he has held a number of counsel and managerial positions in top-ranked international companies and has been involved in a series of high-profile transactions, such as IPOs and Private Placements, M&A deals, recovery & restructuring of banks’ NPL portfolios. Furthermore, in 2015-2016 Oleksandr was engaged by the National Bank of Ukraine to do the job that is part of the NBU’s program for reforming the Ukrainian banking sector and bringing it into line with best practice standards. At that time, Oleksandr occupied the posts of the head of the Related Parties monitoring department, Registration & Licensing department, head of the Qualification Commission and member of the Banking Supervision Committee.

EDUCATION:

Mr. Bogatyr graduated from Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University with J.D. in 1999, and received a Ph.D. from the Legislation Institute of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine in 2014.

Volodymyr BOGATYR Senior Partner, BOGATYR & PARTNERS. Ph.D., Honorary Lawyer of Ukraine

www.bogatyr.com Tel.: +380 44 363 7722 E-mail: volodymyr@bogatyr.kiev.ua

WWW.UKRAINIANLAWFIRMS.COM

PRACTICE AREAS:

Litigation, Dispute Resolution, Corporate Fraud Investigation, White-Collar Criminal Defense, Law Enforcement Intelligence, Global Litigation and Enforcement, Transnational Litigation and Foreign Judgments, Internal Investigations, Government investigation, GR, etc.

LANGUAGES: Ukrainian, Russian, English

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Dr. Volodymyr Bogatyr acts for clients in complex, fact-heavy and high value cross-border commercial disputes. As part of that work, Volodymyr is often responsible for the strategic coordination of proceedings in multiple jurisdictions. He is the only qualified Ukrainian advocate who is registered as a foreign advocate in both Russia and Poland. Dr. Bogatyr’s practice focuses on a broad range of civil and criminal litigation and investigations involving international and transnational matters. He undertakes international litigation management work, coordinating the provision of legal advice and/or legal proceedings across multiple jurisdictions. Dr. Bogatyr has represented both corporate clients and individuals in a wide variety of matters, including fraud claims, white collar matters, assets tracing, post-M&A disputes, partnership, joint venture disputes and dealing with Interpol Red Notices. He provides advice on contractual and insolvency matters as well as issues relating to the enforcement and recognition of judgments in Ukraine and abroad. Dr. Bogatyr’s deep, yet wide-ranging understanding of his specialty has also benefited from his experience in distinguished public service prior to him entering private practice. Dr. Bogatyr served as an Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Justice from 2007 to 2011. He was recognized as an Honorary Lawyer of Ukraine by the President of Ukraine in 2010. He also possesses acknowledgments from 2008 provided by the Parliamentary Committee on Combating Organized Crime and Corruption. Since his return to private practice, Dr. Bogatyr has developed a strong track record of successfully helping his clients deal with national and cross-border asset recovery investigations in fraud, insolvency and bribery matters.

211

IN UKRAINIAN LAW BY PRACTICE AREAS ⁄ INDUSTRIES Litigation Yuriy Kolos, Tetyana Berezhna, Yegor Svidlo. Oksana Voynarovska, partner, is devoted to labor disputes, as is Vladyslav Podolyak, counsel, who acted in IP-related disputes. Oleg Makarov, partner, enjoys a reputation of a high-level litigator. Partner Oleg Alyoshin is noted for rebooting his cross-border litigation activity. Integrites is one of the few firms on the market that have a solid network of operating offices in the CIS supported by an international office network in Europe. The 30-strong practice is structured as specialized tactic groups. During 2016 the list of clients grew with the addition of many reputable names, including the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, State Defense Concern UkrOboronProm, Farmak, DHL, Bionic Hill Innovation Park, Retail Group, Next Group Plc, Bank of China, China Development Bank, EKF, Morgan Stanley, Palma Group, Plati Spa, Quick Payment System Ltd., Rockwool International AS, Rosatom, RUSAL, St. Jude Medical, Vesta Service, Bank Mikhailivsky. Work highlights encompass representing BIONIC Hill in a domestic real estate litigation case on an acquisition of a land plot as well as complex legal support to the VTB Bank in a range of interrelated trials, initiated against more than 10 retail companies of Fozzy Group. Vyacheslav Korchev, senior partner, is the head of dispute resolution and international arbitration practices. Oleksiy Sluch joined the firm from Vasil Kisil & Partners in January 2017 аs a partner and head of the litigation practice; Volodymyr Pavlenko (prior — KPMG Ukraine) is a counsel of litigation practice since 2016, while Denys Kytsenko, known in bankruptcy left the firm. The sizeable litigation team at Arzinger operates through its offices in Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa. In 2016 its diverse caseload centered on debt collection, tax, commercial, IP disputes, busi-

WWW.UKRAINIANLAWFIRMS.COM

AUTHORITIES Oleg Makarov (Vasil Kisil & Partners)

WHO IS WHO

OTHER NOTABLE PRACTITIONERS

LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

Viktor Barsuk (EQUITY) Gleb Bialyi (Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners Ukraine)

LEADING FIRMS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Ilyashev & Partners EQUITY LCF Law Group Vasil Kisil & Partners Integrites Arzinger Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners Ukraine 8. Sayenko Kharenko 9. Trusted Advisors 10. AEQUO

Volodymyr Bogatyr (BOGATYR & PARTNERS) Sergey Boyarchukov (Alekseev, Boyarchukov & Partners) Pavlo Byelousov (AEQUO) Oleksiy Didkovskiy (Asters) Valentyn Gvozdiy (GOLAW) Oleg Kachmar (Vasil Kisil & Partners) Alexey Kharitonov (ILF (Inyurpolis Law Firm) Mykola Kovalchuk (L.I. Group)

LEADING INDIVIDUALS

Andrey Kuznetsov (ANTIKA)

1. Mikhail Ilyashev (Ilyashev & Partners)

Tetiana Lysovets (Sokolovskyi & Partners)

2. Oleg Malinevskiy (EQUITY)

Kostiantyn Likarchuk (Kinstellar) Markian Malskyy (Arzinger)

3. Anna Ogrenchuk (LCF Law Group)

Oleksandr Mamunya (AEQUO)

4. Roman Marchenko (Ilyashev & Partners)

Dmytro Marchukov (AVELLUM)

5. Andriy Stelmashchuk (Vasil Kisil & Partners)

Artur Megerya (L.I. Group)

The selection of firms and professionals in the table reflects the research carried out by the editorial staff of Yuridicheskaya Practika Publishing. It is based on a poll with market participants and submissions of the project portfolio provided by law firms. It remains a subjective view and implies no disparagement of any firm/professional not mentioned here but which is, nevertheless, active in this field.

Ivan Mishchenko (Trusted Advisors) Denys Myrgorodskiy (Law Firm Dynasty) Maxim Oleksiyuk (KM Partners) Oleksandr Onishchenko (Pravochyn)

OTHER ESTABLISHED IN ALPHAPRACTICES LISTED BETICAL ORDER

Oleksandra Pavlenko (Pavlenko Legal Group)

Alekseev, Boyarchukov & Partners ANTIKA Asters AVELLUM Baker McKenzie EVERLEGAL GOLAW Gramatskiy & Partners ILF (Inyurpolis Law Firm) Kinstellar Law Firm Dynasty L.I. Group MORIS GROUP Pavlenko Legal Group Spenser & Kauffmann VB PARTNERS

Larysa Poberezhnyuk (Poberezhnyuk & Partners)

Olena Pertsova (Pavlenko Legal Group) Yuriy Petrenko (Spenser & Kauffmann) Sergey Pogrebnoy (Sayenko Kharenko) Andriy Porayko (EVERLEGAL) Olga Prosyanyuk (AVER LEX) Tetiana Samsina (EUCON) Andriy Savchuk (MORIS GROUP) Ihor Siusel (Baker McKenzie) Stanislav Skrypnyck (Lavrynovych & Partners) Oleksiy Sluch (Integrites) Artem Stoyanov (LCF Law Group) Olga Vorozhbyt (DLA Piper Ukraine) Andriy Vyshnevsky (ENGARDE)

239

WHO IS WHO

IN UKRAINIAN LAW BY PRACTICE AREAS ⁄ INDUSTRIES Litigation

andra Fedorenko, senior associate, are leading individuals. During 2016 GOLAW acted on a series of large-scale debt collection cases. Thus, Československáobchodníbanka was represented in a complex dispute with its borrower, the Kuzmintsi Brick Plant, on debt recovery, as well as on initiating the insolvency of the latter; Expobank CZ, a.s, was supported in a case with Volnogorsk Glass LLC for the resumption of the rights of a mortgage agreement. Inditex Group, a consistent client of the firm, was represented in a dispute with the supervisory authority in the field of social protection of the disabled on appealing against the imposition of administrative sanctions as well as a series of tax disputes. The litigation team is guided by senior associate Kateryna Manoylenko. Valentyn Gvozdiy, managing partner, is the key contact. In 2016 EVERLEGAL extended its litigation practice through handling a broad range of matters with the primary focus on tax, commercial, corporate, employment and banking disputes. The firm portfolio includes representing the interests of private individuals in a dispute with a major Ukrainian bank regarding early debt repayment, advising a global producer of electrically operated tools in a number of labor

disputes with its former employees, and representing the interests of an international development company in a number of tax disputes. The caseload featured construction, corporate and shareholder disputes. Andriy Porayko is head of the dispute resolution practice. Oleksandr Ruzhytskiy, recently promoted to partner, is another key figure in litigation. Spenser & Kauffmann has a strong litigation force with particular experience in advising banks, insurance companies, retail and FMCG, automotive, construction companies, as well as private clients. In 2016 the team acted for Infiko-Holding, LLC on restructuring of the debt owed to a large Ukrainian bank with foreign capital (factoring company) with subsequent legal support for court proceedings and business protection; provided advice and development of a strategy for protection of Alfa Development Limited in a dispute under a contract on capital repair, concluded with the public authority of a foreign state. Partner Yuriy Petrenko heads litigation, Nickolas Likhachov, counsel, is involved in international asset tracing issues. Dispute resolution is the core focus for AVER LEX attorneys at law, top-tier criminal defense counsel. In addition to possessing a

sizeable portfolio of criminal cases, the firm regularly acts on business protection cases, including commercial and property rights assignments. In particular, last year the team provided representation and protection of the interests of the Ukrainian Interbank Currency Exchange on invalidating the decision by the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, which annulled the license on trade organization on the stock market. Another significant case is protection of the client’s property and corporate rights (a business centre and equity stake in a legal entity) against fraudulent takeover via the forging of documents. Managing partner Olga Prosyanyuk splits her time between litigation and involvement in criminal defense practice. Dynasty Law Firm, which operates through two offices in Kyiv and Dnipro, traditionally has an extensive domestic litigation portfolio. In 2016 the team was highly active in debt recovery disputes, insolvency matters, tax litigation and disputes with state authorities. For example, it advised the Dnipropetrovsk Meat-Processing and Packing plant’s appellation with the lawsuit against the State Inspection of Ukraine for Price Control about the reversal of the defendant’s order and the decision on applying economic sanctions for

EDUCATION:

Mr. Bogatyr graduated from Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University with J.D. in 1999, and received a Ph.D. from the Legislation Institute of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine in 2014.

Volodymyr BOGATYR Senior Partner, BOGATYR & PARTNERS. Ph.D., Honorary Lawyer of Ukraine

www.bogatyr.com Tel.: +380 44 363 7722 E-mail: volodymyr@bogatyr.kiev.ua

242

PRACTICE AREAS:

LANGUAGES: Ukrainian, Russian, English

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Dr. Volodymyr Bogatyr acts for clients in complex, fact-heavy and high value cross-border commercial disputes. As part of that work, Volodymyr is often responsible for the strategic coordination of proceedings in multiple jurisdictions. He is the only qualified Ukrainian advocate who is registered as a foreign advocate in both Russia and Poland. Dr. Bogatyr’s practice focuses on a broad range of civil and criminal litigation and investigations involving international and transnational matters. He undertakes international litigation management work, coordinating the provision of legal advice and/or legal proceedings across multiple jurisdictions. Dr. Bogatyr has represented both corporate clients and individuals in a wide variety of matters, including fraud claims, white collar matters, assets tracing, post-M&A disputes, partnership, joint venture disputes and dealing with Interpol Red Notices. He provides advice on contractual and insolvency matters as well as issues relating to the enforcement and recognition of judgments in Ukraine and abroad. Dr. Bogatyr’s deep, yet wide-ranging understanding of his specialty has also benefited from his experience in distinguished public service prior to him entering private practice. Dr. Bogatyr served as an Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Justice from 2007 to 2011. He was recognized as Honorary Lawyer of Ukraine by the President of Ukraine in 2010. He also possesses acknowledgments from 2008 provided by the Parliamentary Committee on Combating Organized Crime and Corruption. Since his return to private practice, Dr. Bogatyr has developed a strong track record of successfully helping his clients deal with national and cross-border asset recovery investigations in fraud, insolvency and bribery matters.

WWW.UKRAINIANLAWFIRMS.COM

WHO IS WHO

IN UKRAINIAN LAW BY PRACTICE AREAS â &#x201E; INDUSTRIES Litigation

BOGATYR & PARTNERS represented both corporate clients and individuals in a wide variety of matters, including fraud claims, white collar matters, challenging sanctions, assets tracing, post M&A disputes, partnership and joint venture disputes. Furthermore, it provided advice on contractual and insolvency matters and issues relating to the enforcement and recognition of judgments in Ukraine and overseas. Volodymyr Bogatyr often acts on cross-border matters. In 2016 Pravochyn attorneys at law was involved in key disputes over the collection of arrears for a special (transport) levy to the aviation finance fund, the so-called aviation charge, where the firm represented the interests of Ukraine International Airlines. Other landmark cases were disputes related to multimillion debt collection. Partners Oleksandr Onishchenko and Oleksandr Pashchenko are both active litigators. Attorneys Association PwC Legal is traditionally strong in tax litigation cases. The firm has also strengthened its litigation practice by hiring new team members, namely Maryna Pavlenchyk and Lidiia Zhovtiak, to form the cornerstone of the new commercial litigation branch. The practice is led by Andrey Pronchenko, managing partner. Kharkiv-based Shkrebets & Partners has a well versed litigation practice with remarkable capacities. In the past year the firm showcased involvement in circa 100 litigation projects. Clients include industrial and municipal

names, as Kharkiv CHP-5, Eristovskiy MPP, Kharkivoblenergo, Zhylkomservis, Kharkivvodokanal, Zarya. The work highlight is a dispute between PJSC Kharkiv CHP-5 and specialist tax inspectorate for servicing of major taxpayers on additional tax liabilities totaling UAH 52 million. Partners Eugene Shkrebets, Andrey Syvak, Yuriy Artukh are active litigators. With an established niche in pharmaceuticals, Legal Alliance Company has litigation experience in legal proceedings regarding administrative disputes, including the tax authorities; commercial disputes; intellectual property rights and copyrights, disputes around the deregistration of medicinal products. Ilya Kostin is a responsible partner. The Ukrainian office of DLA Piper established its litigation and regulatory practice with the arrival of new partner and practice head Olga Vorozhbyt in October 2016. The teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s core specialization lies in the main sub-areas, like domestic and cross-border litigation, arbitration, banking and finance litigation, global investigations, asset tracing, arbitration, white-collar crimes. During 2016, Poberezhnyuk & Partners law group continued to develop its litigation practice, acting on various debt collection and tax-related cases. The dispute caseload was broadened with assignments from private clients, particularly recovery of deposits in Ukrainian banks, loan recovery and bad debts. Partner Larysa Poberezhnyuk is a prime contact. Dmitriy Troekurov, new partner, enhanced the team.

In 2016 the Lviv-based Advice Group has been providing representation of rights to trademarks of Julius Blum GmbH, one of the largest global manufacturers of furniture, in a dispute regarding unfair competition with unlawful use of trademarks involved. The group also represented a major Polish investor, a Western Ukrainian textile manufacturer, in a complex customs dispute with regard to the unlawful charging of additional customs duties. The projects were performed under the leadership of partner Oleh Kyryievskyi. Highly active in the agrarian sector, the caseload of Law Offices of OMP consists primarily of tax litigation, disputes coming out of leasing and supply arrangement. For instance, the firm acted for Cargill AT in a court dispute against the fiscal authorities, including VAT reimbursement. Valeriy Bitsyuk, Yaroslav Sverdlichnko and Mykola Orlov are noted as responsible partners. The litigation caseload of Sokolovskyi & Partners encompasses tax and customs disputes, cases related to bankruptcy proceedings, criminal cases, commercial litigation, civil and employment litigation. Senior partner Tetiana Lysovets leads the practice. Over the last couple of years International Legal Center EUCON has performed largescale tax litigation. The firm has also handled corporate, IP and real estate related disputes. Yaroslav Romanchuk and Tetiana Samsina are the main figures.

EDUCATION:

Academy of Advocacy of Ukraine, 2004. Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Business School, Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration, 2015.

PRACTICE AREAS: Oleksandr SHKELEBEY Founder and Managing Partner, ESQUIRES, Attorney-at-Law

www.esquires.legal Tel +380 44 337 7007

Dispute Resolution, Business Security, Real Estate.

LANGUAGES: Ukrainian, Russian, English

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Oleksandr Shkelebey is the founder and managing partner at ESQUIRES, which was recognized as newcomer of the year at the Ukrainian Legal Awards 2017. Oleksandr specializes in complex high-value commercial and corporate disputes, strategic planning, protection against hostile takeovers (asset-grabbing), development and implementation of comprehensive corporate security structures. He has been involved in a number of major litigation cases, inter alia, representing investors in a USD 30 million corporate dispute, defending the interests of a leading Ukrainian logistics center regarding its protection against asset raiders. Oleksandr Shkelebey acts for shareholders and companies in relation to M&A disputes, disputes between shareholders, real estate & planning disputes. Having served at the Department of State Registration of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, Oleksandr has acquired deep understanding of substantial principles and particularities of the Ukrainian real estate and business register modus operandi. This experience enables Oleksandr to deal with most complicated issues in real estate and planning disputes as well as to find creative and complex solutions.

E-mail: oleksandr.shkelebey@ esquires.legal

246