Smart Holding was put into a trust by Novinsky a long time ago
Smart Holding, a large Ukrainian investment and industrial group and an international investor, announced the change of ownership, which until recently was ex-people’s deputy Vadim Novinsky, as a result of the completion of the next round of the ongoing restructuring, writes Interfax-Ukraine.
“As part of the restructuring, Vadim Novinsky, the founder of Smart Holding, decided to transfer the assets to a trust. The corresponding Smart Trust and Step Trust agreements were concluded in November 2022 and registered with the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission”, — stated in the message on the website of the holding on Monday.
According to him, the trustees were highly qualified fiduciary administrators, appointed in accordance with the licensing terms of the Cypriot legislation.
“Accordingly, the trustees (trusts) wholly own, control and manage the assets of the Group… According to the above, as of the current date, Vadim Novinsky does not have a beneficial interest in the Group and does not exercise any control over the activities or processes of the Group“, – stated in the information.
In accordance with it, Novinsky, who has not been involved in the management of Smart Holding since 2013, decided to concentrate his activity on private interests.
As reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, by a decree dated December 1, 2022, put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council “On Certain Aspects of the Activities of Religious Organizations in Ukraine and the Application of Personal Special Economic and Other Restrictive Measures (Sanctions)”, by which sanctions were also applied to Novinsky.
The sanctions package includes 12 types of imposed restrictions, in particular, a complete blocking of assets, a ban on trading operations, the deprivation of all state awards and distinctions, a ban on the withdrawal of capital from Ukraine, etc.
In a statement, Smart Holding emphasizes that it continues to operate as usual, led by a professional management team doing business in the context of the economic and civil crisis caused by the war with Russia.
The information indicates that representatives of the trust, as a beneficial owner, together with the management of Smart Holding, are completing the development of a new corporate governance structure and management structure of Smart Holding in accordance with international best practices, and are also in the process of selecting new members of the board of directors.
“Smart Holding is on a mission to support the Ukrainian economy to withstand the devastation caused by the war. The group will actively participate in the post-war reconstruction of the country. We also have ambitious investment targets as part of our international development strategy. We believe that with the talent and experience accumulated in the management team, the company will renew its assets and become stronger.”, — the CEO of Smart Holding Yulia Kiryanova is quoted in the message.
Smart Holding is one of the largest investment groups in Ukraine, one of the main assets is 23.76% in the Metinvest mining and metallurgical holding. The group’s enterprises also invest in other assets of the mining and metallurgical and oil and gas complexes, agriculture, shipbuilding, real estate and energy. The holding’s strategy is aimed at the effective management of a diversified investment portfolio in order to increase its value in the long term, the website says.
