The FanDay.net website found lawsuits between Inhults owner Oleksandr Povoroznyuk and Ruha founder Hryhoriy Kozlovskyy - the latter demanded denials about cigarette smuggling and tax evasion.
Grigory Kozlovsky. Photo: fcrukh.comInitially, Hryhoriy Kozlovskyy held a special press conference during which he signed Ukrainian football functionaries to a revolution to change our football for the better.
The press conference was reacted to by Oleksandr Povoroznyuk, who criticised Kozlovskiy for the lack of specificity in his statements and announced that he would expose his machinations with taxes, theft and elimination of competitors.
Povoroznyuk kept his word and spoke in several videos about the business that Kozlowski runs. The latter did not like it and initiated legal proceedings against the president of Inhults.
The website's legal observer Andriy Shevchenko looked into the current state of affairs of Kozlovskyy and Povoroznyuk in court.
Kozlovskyy's court battles with Povoroznyuk
Grigory Kozlovskyy on his own behalf, as well as companies associated with him - Marvel International Tobacco Group LLP (currently in bankruptcy proceedings, Kozlovskyy was director until January this year) and Vinnikivka Tyutyunova Plant LLP (also a director until January) have filed ten lawsuits in Pechersk District Court of Kyiv.
There are four identical defendants in all cases:
TOV YUYU-FOOTBALL;
Ihor Burbas;
PP "Orbita Service";
Povoroznyuk Oleksandr Hryhorovych.
The results of consideration of cases at the moment:
- Judge Sokolov in case №757/37182/22 returned the claim to Kozlovsky, as there is already a similar claim in this court. And in case №757/37196/22, at the request of Kozlowski's lawyer, he also returned the claim to the plaintiff.
- Judge Papalii, considering the cases #757/1254/23 and #757/1264/23 returned the claims of LLP "Vinnikivska Tyutiunova Fabrika" and directly pointed out that the plaintiff abused his procedural rights by filing claims with the identical defendants.
- Judge Hajnacki, at the request of Kozlowski, sent back his claim in case #757/222/23.
- Judge Golovko also returned the suit in case #757/37205/22 at the request of Kozlowski.
- Judge Vovkka took back the suit #757/1252/23-z filed by Marvel International Tobacco Group. However, Grigory Kozlowski's lawsuit in case #757/37209/22-ts was upheld. An appeal has been filed.
- Judge Volkova took up two cases from Kozlowski's firms, which she considered within a month, which is very fast for the Pechersk Court. She satisfied both claims (case #757/746/23 from one company "Vinnikivska Tyutyunova Plant" and case #757/745/23 from one company "Marvel International Tobacco Group"). Appeals were also filed against both decisions.
Thus, five suits were filed by Kozlowski, two by Marvel International Tobacco Group and three by Vinnikivska Tyutunova Factory.
It is worth noting that often several identical lawsuits from the same plaintiff are filed in order to circumvent the automatic system for assigning judges. Once the system has identified judges, the plaintiff writes applications to have the unsuitable judges return the claims back to him, and the right judge considers and decides accordingly.
Such behaviour by the plaintiff can be grounds for both recusal of the judge and the reversal of the decision with the consequent allocation of the case to another judge in the first instance.
What is the essence of the claim?
Alexander Povoroznyuk on his YouTube channel and in an interview with journalist Igor Burbas said a lot of things about Grigory Kozlowski and his companies. The latter disagreed with the information in his address and went to court to appeal against the allegations made by the president of Inhults.
Igor Burbas spread his own interview with Oleksandr Povoroznyuk about Hryhoriy Kozlovskyy in his telegraph channel (it is available here), the court ordered him to post a refutation of Povoroznyuk when he recorded it. The same applies to TOV YAY-FUTBOL and PP Orbita Service - this is Oleksandr Povorozniuk's YouTube channel, where a video of the same interview is posted (link) and another video by Povorozniuk (link).
What did the judges decide?
On the claim from Grigory Kozlovsky:
- Judge Vovk ruled the following information untrue:
- A tobacco factory owned by Kozlowski is involved in the manufacture of illegal cigarettes;
- Kozlowski is involved in the illegal transportation of tobacco products across the customs border;
- Kozlowski has business partners in Russia;
- Kozlowski has paid money to be rid of competitors;
- Kozlowski is a tax evader;
- Kozlowski is a tax evader;
- Tobacco businesses owned by Kozlowski do not pay all taxes and other mandatory payments to the budget from their operations;
- Kozlovsky embezzles money from the Ukrainian people.
Povoroznyuk must refute all these theses with a recorded video, which must be published on his YouTube channel, Facebook and Instagram pages, Igor Burbas's telegraph channel and the website of TOV YuY-FUTBOL.
Povoroznyuk is also obliged to compensate Kozlowski for 30 kopecks of moral damage, as well as the costs of court fees and expert examinations.
On claims from Kozlowski's companies:
In essence, the decisions on the lawsuits of Marvel International Tobacco Group LLP and Vinnikivska Tyutyunova Factory LLP are identical, this can even be checked visually - open them in different tabs and compare the text. The only thing that differs in them is the figures charged from Povorozniuk.
Judge Volkova found the following information unreliable:
- "That tobacco woman who has worked for the contrabass all her conscious life and what she was built for...";
- "You say that Kozlowski plays for the contrabass, do you yourself have evidence that he plays for the contrabass?" "Yes, of course, the factory, how..."
- "I'll tell you how much tax he pays a month. I'll do everything, the facts... How much tax he pays a month and how much he steals."
- "Two factories are operating in Ukraine, everyone knows about it, and he's the one who starts ordering and working";
- "You have to pay all taxes. So pay all taxes. What are you not paying? What are you not paying?";
- "Grisha Kozlovsky with the same factory... and here is the situation for 2021 Grisha from that factory underpaid 16 billion hryvnias";
- "For the year 22 he did not pay about 20 billion".
As in the Kozlovskyy lawsuit, Povoroznyuk has to deny everything and compensate for judicial embezzlement. But there is an interesting feature in the two cases - both companies also recovered their alleged losses from the president of Ingulets.
The court recovered UAH 2,071,213 in damages from Povoroznyuk to Marvel International Tobacco Group and UAH 986,310 to Vinnikivska Tyutyunova Fabrika, which amounts to almost UAH three million.
Kozlowski's enterprises justified their losses by the fact that they cooperated with Pivdenna Tyutyunova Company, which, almost before the lawsuits were filed, terminated agreements with Kozlowski's enterprises on the supply of cigarette packaging, as it was afraid of the potential negative consequences for itself because of the interview with Povoroznyuk and the facts that he announced.
A quote from the court ruling:
"The information covered in such publications about non-payment of taxes by Vinnikivska Tyutyunova Fabrika LLP over long periods in billions of dollars, as well as unfair, unjust and outright raiding and defiant attitude towards its partners and counterparties will have a negative impact, may harm its reputation, and may also negatively affect its relations with partners and counterparties of Tyutyunova Company Pivdenna LLP.
It should be noted that Tyutyunova Company Pivdenna LLP was involved in a criminal case in which an individual was found guilty of illegal production and storage with intent to sell tobacco products, and the company itself was searched and equipment was seized as part of the criminal proceedings.
Another interesting fact is that in 2021 Tiutunova Company Pivdenna was registered in Vinniki in Lviv region, with which Grigory Kozlovskyy is closely associated.
Nor can we rule out the fact that even if the Tyutyunova Company Pivdennya LLP did refuse to cooperate with Kozlowski's companies under some contracts, it has not entered into new agreements with them.
So what is the current situation?
Povoroznyuk has filed appeals against all three decisions, so the court decisions have not yet gained legal force.
The consideration of these appeals has not yet started, but we will report on their outcome in the next publications.
Andriy SHEVCHENKO
