00:45Ukraine: Scuffles break out after workers barricade UkrNafta HQ
Scuffles broke out in front of the headquarters of Ukrainian oil and gas extracting company UkrNafta in Kiev, Sunday, when journalist Mustafa Nayem attempted to enter the building and was forcibly denied entry by a group of unidentified men.
Mustafa was seeking an interview with the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and one of Ukraine's richest oligarchs, Igor Kolomoisky, who was reported to have barricaded himself in the UkrNafta HQ earlier on Sunday.
According to an official from the Poroshenko Bloc, Kolomoisky's actions on Sunday could be a response to a new law approved by the Verkhovna Rada to reduce the size of the quorum in joint-stock companies. The barricaded oil company, 42 percent of whose shares are owned by Kolomoisky's company 'Privat Group,' has a government share of 50 percent plus one. Prior to the passing of the law, 'Privat Group' was able to boycott shareholder meetings. Through this it was able to block voting, and thus prevent the board from making decisions, especially regarding issues such as the distribution of profits and the payment of dividends to shareholders. According to the Rada, the newly-passed bill facilitates "effective governmental management" of companies like UkrNafta for the first time in 12 years.
On Thursday company supporters barricaded themselves inside UkrTransNafta HQ in Kiev for several hours, demanding the reinstatement of Alexsandar Lazorko as CEO following his dismissal from the post by the company’s Supervisory Board.
00:45Scuffles broke out in front of the headquarters of Ukrainian oil and gas extracting company UkrNafta in Kiev, Sunday, when journalist Mustafa Nayem attempted to enter the building and was forcibly denied entry by a group of unidentified men.
Mustafa was seeking an interview with the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and one of Ukraine's richest oligarchs, Igor Kolomoisky, who was reported to have barricaded himself in the UkrNafta HQ earlier on Sunday.
According to an official from the Poroshenko Bloc, Kolomoisky's actions on Sunday could be a response to a new law approved by the Verkhovna Rada to reduce the size of the quorum in joint-stock companies. The barricaded oil company, 42 percent of whose shares are owned by Kolomoisky's company 'Privat Group,' has a government share of 50 percent plus one. Prior to the passing of the law, 'Privat Group' was able to boycott shareholder meetings. Through this it was able to block voting, and thus prevent the board from making decisions, especially regarding issues such as the distribution of profits and the payment of dividends to shareholders. According to the Rada, the newly-passed bill facilitates "effective governmental management" of companies like UkrNafta for the first time in 12 years.
On Thursday company supporters barricaded themselves inside UkrTransNafta HQ in Kiev for several hours, demanding the reinstatement of Alexsandar Lazorko as CEO following his dismissal from the post by the company’s Supervisory Board.