The Commercial Court of Dnipro Oblast has declared Ukrainian auto producer Bogdan Motors bankrupt, according to a ruling published on July 6.
Bogdan Motors is one of Ukraine’s biggest auto producers, having produced the well-known yellow Bogdan minibuses, widely used in Ukraine.
Bogdan Motors belongs to Oleh Hladkovsky, ex-President Petro Poroshenko’s business partner and former deputy head of Ukraine’s Security and Defense Council. Poroshenko used to co-own the auto producer with Hladkovsky.
Bogdan Motors did well during Poroshenko’s presidency, receiving contracts from Ukraine’s army. Since 2019, the year when Poroshenko’s presidency ended, Hladkovsky has been under investigation for pressuring the Defense Ministry to give a contract to Bogdan Motors.
In the July 6 ruling, the court has ordered the liquidation proceedings for Bogdan Motors. Before that, on April 20, the court approved the creditors’ claims for a total of Hr 6.7 billion, $245 million. The list of creditors that seek to collect debts from Bogdan Motors include Ukreximbank, International Investment Bank, UniCredit Bank, Sarevin Investments, Finwork, Briz and Bogdan Automobile Group.
Ukrainian media outlet FinBalance reported that numerous creditors have ties with Bogdan Motors. Among them is International Investment Bank, owned by Poroshenko, where Hladkovsky’s family members are minority shareholders.
