A representative of the Ukrainian cabinet, at a hearing in Kyiv Economic Court of a claim by the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO), which appealed for the cancellation of an agreement of the State Property Fund and ArcelorMittal on the revision of investment liabilities during the purchase of Kryvorizhstal, did not support the position of the Prosecutor General's Office, a representative of ArcelorMittal from Baker & McKenzie law firm, Svitlana Romanova, has said.
"A representative of the Ukrainian cabinet finally visited the third court hearing. He said that he does not support the PGO’s claim, as he does not see any evidence of violations of the agreement," she told Interfax-Ukraine after the hearing on Tuesday.
She said that the court scheduled the next hearing for October 12. It is expected that the PGO wil announce its claims and present evidence as yet unseen by the defendants, Romanova added.
She also said that the court turned down a petition from ArcelorMittal on the lack of jurisdiction for the case to be heard in this court, and a petition of the State Property Fund on the suspension of the hearing of the case until a similar case under a claim of former head of State Property Fund, Valentina Semeniuk-Samsonenko is heard in an administrative court.
As reported, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine in July 2010 filed a lawsuit against the SPF and ArcelorMittal Duisburg GmbH, which was the buyer of shares in Kryvorizhstal under an agreement on their sale and purchase of October 24, 2005, to cancel an additional agreement to the sale and purchase contract of May 14, 2009, which says that fulfilment of some investment liabilities was postponed for the period of financial crisis.
