Analytics

Civil fraud in Ukraine: possible remedies at home and abroad

Stories of fraudulent schemes can be read in the media almost every day. The recent case of the Just2Trade exchange platform which was working as a classic Ponzi scheme only confirms this trend. Moreover, Ukrainians still remember the infamous case of B2B Jewelry, where 600,000 people were defrauded and lost around USD 250 million.

Land reform plans leave foreign investors in Limbo

Despite, the government’s intentions, the revision of first draft of new legislation could mean that neither the state nor foreign investors can count on fast reaping the benefits of market liberalization.

Criminal Liability for False Information Declaration

The new Article 366-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (hereinafter - the CC of Ukraine) entered into force on the 26th of April 2015 (by the Law of Ukraine of 14 October 2014, No.1700-VII), however it actually started to operate since September 2016 – together with the beginning of electronic declaration.

Two previous years have shown that this provision is widely used by law enforcement agencies, bills of indictments are sent to the courts.

Global deal activity to accelerate in 2018

 

The easing of key economic and political risks and the emergence of positive macroeconomic deal drivers will accelerate global deal activity in 2018, reveals the third edition of the Global Transactions Forecast issued by Baker McKenzie.

2017 has been a period of apprehension for global dealmakers and while economic growth has certainly slowed, the cliff-edge some were predicting has failed to materialize. Following on the momentum created in the second half of 2017, The Global Transactions Forecast, developed in association with Oxford Economics, predicts a cyclical peak in 2018 for several macroeconomic and financial deal drivers, with 2018 marking the high point of the deal cycle for the world's largest transaction centers.

Legal Actors of Changes

Thoughts of “occupation” first came to me during my business trip to the US in 2007. I met a lawyer from Lithuania who used that word to describe the period of her “Motherland” becoming a part of the USSR. Many times I return to this conversation in my memory, since occupation and annexation have become a part of the Ukrainian reality. The tumultuous past year turned into a period of frustration and civilization-shock, but certainly also incredible national cohesion.

Digesting Insolvency Law in CEE

It was a considerable challenge but also a learning processes which we will use when we launch subsequent editions of the Handbook.  We do not see this as a one-off  project and are excited to build on what we have learned and address pending ambiguities based on both developments in the law as well as discovering new case law – all to increase the value of the handbook going forward.

Baker & McKenzie Global and EMEA Chairs Discuss CEE

We took the opportunity of the presence in Prague this month of Eduardo Leite, chairman of Baker & McKenzie's Executive Committee, and Gary Senior, the firm's chair for EMEA, for Baker & McKenzie's EMEA Partners' Conference, to sit down with both of them. These conversations provided a rare opportunity to explore Baker & McKenzie's expectations and plans for CEE, the ways the firm handles the political and financial crises in the region, and the possibility of expansion into new CEE markets.

Legal Directories: International vs. Local Firms in CEE Rankings

“It’s B.S. … when we were an international firm, we were a tier 1 firm. The year after we became a local brand, despite having the same team and continuing to work on the same types of projects, we dropped two tiers, only because we no longer had an international-sounding name,” a Hungarian partner at a leading law firm complained  recently.

CEE Legal Matters Summit Round Table: A True Expert Review

On 3 December  2014, a select number of the best and most experienced CEE business lawyers and legal experts gathered at the Hotel InterContinental in Vienna for the first CEE Legal Matters Legal Summit, which included a Round Table conversation on the present and future of CEE from a law firm and in-house counsel perspective. The wide-ranging conversation touched on the legal markets in the region, the changing prospects for international firms, the growing sophistication of local firms, the needs and requirements of in-house counsel in CEE, and much more.

Currents (and Undercurrents) of Bank Lending in CEE

By Jonathan Weinberg, Partner, White & Case

It is trite these days to observe that financial crises that originate in the United States hit Europe harder and last longer than they do in the United States itself. It appears to be an equal truism that, within the varied economies of continental Europe, such crises move slowly but inexorably eastwards, with increasing depth and longevity. This is the general backdrop to the experience of the credit markets in CEE since at least 2009. In addition, political events, some related to the credit crisis and some not, have exacerbated its effects, particularly in the last 12 months, and look set to have a lasting impact into 2015 and beyond. Legal developments, too, have contributed to a sense of instability, in some cases regardless of the merits of the new rules adopted (cf. the new Czech Civil Code).

 

Guest Editorial: CEE Weathers Siberian Chill

The M&A news coming out of Western Europe and the US at the moment is good. In fact it’s very good; maybe, after the ice age of the past 6 or 7 years, we are seeing a thaw.

There was a consensus in C&SEE that things were improving significantly around May/June, with considerably more deal flow then, both active and soon to come online. But at the beginning of the summer the cold Siberian winds began blowing in the dark clouds from the Ukraine conflict, and as a result of Russian sanctions, some existing and planned projects seemed to go on the back burner. Potential clients and deals have been affected by the chill, either because of sanctions affecting certain entities (with the “who’s next” factor affecting others), or simply because possible Russian buyers are, in some instances, less welcome than they were before.

CEE Legal Experts Gathered to Discuss Outlook for 2015

A truly remarkable event,” is how Gergo Budai, the General Counsel for Invitel, described the 2014 CEE Legal Matters Summit held on 3 December at the InterContinental Hotel in Vienna.

The Summit, which gathered together more than 20 of Central and Eastern Europe's top business lawyers for a candid, honest, and expert conversation about the state of legal markets across the region, was the largest gathering of commercial legal specialists ever in the region, and the first of its kind.

US Investment in Ukraine – is there any Appetite?

By Myron B. Rabij, Partner, Dentons Kyiv/NY

 

On 12 November 2014, Dentons hosted in our New York office the conference  “Invest in Ukraine” organized by A7 CAPITAL. The following week, on 20 November, our Washington DC office hosted a USUBC luncheon with the esteemed economist and Ukraine expert, Anders Aslund, as to his views on necessary reforms in Ukraine.  I was fortunate to represent our Kyiv office and our dedicated New York Ukraine Desk at both events.  I’m happy to say that both events were well attended.

One of the many topics discussed at these (and other) events was:  where is the promised US / Western appetite for investment in post-EuroMaidan Ukraine?

Musical Chairs in CEE: Some Partners Moving and Some Firms Moving Out

A full recovery from the global financial crisis is still far away, privatization processes are by-and-large completed, powerful sanctions on Russia are seriously impacting that massive economy, and geopolitical tensions are high: The prospects for a boom in CEE are fairly grim at the moment, and as the number of big-ticket deals in the region shrinks, the competition for the few that remain is getting tougher than ever.

Banking on Growth: The EBRD in CEE

The connection between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe is powerful. The Bank was created expressly to facilitate the transition of the communist countries formerly behind the Iron Curtain to the free market, and as of June 30, 2014, it has invested EUR 72 billion in the region – including EUR 2.6 billion so far this year alone. We decided to learn a bit more about what the Bank is, how it works, and what the lawyers who work within it do.

Editorial: Insights on Legal Recruitment

Prior to launching CEE Legal Matters, I spent a little over 3 years in a legal recruitment company. Knowing my background, over a recent casual cup of coffee a partner from a law firm in Budapest told me that he noticed a job advert posted by a recruiter looking for a senior banking lawyer. “Who in God’s name would be looking for senior banking lawyer in this economy?!”, he asked me, shocked.

Ilyashev & Partners secured four merger clearances for PZU from Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine

Ilyashev & Partners secured four merger clearances from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) necessary for the PZU Group's acquisition of four insurance companies in Poland and the Baltics from Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance

Ilyashev & Partners represented Antonov Chief Executive

Ilyashev & Partners has persuaded the Kiev Circuit Administrative Court to bar the Registrar of Companies from making any changes to the records of Antonov — the Ukrainian government-owned aircraft producer — that would result in dismissing Dmitry Kiva as chief executive officer and/or board member and appointing Sergiy Merenkov instead.

Massive Arbitration Award Against Russia

In what Shearman & Sterling calls "an historic arbitral award,” on July 18, 2014, an Arbitral Tribunal sitting in The Hague held unanimously that the Russian Federation breached its international obligations under the Energy Charter Treaty by destroying Yukos Oil Company and appropriating its assets.

The publication was reprinted with the permission of CEELM. For original publication, please follow http://ceelegalmatters.com/

The Glass CEEling

Women’s Day is behind us, but the subjects of gender equality and equal opportunity are of year-round concern. This, the first part of a special two-part CEE Legal Matters article on women in private practice in CEE, provides the numbers and percentages from leading law firms across CEE, as well as a more thorough snapshot of one representative market. Part II of the report, in the June issue, will pull back the curtain even more, providing feedback and perspectives from lawyers across the region.

This article was originally published in the April 2014 Issue of CEE Legal Matters.

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