Tomas Fiala hid his business in Crimea through the Estonian businessman Gillar Teder, - the investigation of "Krym.Realia"

bykvu.com

October 12, 2021

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This is written by the "Krym.Realii" publication .

The company Arricano, whose majority shareholder was Gillard Teder before the annexation of Crimea, officially owned shopping centers in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and Simferopol. At the height of the occupation of Crimea, namely on March 3, 2014, the Yuzhnaya Galeriya shopping center was opened in Simferopol.

According to journalists, immediately after the occupation, Teder developed a scheme to hide his business in Crimea. The customer of the construction of the "South Gallery" in Simferopol is the Crimean LLC "Voyage-Crimea", this is stated on the website of the project company. The founder of "Voyage-Crimea" is "Green City" LLC from St. Petersburg (RF). In turn, one of the founders of the "Green City" is the Ukrainian firm "Grandinvest", the ultimate beneficial owner of which is Gillard Teder's Arricano company.

However, Tomasz Fiala, a well-known foreign investor in Ukraine, the founder of the Dragon Capital investment firm, has a relationship with Arricano. He owns 12.5% ​​of Arricano shares.

It was with Fiala that the Estonian businessman Teder built a multi-stage scheme of so-called shell companies, through which they hid profits from Crimea and evaded sanctions imposed by the European Union.

So far, the journalists of "Krym.Realiya" have provided documentation and evidence regarding the violation of European legislation. Estonia may now initiate an official investigation into how foreign investors are evading sanctions for the illegal annexation of Crimea.

Public representatives, in particular the advisor to the Minister of Digital Transformation Yanika Merilo, call for a fair and objective investigation of this case. Neither Gillar Teder nor Tomas Fiala are currently commenting on information about their illegal business in Crimea.

What is known about Tomas Fiala?

In May 2021, it was reported that Dragon Capital CEO Tomash Fiala became the new owner of Ukrainian Pravda. However, this publication is not the only one of his media assets. Previously, #Bukvy told in detail what exactly Tomasz Fiala possesses.

It is worth noting that it is quite unclear which "Ukrainian Pravda" Fiala owns, because there are at least several legal entities with the name "Ukrainian Pravda". Here are the NGO "Ukrainian Pravda" , the PE "Ukrainian Pravda" , and the LLC "Information Agency "Ukrainian Pravda" . Among them, a public organization and a private enterprise have a relationship with Olena Prytula, the previous owner of "UP", and after the sale - the "founding editor" of the publication.

In addition, Dragon Capital does not hide its generous financing of various anti-corruption, reform and media projects, publishing press releases about the allocation of funds to them.

In addition, Tomasz Fiala is the president of the European Business Association.

• On May 26, the online publication "Ukrainian Pravda" reported on the new owner. Tomas Fiala became him.
• In 2015, lawyer Vladyslav Dulapchii accidentally discovered real estate scams involving the new owner of "Ukrainian Pravda", the president of the European Business Association Tomas Fiala, as well as the odious judge Serhiy Vovk. According to the human rights defender, Fiala illegally appropriated part of the communal property in the house where he lives. It is about the illegal annexation of the attic, in which Judge Vovk helped. Read more about this in the material.
• #Bukvy also discussed whether Tomasz Fiala will become a "legitimate" oligarch.

"Business must be conducted honestly." Tomasz Fiala's reputation has made him one of the winners of the Forbes "Entrepreneur of the Year" award. What is its value?

forbes.ua

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The founder of Dragon Capital, Tomasz Fiala, won in the Business Reputation category at the Forbes Entrepreneur of the Year award held on February 10. The award was presented by Raiffeisen Bank CEO Oleksandr Pisaruk. During the ceremony, Fiala told how he built his reputation and what hinders him from doing business in Ukraine

Tomasz Fiala , 47, came to Ukraine in 1996, promising his boss from the Czech Wood&Co to earn a million dollars in a year. Earned 20 times more. In 2000, he founded his company. Two decades later, Dragon Capital is one of the largest investment companies in Ukraine with a portfolio of deals worth $5 billion and funds under management worth $700 million. Most of the funds - $500 million - are invested in Ukrainian real estate. In 2021, the list of assets was supplemented by the logistics complex "Amtel", which became the largest in the portfolio, the producer of mineral water "Truskavetska", the authoritative online media "Ukrainian Pravda", the financial marketplace Treeum and the small Yunex Bank.

"We have known each other since I moved to Kyiv in 2017," says Ivan Svitek, CEO and owner of 25% of Yunex Bank. He calls Tomas an ideal partner whom Svitek, as a minority shareholder, can trust. "If we agreed to put money into the bank's capital on the second day, it came on the second day," says Svitek. - Tomas knows how to keep his word."

Tomasz is an all-rounder, admired by his colleague and friend, Dragon Capital Managing Director Brian Best. Deeply focused on everything he does, whether it's business, watching a hockey tournament with friends, or running an Ironman. Always wants to be better and has a phenomenal memory, easily naming the details of deals five to seven years ago.

Fiala's must-have item on vacation, says Best, is a backpack with Financial Times newspapers. They help to see the trends and sentiments of Western investors. Fiala has a flair for good deals, Best believes. And reputation is the main thing that he built in Ukraine in 20 years. If previously the search for partners turned into long negotiations with large-scale presentations, says Best, now it takes twenty percent of the previous efforts.

Oleksandr Pysaruk: Opening the envelope, I knew I would see your name, because I have known you for many years.

Tomasz Fiala: Reputation takes a long time to earn, but it can be lost quickly. In any case, business must be conducted honestly. This also applies to relations with clients and employees. With everyone you cross paths with. It is important to build a long-term business, not short-term earnings on one idea.

Did Ukrainian business ethics improve?

I think so. Ukraine is a specific country. The rule of law is very weak here. It is difficult to achieve justice in courts or law enforcement agencies. Therefore, business relies on the partner's word of honor. Entrepreneurs have already learned to choose partners with a good reputation. Businessmen who work according to these rules were able to grow. Those who worked according to the rules of the 90s, in the last 20 years, I think, lost.

Unlike most businessmen, you never hide your position. Which of your important decisions was the most expensive for you?

Probably investments in media. Maybe you should have invested in Forbes. Although, perhaps, there are difficulties here: someone is offended by a place in the ratings. The media I've invested in criticizes politicians. But, in my opinion, they are balanced. Both those and others are criticized in the same way. Judging by the reaction I hear. Indirectly, mostly. No one directly calls or complains.

Bright investigations of our young journalist have recently appeared. And I have heard that I am often mentioned in some offices. They give us the task of checking our business. It motivates us. So, we do everything right. In 2012–2013, under Yanukovych, we were also "scrutinized" for a full program for some statements. But we continue to invest.

There is an opinion that it is easier to live with a bad reputation than a good one.

I do not agree with this.

What would you wish for your business colleagues?

Business needs to help the country move in the right direction - through capitalization growth. In Ukraine, business is valued much cheaper - the multipliers are two to three times lower than in the countries on the western border. Everyone needs to find their niche. In my case, it's independent media. There are a lot of such niches where efforts can be made to raise the country's capitalization. And now - your business. It is the best investment any of us can make. Direct 5–10% of your funds to some common goals. Because this way you can multiply the remaining 90% by two or three times.

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