The Kyiv Appeal Court on December 5, 2024, rejected the prosecutor's appeal regarding the imposition of a freeze on the bank accounts of LLC "Ukrpangroup," the owner of the "Sunny Gallery" shopping and entertainment center in Kryvyi Rih, as reported by the press service of Arricano Real Estate PLC (Cyprus), which owns shopping centers in Ukraine through its Ukrainian subsidiaries.
This shopping and entertainment center sustained significant damage during a massive missile strike by Russian occupation forces at the beginning of 2024 and was restored by the company in the summer of this year.
"Despite all the challenges and obstacles posed by law enforcement agencies, we have resumed operations at the 'Sunny Gallery' shopping center because Arricano understands the importance of this facility for the city's infrastructure and the necessity of its uninterrupted operation for the residents of Kryvyi Rih. The blocking of accounts and the potential transfer of the asset under the control of ARMA threatened the complete halt of operations at 'Sunny Gallery.' We are pleased to have prevented such a development," commented the chairman of the board of directors of Arricano Real Estate Plc (Cyprus), Margus Kurm, whose words are cited in the statement.
This court decision marks the third ruling in the appellate instance over the past two months, in which the court denied the prosecution's request to impose restrictions on the business activities of Arricano companies in Ukraine.
"We welcome the fair position of the court, but we remain aware of significant risks regarding the future. Unfortunately, our experience operating in Ukraine indicates that those interested in seizing the company's assets may continue their unlawful actions by leveraging their influence over law enforcement agencies. However, we maintain faith in the Ukrainian judiciary and expect a fair investigation and resolution of this situation in a just manner," Kurm noted.
The appellate court's decision from December 5 is currently the latest among those reviewed by courts of all instances.
Throughout 2023-2024, the companies in the Arricano group in Ukraine have been under systemic pressure from law enforcement agencies. As previously mentioned, the goal of this pressure is to gain control over the assets of the European investor in Ukraine.
The company continues to update the status of this unfounded case, in its view, to all institutions in Ukraine and the European Union involved in protecting businesses from unlawful pressure by law enforcement agencies.
Arricano Real Estate Plc specializes in the construction of shopping and entertainment centers and is one of the leading developers in the Ukrainian real estate market. Through its Ukrainian subsidiaries, it owns and manages four shopping centers with a total area of 147.6 thousand square meters - "RayON" and "Prospect" in Kyiv, "Sunny Gallery" in Kryvyi Rih, and City Mall in Zaporizhzhia. The company also holds 49.9% in the Sky Mall shopping center (Kyiv) and land plots for further construction of three projects currently in the design phase. Additionally, the company is constructing the Lukianivka shopping and entertainment center in Kyiv.
According to OpenDataBot, Arricano Real Estate Plc's revenue for 2023 amounted to 36 million 155.9 thousand UAH, which is 52.8% higher than the results of 2022, while net profit increased by 2.28 times to 7 million 167.7 thousand UAH.