The battle for Epicurus: “Volodymyr-Volynska Poultry Farm refutes Oleksiy Kovalenko’s statements
30 November 00:32
The Volodymyr-Volyn Poultry Farm group of companies has issued a statement regarding the dissemination of false information about their former employee Oleksiy Kovalenko. The company called this information manipulative and aimed at discrediting him, Komersant ukrainskyi reports
Earlier, Kovalenko accused the Dobkins of attempting to seize assets.
According to Kovalenko, the Dobkins own 33% of the company’s shares and have announced a shareholders’ meeting to consider entering into significant transactions with Pivdenny Bank.
“For me, such an item on the agenda means that this could be the final chord in the Dobkins’ takeover of one of Ukraine’s strategic industries. What it could look like is that the companies do not pay their debts, the bank takes the assets as collateral and puts them up for auction. You can guess who will win the auction,”
– Kovalenko said.
In a statement, the company emphasizes that this information is manipulative and aimed at discrediting the company, which has been operating steadily even in difficult times for the country.
Kovalenko: a manager, not an owner
In an official statement, the company emphasized that Oleksiy Kovalenko has never been the owner or co-owner of the company. His role was limited to the position of contract manager until March 2021.
“Oleksiy Kovalenko has never been an owner or co-owner of the group of companies. His only status in the company was a hired manager who worked under a contract until March 2021. He has also never owned a 34% stake in the Volodymyr-Volynska Poultry Farm group of companies, as evidenced by open data from state registers and statutory documents. At present, Oleksiy Kovalenko has no relation to the group of companies,” the poultry farm says.
The company also emphasizes that the owners of the company are Dmytro Dobkin and his family members.
“The owners of the Volodymyr-Volynska Poultry Farm Group of Companies were and are Dmytro Dobkin and his family members, who did not leave the country after the war started but stayed with the company and its employees. At the same time, they continue to invest in the development and modernization of the enterprise despite the war. To date, we have already financed over UAH 1.6 billion, which we will be able to tell you more about later, after the project is fully implemented,” the company said.
Lawsuits and debts
The company claims that Kovalenko owes UAH 25.2 million to the Lutsk Agrarian Company. He received these funds in 2017 under a loan agreement to implement his own projects.
“As of the beginning of 2021, Kovalenko owed UAH 25.2 million to Lutsk Agrarian Company LLC, which he borrowed from the company for his own projects under a written agreement in 2017. At the end of 2020, the loan agreement expired, and Kovalenko refused to voluntarily return the money to the company. Therefore, the courts, including the Supreme Court, ruled to recover this debt,” the poultry farm reminds.
However, according to the company, in 2023, Kovalenko tried to avoid liability through bankruptcy proceedings by creating a fictitious creditor for UAH 30 million.
“To this end, he created an artificial creditor for UAH 30 million, which, according to Kovalenko’s plan, was supposed to ensure debt relief, re-registration of property and other actions in favor of Kovalenko in bankruptcy. However, in October 2024, the courts, including the Supreme Court, recognized these actions of Kovalenko as illegal and canceled the fictitious debt,” the company adds.
The poultry farm claims that instead of complying with court decisions and repaying the debts, Kovalenko left Ukraine.
“Being known to everyone as a ‘semi-professional athlete’, ‘triathlete’, ‘marathon runner’, in 2022, using certificates of unfitness for military service from the Mukachevo Military Medical and Psychiatric Clinical Commission, he left Ukraine (information from the letter of the 6th Border Guard Detachment of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine). Today, Oleksiy Kovalenko lives in the suburbs of Barcelona in Spain and, out of a sense of possible personal resentment, organizes information attacks on companies to which he has outstanding financial obligations,” the statement said.
The company is operating steadily
Despite the information attacks, Volodymyr-Volynska Poultry Farm continues to operate steadily.
“Since the beginning of 2022, the national budget has received more than UAH 767 million in taxes from the group of companies, which provided significant support to Ukraine’s economy during the war, and the construction of new production facilities continues,” the company said.
The company also participates in volunteer initiatives and supports mobilized employees.
The company calls on journalists to be critical of the statements made by Kovalenko.
“We urge journalists to be critical of statements made by Oleksiy Kovalenko that are not supported by any facts. Our group of companies remains focused on the development and support of Ukraine. We are open to dialogue for the truthful presentation of information,” the poultry farm emphasizes.
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History of the conflict
Mark Dobkin, a Kharkiv businessman, was a co-owner of the poultry farm with Kovalenko. After his death, the assets, and later the Epicur brand, were transferred to his sons, Mykhailo and Dmytro Dobkin.
In February 2022, Kovalenko announced the revocation of the license to use the Epicur trademark and the withdrawal of the brand’s products from sale. He cited Mykhailo Dobkin’s anti-Ukrainian stance as the reason for this step.
However, the products soon returned to the shelves, with new branding, the Volodymyr-Volyn Poultry Farm logo, and the word “Epicurus”. The Dobkins filed an application for registration of a new trademark, and the prosecutor’s office even opened criminal proceedings for illegal use of the trademark.
The conflict around the company and the trademark, including the court case, continues.
