AMCU Proposes Legal Reforms Following Tedis Ukraine’s Bankruptcy and Over 548 Million UAH Debt

Overview of Tedis Ukraine's Bankruptcy

According to Рубрика — Суспільство: In July 2023, the court declared Tedis Ukraine LLC bankrupt. This company holds a monopoly in Ukraine’s cigarette distribution market and owes the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) more than 548 million UAH. Before the bankruptcy proceedings began, Tedis Ukraine’s operations were transferred to DL Solution LLC, formerly known as Tedis Logistic. AMCU officials view this maneuver with concern, suspecting it as an attempt to evade penalty payments.

AMCU’s Response and Legislative Initiative

Over the past five and a half years, AMCU has repeatedly filed lawsuits demanding debt recovery in bankruptcy cases, totaling over 2.6 billion UAH. Kirill Danilov noted, “In the last five and a half years, AMCU has approached courts nearly 80 times with financial claims in bankruptcy cases, where the total amount exceeds 2.6 billion UAH. This issue is systemic and stems from current legislative gaps.”

To address these challenges, AMCU developed draft law No. 12440 aimed at preventing the avoidance of fines through bankruptcy procedures. This legislative proposal has received positive feedback from international partners. Key reforms include:

• Eliminating the automatic suspension of AMCU decisions during court appeals;
• Assigning liability to the economic successor of assets rather than just to individual legal entities;
• Introducing joint responsibility for business entities involved.

“The tobacco industry inflicts harm at every stage of its existence. Ukraine’s ratification of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the Guidelines for Article 5.3 directly highlight the irreconcilable conflict between public interests and the commercial goals of the tobacco sector,” emphasized Dmytro Kupyra.

Serhiy Mytkalyk pointed out that transferring business activities to a new company signals an attempt to dodge accountability: “Before initiating bankruptcy, all operations of Tedis Ukraine LLC were shifted to DL Solution LLC, which immediately began cooperating with major tobacco companies.”

This case underscores the urgent need to enhance laws governing Ukraine’s tobacco industry. Similar situations threaten the stability of the cigarette distribution market and complicate efforts to combat illicit practices within the sector.

Passing draft law No. 12440 would mark a significant step toward strengthening enforcement of antimonopoly regulations and ensuring fair relations between businesses and the state. It could also promote greater corporate responsibility in fulfilling financial obligations, ultimately benefiting Ukraine’s economy.