The Austrian holding company Ostchem, owned by Firtash, has declared bankruptcy.

The Salzburg District Court has initiated bankruptcy proceedings for OSTCHEM Holding GmbH, a part of the network of companies owned by Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash.

This is reported by the Austrian news agency APA, as noted by Ukrinform.

It is stated that on Monday, the Salzburg District Court opened bankruptcy proceedings for OSTCHEM Holding GmbH.

According to data from the Austrian Association of Credit Reform, the Salzburg-based company is a classic holding entity, with the sole corporate purpose of owning and managing shareholdings in other companies. It is part of a network of companies owned by Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash, who resides in Vienna.

The majority shareholder (86%) of the holding company is Fleori Enterprises Ltd., registered in Cyprus and owned by Firtash.

“The only ‘asset’ of the debtor until recently was a 100% subsidiary in Germany. There was no other business activity. After the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the company lost control over its chemical plant located there. With the loss of the plant, the operational activities of its second-tier subsidiary, Ukrainian Chemical Products LLC, which is currently in the process of liquidation, also completely ceased,” the statement notes.

At the same time, it is indicated that OSTCHEM Holding GmbH still has significant tax arrears to the Republic of Austria that cannot be settled. According to the Association of Credit Reform, outstanding payments include corporate tax for 2011 totaling €3.36 million and for 2012 totaling €4.21 million. The payment deadline was set for December 27, 2024. It is no longer possible to contest the respective notices or decisions of the Federal Finance Court.

“According to the balance sheet for the 2023 financial year, de facto assets are absent, but liabilities total nearly €43 million. The Association of Credit Reform indicates that a list of creditors has yet to be compiled. The company is to be closed and liquidated, and employees are no longer being hired. Creditors have until March 5, 2025, to register their claims,” the statement adds.

Meanwhile, as reported by the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung, Ukrainian oligarch Firtash, who is hiding from American justice in Vienna, is not idle and plans to construct a chemical industrial park in Rivne: “His industrial group Group DF International GmbH, also based in Austria, has decided to build a chemical industrial park in the city of Rivne in collaboration with the Korean company Hyundai Engineering as part of Ukraine's post-war reconstruction. The relevant cooperation agreement was signed in Vienna in April 2024.”

Background. Earlier, Mind reported that the OSTCHEM holding, owned by Dmytro Firtash and specializing in nitrogen fertilizers, began developing new production with added value based on the use of natural gas as a raw material. This involves AdBlue – an additive for diesel fuel that is mandatory under European environmental standards: it reduces nitrogen oxide emissions in diesel engines by 90%.