The company assumed physical control of the terminal in early July 2025 and appointed Carl Sturen, a Swedish entrepreneur with investments in Ukraine since 1994, as CEO. Sturen, co-founder of the food processing company Chumak, stated: “I am excited to take on this new opportunity. We have built an excellent team, and we have absolute confidence that we can transform the grain terminal formerly known as Olimpex into a transparent world-class facility. Ukraine has so much potential to attract investment, but it has to shake off the reputation that doing business in Ukraine is high risk due to fraud. Attempts to defraud US investors failed and those culpable are out of business.”
The acquisition stems from the enforcement of mortgages held by Madison Pacific, acting as security trustee for loans provided by Argentem Creek Partners (ACP) and Innovatus Capital Partners (ICP) to G.N. Terminal Enterprises (GNT). These lenders, long-term investors in Ukraine, provided $95 million in financing for the terminal. Ukrainian courts reversed several improper asset transfers by GNT’s former owners, Sergiy Groza and Volodymyr Naumenko, who faced legal consequences for their actions.
In June 2024, a Ukrainian court identified that Groza and Naumenko had leased the terminal to Agiros Ltd., an entity linked to illicit grain activities. In October 2024, an English High Court sentenced them to 21 months in prison for violating asset disclosure orders. In January 2025, the London Court of International Arbitration ordered them to pay $150 million for debts, interest, and costs owed to ACP. Naumenko was arrested in May 2025 on suspicion of fraud and forgery related to the disappearance of over 100,000 tonnes of grain pledged as loan collateral.
On July 9, 2025, Ukraine’s Supreme Court upheld a ruling from April 7, 2025, by the Western Commercial Court of Appeal, granting control to Oleksii Sokol, the bankruptcy manager for Olimpex Coupe International, to resume operations and address creditor payments.
John Patton, founding partner of ACP, stated: “We at ACP, together with ICP, are committed to supporting Lavanda Terminal as it installs transparent operations at the Port of Odesa facility. This is a good day for foreign investors rights in Ukraine, the rule of law is prevailing. We look forward to the terminal being operated transparently and profitably — paying taxes to the state and fair wages to its dedicated staff.”
Lavanda Terminal aims to resume operations swiftly, adhering to high international and Ukrainian business standards, contributing to Ukraine’s grain export capacity.
