Cypriot businessman Alexandros Alexandrou is counting on a fair decision of the Ukrainian court and is going to prove that he is the sole legal owner of SNEL Energy LTD and the owner of Glusco gas stations.
How the story unfolded: the assets of the Glusco gas station were transferred to ARMA at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office. The reason was, as the Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal called it, was the probable connection of the business owners to the Russian Federation. But the key word here is “probable”, since ARMA has not yet provided evidence of such connections. The fact of the purchase of gas station assets by a Cypriot citizen was never mentioned anywhere. In May 2022, the network of Glusco gas stations was transferred to Naftogaz. According to the Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the transfer of the gas station was carried out according to the court’s decision and, probably, such actions should have affected the situation of fuel supplies to Ukraine. Immediately, Alexandros Alexandrou initiated the defense of his interests in court.
“The decision to purchase the assets of the Glusco gas station chain was not spontaneous. In the spring of 2022, when the previous owner was trying to quickly get rid of assets in a country which experienced a full-scale invasion, I have made a decision to invest in Ukraine, because I saw that the situation was developing in favor of Ukraine. As a result, I bought Ukrainian assets in March 2022, because I understood that the country resisted and would continue to resist, – tells Alexandros Alexandrou. — I am not an expert of oil and gas market. I’m a professional developer. My strategy was to lease modern gas station complexes to other oil and gas market players. The demand for fuel was high, and the Kyiv region, where most of the network’s gas stations are located, was already relatively safe. The Ukrainian government is mistaken, considering me a representative of someone’s interests. I support Ukraine, and my main interest is the development of business and preserving of workplaces of my employees in Ukraine”.
As Alexandros Alexandrou says: “I have a lot of experience investing in the real estate markets of various countries. First of all, Cyprus and EU countries. I also have extensive expertise in the field of renting any type of real estate, both residential and commercial. Like for any businessman, my interest and goal is the lease or sale of real estate objects that I have improved, repaired, enhanced. I know exactly the starting price of the object, what investments should be made by me, including taxes, depreciation, and insurance payments; in fact, based on these investments, I understand the total benefit that I will receive after paying all taxes. It is not a secret that over the years I have developed and successfully implemented my own developments to improve business, and all of them are mathematically verified solutions.
Let’s take a look at the biography of Alexandros Alexandrou. European investor Alexandros Alexandrou works with a law firm that defends his interests in Ukrainian courts. He also asked to pay attention to his issue the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Ukraine and the Office of the President of Ukraine. Aleksandrou expects justice and rule of law, and is confident that his rights as the international investor will be protected.
Despite the difficulties that have arisen, Alexandros Alexandrou immediately after acquiring the business has shown support for the Ukrainian resistance to the aggressor. The company SNEL Energy LTD handed over more than 2 million liters of fuel to the Ukrainian army free of charge, as well as 14 fuel trucks. And this was done despite the fact that the company owned a total of 21 gasoline trucks, of which 4 were located on the territory occupied by the Russian Federation.
Today, the SNEL group of companies face the new challenges: on May 12, 2023, the President of Ukraine introduced sanctions against four companies that are part of the SNEL group, three of them have Cypriot jurisdiction, one company – Swiss jurisdiction. And all this happened against the background of court proceedings of the EU citizen in defense of his rights to the previously purchased gas station business. Usually, the Ministry of Justice files a claim with the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court when there is evidence of a connection: business+Russian assets+Russian owner. In Alexandros Alexandrou’s case everything that‘s happening is rather a misunderstanding, since he has no connections with Russian politicians, and is also not a citizen of the Russian Federation. He is the EU citizen who has legitimately bought a network of gas stations and is now trying to prove this fact to the court.
Information on SNEL Energy LTD
SNEL Energy LTD is an international company with headquarters in Cyprus and offices in Switzerland, Ukraine and the UAE. It works as an international investment group and provider of professional services in the field of marketing, promotion and consulting. The main markets are Europe and the Middle East. The sole shareholder of the company is Alexandros Alexandrou.
Since 2022, SNEL Energy LTD owns the network of Glusco gas stations, as well as the rights to the company’s brands. The Glusco trademark was registered in Ukraine in 2016. Initially, the Glusco company united:
- an oil depot near Lysychansk oil refinery;
- gas stations of the “Vostok” chain, which previously operated under the “TNK”, “Zolotoy Gepard”, “Formula” and other brands.
As of 2021, the company was facing a number of challenges: violation of import rules, low quality oil products, and so on. At that time, information appeared in the mass media that Glusco Retail LLC controls 21 organizations.
Regarding gas stations, Glusco did not use all of its assets — 23 stations were rented to tenants.
At the end of 2021, the Glusco network was acquired by Snel Energy Limited. At that time, its owner was a citizen of Greece, Dimitrios Anifantakis, who had experience in the oil products trading market: he previously worked as a top manager of such large players as Cargill SA, BP plc, Lukoil and Litasco. However, as soon as the full-scale invasion began, Anifantakis decided to sell the company. Alexandros Alexandrou, who is currently the sole shareholder of Snel Energy Limited, became the new owner.
Information about Alexandros Alexandrou
Alexandros Alexandrou is a citizen of Cyprus, an entrepreneur. Born in 1978 in the city of Kannavia (Cyprus). After he has received primary and secondary education, he served in the National Guard of Cyprus. He has the rank of junior lieutenant. He has a grade of Master of Finance (University of Wales, Great Britain). Alexandros Alexandrou is an expert in the following areas:
- logistics
- telecom
- banking sector
- legal services
- business consulting
- development
In 2021, he joined SNEL Energy LTD (Cyprus) as a director. Later, he acquired shares from the former owner of the business and became the sole shareholder of SNEL Energy LTD. He owns assets in Ukraine. The owner of the chain of Glusco gas stations in Ukraine.
In his interview with rbc.ua in July 2023, Aleksandros Aleksandrou once again confirmed that he did not know Viktor Medvedchuk, had never met him, nor his wife or any other representatives. The businessman is a citizen of the EU country, Cyprus, and does not live in Ukraine. Alexandros Alexandrou stressed that he is the real beneficiary of the company, as he legally bought this business from Dimitrios Anifantakis.