Ukrainian business has to function in rather difficult times. Experts note an increase and aggravation of risk factors for the implementation of any commercial activity, in connection with which the legal protection of business remains relevant. Among the most dangerous situations in which an entrepreneur may find himself is raiding – the illegal seizure of someone else’s property, and often with the use of force. Many people associate this problem with the dashing 90s, however, based on the statistics of criminal cases initiated, raider seizures still remain the scourge of our time.

 

The number of attacks on businesses is steadily growing, so the government is trying to deal with this problem. The Anti-Raider Commission under the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, local anti-raider headquarters, the Anti-Raider Interdepartmental Working Group – all these organizations are tools designed to fight raiders.

 

However, as practice shows, effective protection of business from raiding is possible only if all possible preventive measures are taken, including legal control. To do this, it is recommended to contact Lawrange Law Firm. We know what preventive measures to use to prevent a raider takeover of your business. And in the event of an incident that has already occurred, we will take the necessary actions to achieve justice and compensation.

 

More about the methods of raider takeover of a business

This offense, as a rule, is the result of the activities of full-fledged teams that mask the raider seizure, at first glance, with completely legal schemes. Using corrupt lawyers and well-established connections in controlling state structures, they often manage to achieve their goals. At the same time, a business of any specificity and scale can be at risk.

 

During the years of independence of Ukraine, an approximate classification of raider seizures of enterprises (property) has been formed. It looks like this:

 

  • “White” raiding – the capture of the company is carried out by methods that do not violate applicable law. As practice shows, such a problem is often faced by enterprises experiencing financial difficulties, as well as enterprises with a weak management apparatus. The main role in the fight against “white” raiding is assigned mainly to the judicial and administrative authorities.
  • “Black” raiding – the company is absorbed, grossly violating all kinds of laws, using fraudulent methods, including blackmail, extortion, forging documents, and giving bribes.
  • “Gray” raiding is an intermediate option that has signs of the above types of offenses. At first glance, it may seem that the alienation of the company occurs in a completely legal way. However, upon closer examination, a fraudulent scheme becomes apparent. It is the “gray” raiding in Ukraine that has become most widespread, since determining the scheme of raiders’ action turns out to be extremely difficult. Just in such cases, the legal protection of business from raider takeover is important.

 

Depending on the type of raiding, offenders can use certain methods.

 

Buying shares

Frontmen buy shares of the company from its shareholders (more often we are talking about minority shareholders) for a small amount. The result of such an operation is the receipt by the raiders of a full package of controlling shares. This is what allows you to influence the fate of the company, for example:

 

  • change leadership;
  • sell off assets;
  • organize a takeover by another company, etc.

 

In other words, the raiders block the work of the business, while squeezing out the maximum benefit for themselves.

 

Bankruptcy

This option requires significant financial investment. It consists in buying up the debt portfolio of the debtor, followed by the launch of a bankruptcy lawsuit. In this case, such an arbitration manager is appointed who will conduct the procedure in the manner necessary for the initiating creditor. Further, depending on the goal pursued, the stage of rehabilitation or liquidation begins. In the course of applying a complex intricate scheme, it is possible to get someone else’s business and assets.

 

Fictitious bankruptcy

False accounts payable are created, which allegedly threatens business owners with bankruptcy. The main purpose of this method is to appoint a leader for control. In fact, in this situation we are talking about the use of blackmail.

 

Reducing the cost of the company with the subsequent purchase of assets

It is a kind of alternative to bankruptcy, but less expensive and not so long. Implemented by filing many lawsuits against the company. This gradually affects the reputation of the enterprise – it falls, and with it the value of assets decreases.

 

Amendments to the statutory documents

Raider method based on fraud. It consists in forging signatures in documents on the change of leadership, participants. Moreover, the need for notarization of the minutes of the general meeting and the charter is not a serious obstacle in the way of fraudsters – there are many private notaries in Ukraine, so finding among them someone who would fulfill their role in this case is not so difficult. In addition, notaries are endowed with the function of a registrar and can make the necessary changes, since they have access to registers.

 

Budget debt

Raiders use the enterprise’s debt to the pension fund, social insurance funds or any other state institution for their own purposes. But, as practice shows, the fiscal service is most often used. An employee of the tax service generates an overdue debt of the company, for which he makes a demand to immediately pay taxes. After that, the activities of the organization are blocked by the arrest of accounts and property. This leads to the fact that the company cannot repay the debt, because of which it is threatened with bankruptcy.

 

Use of force

On the basis of a falsified court decision, law enforcement agencies are involved, and not only private security firms, but, for example, special forces of law enforcement agencies. The main goal in this case is the moral suppression of the victim company with the parallel seizure of the documents necessary for the raiders.

 

Important preventive measures

Protection against raiders, especially when it comes to LLC, should be based on a competent and effective strategy to prevent negative scenarios. To do this, it is recommended to enlist the support of experienced specialists of Lawrange, who will develop and implement a comprehensive business protection mechanism in each specific case. It is also extremely important not to have hopes that this problem will not affect you, and to prepare in advance.

 

Change the organizational structure of the business

Diversification, aimed at mitigating many risks, is among fairly effective preventive methods. This model provides for the division of the company’s activities into several components, while maintaining a sufficient level of communication between them. In simple terms, the business must be split into several companies. At the same time, for example, real estate will be listed on the balance sheet of one, transport will be on the balance sheet of another, the third enterprise will be entrusted with the main activity, and the fourth – personnel management.

 

This division of the business, which owns the most important assets, makes it as isolated as possible, due to which it can hardly be exposed to negative external influences. This method is usually implemented by registering an LLC, the property of which is transferred to an affiliated person. At the same time, lease agreements for supplies are concluded between related companies, etc.

 

The advantages of the strategy are obvious:

 

  • When one company is captured, criminals will not get the rest of the enterprises.
  • In case of danger, it is easy to terminate the contracts that were concluded with the captured company.
  • Optimization of tax losses – the chances of getting the opportunity to work under special tax regimes increase.

 

Reorganize the structure of the enterprise

Use some “fuses” that will protect against a raider attack:

 

  • Increasing the quorum border in making important management decisions.
  • Limitation of director’s powers.
  • Setting a limit on the amount of transactions.
  • Strengthening control over the executive body.
  • Establishment of a supervisory board.
  • Implementation of a reporting system to board members.
  • Establishment of notarial certification of protocols, as well as the application of double signature standards.

 

You can also specify that the election of the secretary and chairman of the general meetings should be carried out only from among the founders of the company.

 

Important! It is recommended to establish statutory restrictions for the directors of agricultural enterprises that own a large land bank. The restriction should concern the possibility of terminating land lease agreements. It is also recommended to establish a ban on the issuance of powers of attorney to the director on certain issues.

 

Organize the right paperwork

A fairly simple method, which, unfortunately, many entrepreneurs are extremely negligent. At the same time, they understand their mistake when information is leaked and the business is on the verge of a raider takeover. The minimum that should be done is to exclude the possibility of taking documents out of the enterprise. It is better to introduce specialized IT systems designed to streamline the workflow and prevent the loss of some documentation. Also follows:

 

  • Keep paper documents and seals of the company in a safe, it will not interfere with their transfer to a lawyer for safekeeping.
  • Think over a scheme for saving data before an employee is fired or removed from his post (so that he does not take, for example, passwords with him).
  • Eliminate the possibility of signing important documents by authorized persons.

 

Take care of the protection of shares / shares of the company

Remember that the risk of a raider takeover is possible in the event of an illegal purchase of shares or shares in the authorized capital. To avoid negative consequences, encumber securities with all sorts of obligations to third parties. An example is the registration of a pledge of shares under a loan obligation. JSCs and limited liability companies can use this method.

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Pay attention to asset protection

Create such conditions under which the alienation of the property of the company will be impossible. To do this, you can also use the registration of an encumbrance in favor of third parties with a pledge. The main thing here is to carefully select the person in whose favor a pledge will be issued to protect assets. Another way is to register a foreign company.

 

Important! Raiding, especially “gray” raiding, is primarily designed for ignorance of the laws and legal illiteracy of the company’s beneficiaries. In this regard, it is recommended to trust qualified specialists in the field of law, who organize the establishment of order in local acts, cash documents, contracts, etc.

 

Work with management

Gather dossiers on the people you hire, especially those in leadership positions. You must be sure that in case of problems they will not let you down. You should not trust employees with a dubious past, or who are silent about some facts from their lives, especially those that are directly related to their position.

 

What is the assistance of a raiding lawyer

A specialist on this issue is able to solve several tasks, one of which is the legal audit of the company to identify vulnerabilities. Such assistance is urgently needed at the stage when the capture is still planned. Usually quite successful, but vulnerable enterprises act as the object of raiding. For this reason, it is extremely important to eliminate possible problems in the work of the organization in a short time, to structure its activities and to correctly draw up documents for property.

 

A set of preventive measures under the supervision of a lawyer may also include:

 

  • protection from unfair competition;
  • organization of documentation protection;
  • conducting anti-raider trainings for personnel;
  • verification of business partners;
  • taking measures aimed at protecting copyrights, trade secrets;
  • defending interests in all courts.

 

Thanks to qualified assistance, the company gets the opportunity to start working on a competent, safe system. And this, in turn, reduces the risk of raider capture.

 

The help of a lawyer at the stage of the ongoing alienation of the business will be simply vital. A professional approach will allow organizing a system of barriers for any further actions of criminals. In particular, a raiding lawyer can:

 

  • initiate criminal proceedings;
  • challenge registrar decisions;
  • identify customer and stakeholders for response.

 

Specialists of Lawrange will analyze the state of court cases, control enforcement, criminal proceedings against your company. We will see if your debt to other companies is being bought up, etc.

 

Important! The help of a raiding lawyer is a business protection tool that is available to everyone. For further success, you need to use it in time.

 

In the case of a capture already in progress, we:

 

  • we quickly go to the object;
  • call the police and file a crime report;
  • we document (video, photo shooting) every action of the raiders, car numbers, identity documents;
  • we inform the local community, the anti-raider headquarters about the ongoing raider seizure;
  • we make this event public – we spread information about the raider takeover of your business in social networks;
  • we develop a draft statement of claim to appeal against any transactions, registration operations.

 

The result of the activities of our lawyers is the maximum complication of the raiders in relation to your business. You will be able to retain functional control over it, avoid the risk of losing assets or initiating bankruptcy proceedings.

 

Why choose Lawrange

Our company has brought together professionals in the field of law, economics, the fintech segment, etc. They have all the necessary knowledge and practical skills to resolve issues related to countering raiding. You can contact our company for preventive assistance if you suspect that you are preparing a forceful takeover of your business, or already at the stage of active actions of criminals. In any case, we will immediately begin to take the necessary measures.

 

The main advantages of cooperation with us:

 

  • Guarantees – you pay for the work actually done, with no unexpected or hidden fees.
  • Experience and reputation built over the years – each Lawrange lawyer has an impressive portfolio of successful cases behind him, which significantly increases the chances of a successful outcome of the case.
  • Confidentiality – we guarantee 100% preservation of client information during cooperation, and after the completion of the case, we delete all data without a trace to eliminate the risk of theft.
  • Narrow profile – each lawyer specializes in a narrow category of cases, so that not a single detail goes unnoticed.

 

Contact our lawyers if you want to quickly organize an effective company security system and minimize the risk of a raider takeover. We will use all possible measures to counter criminals at the stage of direct capture of your business, and we will help you regain control over it.

 

Conclusions

Protection against raider takeover of a business is as relevant today as it was a couple of decades ago. Today, criminals, using legal, semi-legal and outright criminal methods, are able to take possession of someone else’s company and its assets. There are various schemes of raider seizures, ranging from buying up shares and ending with the use of force. But it is important to understand that you have every chance to either avoid such a problem, or, when it is already obvious, neutralize it.

 

To do this, we recommend trusting the professionals of the Lawrange Law Firm, who have gained an impressive amount of experience in the fight against raiding. They will audit your business for vulnerabilities, suggest how to restructure the company’s activities, help with bringing documentation to the proper legal form, etc. We offer a transparent pricing policy and complete confidentiality of the case, while we work effectively to solve your problem. It is important to understand that the methods of raider attacks are constantly being updated, so only specialists are able to develop and improve measures to counter such phenomena.

 

FAQ

What should I do if my business has been hacked?

Without wasting time, contact us at the phone numbers listed on the site and then follow the instructions, which depend on the particular situation.

 

Is it possible to quickly challenge illegal registration actions?

This can be done by contacting the Ministry of Justice within two months from the day when the person learned or could have learned about the violation of his rights. The complaint must be considered within a period of no more than one month from the date of its receipt. This option for solving the problem is much faster than through the court.

 

Will I be able to resist raiding on my own?

There are many “pitfalls” (for example, gaps in the current legislation, when the same provision is interpreted differently), without knowing about which you can make a number of mistakes and lose business. Therefore, if you do not have the necessary knowledge and skills, then you should not waste time, it is better to contact a lawyer.

 

 

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