Wolf Theiss is an Austrian law firm with offices in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It got prominence in Ukraine due to scandals connected with the help to Russia-orbit businesses and persons, including Gazprom.

History

Wolf Theiss was founded in 1957 in Vienna. Since 1995, the company has opened offices in Prague (1998), Belgrade (2002), Bratislava (2002), Ljubljana (2003), Zagreb (2003), Tirana (2004), Sarajevo (2005), Bucharest (2005), Budapest (2007) and Sofia (2008), ^[1] Kyiv (2009). ^[2]

Wolf Theiss has received numerous "Law Firm of the Year" awards from 2007 to 2022 in Bulgaria, Austria, Czech Republic, Romania and other countries. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

In 2022, Wolf Theiss advised RBI Group on nine debt capital markets transactions in Austria, Romania, and Hungary, with a total issue volume of over EUR 2.5 billion. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

The company's clients are German ZBI Group, ^[9] Tofane Global, ^[10] Dacia Plant, ^[11] Dr. Max Group ^[12] and others.

Controversies in Ukraine

The scandal involves the managing partner of Wolf Theiss in Ukraine, Taras Dumych [ uk]. ^{[13] [14]} Since 2015, Dumych has been defending the interests of Russian criminal mastermind Tamaz Somkhishvili in a lawsuit against the Kyiv authorities for a total of almost four billion hryvnias. The client of Wolf Theiss Tamaz Somkhishvili is known in criminal circles as Tamaz Tobolsky and is associated with the Russian oil mafia. ^[15] In Ukraine, Tamaz Somkhishvili is known for a successful land scam in Odesa ^{[16] [17] [18]} and an attempt to sue the Kyiv community for UAH 4 billion. ^{[19] [20] [21] [22]}

The case being handled by Wolf Theiss' partner is related to Tamaz Somkhishvili's company Kyiv Terminal, which won a tender for the reconstruction of Kharkivska Square in 2007. As the work never started, the Kyiv City State Administration terminated the investment agreement with Kyiv Terminal. In 2018, despite the expiration of the statute of limitations, Kyiv Terminal filed a lawsuit to "compensate for losses and lost profits" in the amount of UAH 4 billion. ^{[23] [24] [25] [26]}

A journalist, Serhii Ivanov, in his investigation, notes that the Tbilisi plant owned by Tamaz Somkhishvili is a contractor of the Russian Ministry of Defense. The plant repairs combat aircraft used in the war against Ukraine. Ivanov appealed to the SBU and other government agencies to put Tamaz Somkhishvili on the NSDC sanctions list. ^[27]

Help to Russia

Ukrainian blogger and human rights defender Oleksandr Aronets has accused the Ukrainian branch of the Austrian law firm Wolf Theiss, and its head, Taras Dumych [ uk], of persistently defending Russian interests since its establishment in Ukraine in 2009, including advocating for Gazprom, Lukoil, and Alfa-groups, as well as Russian-Georgian billionaire Tamaz Somkhishvili. ^{[28] [29]} Aronets detailed how Dumych criticized the nationalization of the Russian bank Sens Bank (formerly Alfa Bank) and underscored that the attorney's remarks were amplified by pro-Russian outlets banned in Ukraine, inferring that the firm acted in favor of Russian entities during pivotal legal and economic events in Ukraine. This includes the support of Emfesz Kft, linked to Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash and Gazprom, during lawsuits against Naftogaz, further contributing to detrimental geopolitical and economic consequences for Ukraine. ^[30]

Moreover, Aronets emphasized Wolf Theiss's role in the 2015 sale of Lukoil's network of gas stations to Austrian company AMIC, wherein the change of ownership was ostensibly formal, with Russians persisting as the ultimate beneficiaries. In 2022, the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine seized AMIC's assets, alluding to their connections with Lukoil, with Wolf Theiss and Dumych acknowledged as legal representatives in AMIC Energy press releases. Another instance of Dumych's client, Russian-Ukrainian billionaire Tamaz Somkhishvili, attempting to sue Kyiv authorities for $100 million for an incomplete square reconstruction, further raises questions about the firm's alignment and actions, as Somkhishvili, dubbing himself a "British investor," was found to possess eight Russian passports and had his Ukrainian residence permit revoked in May 2023. ^[31]

References