Ukrainian engine firm denies alleged assets freeze

A Ukrainian engine manufacturer on Tuesday denied reports that shares controlled by a Chinese company were frozen after the China side attempted to take its assets abroad.

"We all know that some people kept trying to block our cooperation on this project, but we have been working firmly to carry out the agreement and our responsibility to Beijing Skyrizon Aviation Industry Investment Company and have made great achievements," Motor Sich CEO Vyacheslav Boguslaev said at a press conference in the 17th Aviation Expo China in Beijing on Tuesday.

A Ukrainian court has frozen 41 percent of Motor Sich shares owned by Skyrizon, foreign media reported.

"The Ukrainian security services allege that the purchase of the company's stock by groups controlled by Beijing Skyrizon Aviation was an attempt to take its assets out of the country, leading to its liquidation," the South China Morning Post reported Saturday, citing the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

The Ukraine court was preserving the personal assets of a Motor Sich leader, not freezing, suing or investigating the company's assets, an anonymous source told the Global Times.

Political frictions in Ukraine caused it, he noted, and the decision would certainly not affect cooperation.

Motor Sich and Skyrizon Aviation signed several engine agreements on Tuesday.