The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine concluded an agreement on August 31 with the international law firm «Holland & Knight LLP» (USA) for legal services worth $87,500, or 4.03 million UAH.
This is reported in the «Prozorro» system.
From May 1 to December 15, 2026, the firm will provide legal consulting and representation services in the case of a lawsuit filed by «Optim Holding GmbH» (Austria) against the state of Ukraine. The places of service delivery are Kyiv, Boston, New York, Washington, and Miami.
The justification states that on October 21, 2025, the Ministry of Justice received an arbitration request from «Optim Holding GmbH», which was registered on October 30, 2025, with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID, Washington, USA). In this request, the claimant alleges that Ukraine carried out actions equivalent to the expropriation of the property of the subsidiary of «Optim Holding GmbH» — LLC «Trading Company «Optim»», making its further economic activity impossible, thereby allegedly violating Articles 3, 4, and 9 of the Agreement between Ukraine and Austria on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments. The amount of the claim against Ukraine totals 22.5 million euros (17 million euros in compensation for the alleged expropriation plus interest at the three-month LIBOR (USD) rate + 5% from April 11, 2023).
According to an investigation by «hromadske», the Austrian «Optim Holding GmbH» and the Kyiv-based «Trading Company «Optim»» were founded by businessman Oleh Zudov. He earns money from reselling air conditioners and other climate equipment and left for Austria on the eve of the invasion. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, he has imported goods worth at least $40 million to Russia through his Russian companies — LLC «Technotrade» and LLC «Trading Company «Optim»». By the most conservative estimates, about $8 million of this amount went to the Russian state budget as taxes. In August 2023, the SSU issued a suspicion (in absentia) against Zudov for transferring over 50 million rubles to the Russian budget in 2022. In December 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy enacted a decision of the National Security and Defence Council to impose personal sanctions on the Austrian parent company «Optim Holding GmbH». Journalists report that after this, Zudov began transferring his companies to other people. He transferred the Austrian company to local investor Michael Mitzku.
According to data from «YC World», «Optim Holding GmbH» is currently under Ukrainian sanctions.
The hourly rates of two partners and a lawyer at «Holland & Knight LLP» will be $850.
The procurement was conducted without tendering, as permitted by law for the purchase of legal services related to the protection of Ukraine’s rights and interests. The Ministry of Justice requested and received commercial proposals from five international law firms: «Holland & Knight LLP» — $87,500; «Ashurst LLP» — 135,275 euros; «Foley Hoag LLP» — $630,760; «Allen Overy Shearman Sterling LLP» — $123,650; «Carter-Ruck» — 155,000 euros. The most advantageous one was selected.
The firm «Holland & Knight LLP», headquartered in Tampa (Florida, USA), represents Ukraine in cases involving claims by PJSC «Tatneft». Previously, the Ministry of Justice engaged it for legal representation in cases involving claims by «Universal Trading & Investment Co., Inc» («UTIKo») and «Foundation Honesty International, Inc.», a claim by Oleh Zhukovskyi against the NBU, a claim by Mykola Ivanenko and others, and a claim by Ukrainian figure skater Oksana Baiul.
Author: Anna Soroka, «Nashi Hroshi»
