The program of “business-forum 2017” listed Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk, Economy Minister Stepan Kubiv and his deputy Maksym Nefyodov. The partners and speakers also included Google, where Dmytro Sholomko was to speak, Microsoft, and Kyivstar. Alfa-Bank was named as general sponsor, and sponsorship packages were offered at $2–3 thousand. Attendees were sold tickets from 800 hryvnias for an online broadcast to 5,000 hryvnias for a VIP seat.
The resemblance to the original was immediately obvious. iForum, whose first conference was held in 2009, by 2017 was one of Ukraine’s main industry forums. It was created by Artur Orujaliyev, former owner of AIN.UA, and Oleksandr Olshansky, who headed the organizing committee. The co-organizers were Serhiy Korzh and Oleksiy Mas, who led the “Internet Business” track. The website, program, and logo of “business-forum 2017” copied iForum, and this coincidence became the main topic of conversation in the press and social media.
Declared participants distance themselves
Most of the people and companies named in the program quickly distanced themselves from the event. The Ministry of Economic Development denied the ministry’s participation. Google and Microsoft also said they were not involved. Alfa-Bank stated that it had not given consent to the role of general sponsor, and its lawyers were studying possible legal consequences. RBC-Ukraine’s editorial team also denied its representatives’ participation. Maksym Nefyodov responded directly: “I definitely did not confirm anything of the sort,” he said.
A separate blow hit the organizer’s own reputation. Yulia Pravik called herself PR director of the company “In Time.” The company responded that Pravik works with them on individual projects, and the conference is her personal initiative. After that, the company suspended cooperation with PRavik.
Speaker without consent
Among the named speakers was Oleksiy Mas, innovation adviser to the president of Kyivstar and one of the organizers of the real iForum. He tried to find out why the website was so similar to his conference but received no answer. A couple of days later, his photograph appeared in the schedule of talks, although he had not given consent to participate. Mas’s reaction was sharp, and he published a post on Facebook:
“What colorful crooks. They stole the iForum-2016 program. Added ministers. Well done. Scam of the year.”
The main discussion unfolded on Facebook at Artur Orujaliyev’s page, who at that time no longer owned AIN.UA. Participants discussed how a fake conference with such an exact copy of the website could have appeared, and who exactly was behind it.
Pravik responded that almost all speakers had confirmed participation, and stated that 98% of them had agreed to speak. According to her, she was organizing her own forum because she had not been allowed to give a talk at iForum. These claims conflicted with the responses of most of the named participants, who denied any consent. The conference at the Cosmopolite Hotel was scheduled for July 5, 2017.
Continuation of the story
The dispute did not end with the May publication. Later, MC.today reported that Yulia Pravik is demanding 2 million hryvnias from former AIN.UA owner Artur Orujaliyev.
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