£65 Million Lost, Cars Seized, and More Questions Than Answers for Mannol

It’s been a while since this page had a proper update, but let’s be clear, the fight for a level playing field is still very much underway. The past few months have been… interesting to say the least.

Private Eye Reveals Russian Links at Mannol UK

Back in July, Private Eye uncovered a very curious wedding guest of the now former CEO of Mannol, Jev Lyzko, and his wife Simona. Perfectly normal, of course, to have a General of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and Putin advisor turning up at the wedding of a Kettering lubricant distributor who gets very touchy whenever anyone suggests he might have Russian connections… right?

Management Shake-Up and £65 Million Loss

Not long after that article was published, SCT executives swooped into the Kettering facility and, soon after, Mr Lyzko was quietly removed from the company and sent off to Lithuania “for health reasons.” In the meantime, SCT have been busy trawling through Lubriage’s books to figure out where all the money has actually gone. We’re hopeful that this destructive force in the UK lubricants industry is finally being dismantled, though how they plan to clean up the mess left behind is another question entirely.

With Lyzko out, SCT have now appointed a new MD, Mr Eckhart Khorn, who we’re told is another Sudheimer family connection. Word is that Erik Sudheimer has been left reeling, not just because of the damage done to the business but also because of his personal relationship with Lyzko. Erik had considered him a good friend, which makes the revelation of a £65 million loss through the company all the harder to swallow. The paperwork left behind paints quite the picture: invoices for designer handbags, luxury cars, holidays to the Maldives… you know, the usual kind of “business expenses.”

Cars Seized and Investigations Ongoing

And then there are the cars. Reports suggest Lyzko’s collection was seized and is now sitting in a police compound, a sensational fleet of G-Wagons, a green Lamborghini, and the infamous Bentley. If you haven’t already, go and watch DJ Audits’ video covering that Bentley, it’s a must-see.

Rumours have since circulated that Lyzko was arrested and released pending investigation, while his other “businesses” have quietly been dissolved on Companies House. The trail of damage just keeps getting longer.

Trade Remedies Authority Confirms Product Dumping

And this week brought another twist. The TRA released its Statement of Facts, confirming what many in the industry already knew: injury has been caused to the UK, product dumping has taken place, and without measures, the injury would continue. As a result, tariffs have been increased sharply, from 11.6% to 84.72% and 24.95% to 35% on imports from Lithuania and the UAE. The glaring exception, of course, being Atlantic Lubricants, who somehow secured a 0% tariff. As Mark Lord, CEO of Aztec Oils, bluntly put it: “This leaves the back door wide open.”

If Erik Sudheimer has already lost £65 million through the business, then how much money does SCT actually have to keep the UK operation afloat? Why keep pumping money into a business that has bled so much cash already? With prices across Europe plummeting – you could recently buy 5L of 5W-30 for just 13 EUR – it raises the question of where the money is really coming from and how long it can possibly last.

Auditors Resign After “Significant Difficulties”

Accounts are due to be released at the end of this month, and that will give us all a much clearer picture of just how deep the problems run. And let’s not forget, the new duties will be backdated to 17th April 2025, which means the financial hit is only going to get worse. Surely they cannot carry on like this, especially with the tariffs now in place and the scale of losses mounting.

It’s also worth remembering that in August their auditors resigned, stating that “during the course of our most recent audit for the year ended 31 December 2023, we encountered significant difficulties in obtaining sufficient and appropriate evidence and experienced challenges in securing clear and timely explanations from management on key audit matters.” They went on to add that “no meaningful actions were taken by management to address these issues” and therefore it would be “inappropriate” for them to continue as statutory auditors. Again, interesting, and make of that what you will.

Who Tried to Buy uklubricantsmatter.co.uk ?

And just to add to the intrigue, this week uklubricantsmatter.co.uk was contacted by a domain broker trying to purchase this website. Any suspicions as to who might want it taken down?