Alexander Varvarenko, Varamar Shipping DMCC: When a Self-Styled Mentor Fails the Simplest Test!

There is a simple test for any person who wants to speak publicly about leadership, experience, and mentorship in business: how do you behave when a straightforward commercial problem lands on your desk?

That is exactly where Alexander Varvarenko failed.

For a month and a half, the earned brokerage commission remained unpaid. During that period, another Varamar manager kept telling me about Varamar’s financial difficulties and asking me to wait. I did wait. But when the delay became dangerous and the situation started moving toward open conflict, I wrote directly to Alexander Varvarenko twice and asked him to intervene.

He did not reply.

That point matters.

Because in those letters I made it clear that the matter was becoming explosive and that I was prepared to take the issue of the unpaid commission into the public sphere if it continued to be ignored. In other words, he was warned. Twice. He had every opportunity to calm the situation, investigate it, and resolve it quietly.

He chose not to.

Then came 23 March, in the morning, European time. After my technical circular informing the market that Varamar Shipping DMCC was not paying the commission, it took roughly twenty minutes for Alexander Varvarenko personally to send me a WhatsApp message saying that he was “fining” me and that the commission would not be paid.

That is the real turning point.

Because up to that moment, the issue could still have been resolved in a normal, professional, and quiet way. He could have written something very simple:

Konstantin, I am sorry this happened. I was not aware of the problem. I will deal with the commission payment now.

That would have been the response of a serious businessman.

But that is not what happened.

Instead, Alexander Varvarenko personally drove the matter into a completely different direction: first the personal WhatsApp “fine,” then the demand for public repentance before Varamar Group, then no firm guarantees of payment of the earned commission, then threats, police pressure, and finally a claim for USD 100,000 in alleged moral damages against the broker who had not been paid.

And then, almost three months later, a remarkable transformation took place.

Suddenly, Alexander Varvarenko appeared to forget his own personal WhatsApp “fine” and officially stated that the decision had in fact been made by the Board of Directors.

That is a very strange evolution.

Because on 23 March the decision looked highly personal, immediate, emotional, and direct. Months later, it was apparently no longer his decision at all. It had somehow become a Board matter.

The obvious question is: who exactly sits on this Board of Directors?

If such a Board truly exists and truly made that decision, I would like to know who those individuals are. I would like to write to them personally and ask them to comment on this sudden and highly convenient change in Mr. Varvarenko’s position.

Because if a company owner personally announces a WhatsApp “fine” within minutes of a market circular, and then later claims that it was all a collective board decision, the global shipping market is entitled to ask whether this is corporate governance or simply retrospective responsibility shifting.

That is why I find all the talk of “mentorship” especially difficult to take seriously.

What kind of mentorship is this?

• A mentor who ignores two direct warnings.
• A mentor who reacts to a commission dispute with a personal punishment.
• A mentor who demands public repentance instead of payment.
• A mentor who wants the police to imprison the unpaid broker.
• A mentor who seeks USD 100,000 in moral damages from the very person whose commission remains unpaid.
• A mentor who writes that he will keep chasing the broker wherever he is.

There is no need to chase me. I am not running anywhere.

On the contrary, I openly invite this Belgian citizen with a Ukrainian surname to come to Kyiv, Ukraine, and discuss this matter where it actually matters. In ten days, the first court hearing in the Alexander Varvarenko, Varamar Shipping DMCC USD 100,000 reputational damages claim will take place. I sincerely hope the European mentor will have enough courage to come to Kyiv and attend the hearing in person.

That would at least be consistent with the confidence he likes to project in public.

So before choosing a mentor, I would suggest looking carefully at one thing: do his practical principles match his declared ones?

Because microphones, stages, interviews, and public speeches are easy. The real test begins when money is due, a problem appears, and a person has to choose between professionalism and ego.

In this case, Alexander Varvarenko made that choice very clearly.

And the result is now visible not only in this dispute, but also, increasingly, in the ongoing departure of key Varamar employees. I hope they succeed in whatever they do next. And I would not be surprised if the boss’s disgraceful treatment of a Ukrainian broker played its part in their decision to leave that old, rusting, sinking vessel behind.

The market can judge the rest for itself.

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