This certainly seems to be the case with another Stetsenko-related company, Ardent Mines Ltd.

In 2003, Spokane lawyer Lysiak filed a registration statement for Ardent, a Burnaby-based mineral exploration company. Reg Handford, a long-time Stetsenko associate, and a Ukrainian national, Taras Chebountchak, were listed as senior officers and controlling shareholders.

By early this year, both men had left the firm, and Urmas Turu of Estonia was listed as the sole officer and director. The control block of shares had ostensibly been split among many small entities. The largest interest was held by Corporate Resource Group Inc., whose address is listed as 125A-1030 Denman St. in Vancouver.

Last week, I received an e-mail from Hannes Sarv, a journalist at the Estonian business daily newspaper Äripäev. He said he had interviewed Turu, and Turu had expressed surprise that he is listed as Ardent's chief executive, and that Ardent's head office is listed as his home in Estonia.

"He said he gave his signature to buy some stocks of Ardent Mines Ltd. to his relative, Mr. Robert Jarva," Sarv told me.

This was very interesting information. Robert Jarva is a long-time associate of, and nominee for, Stetsenko. He is also listed as the sole director and officer of Corporate Resource Group, the firm's largest shareholder, whose address on Denman Street is actually a mail drop.

All of which begs several questions: First, are the people who purportedly preside over these Russian and Ukrainian deals just front men? If so, to what end?

And finally, the usual question, where is the B.C. Securities Commission in all this?

http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=9b890770-9853-4ba1-9777-fde2198ae068&sponsor



Here is a bit more about Ardent:

Ardent Resources

QUARTERLY REPORT FOR ARDENT MINES LIMITED FOR THE PERIOD ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2007

From Inception on July 27, 2000 to December 11, 2006

In September 2000, we acquired one mineral property containing eight mining claims in British Columbia, Canada by arranging the staking of the same through James Thom, a non affiliated third party.

The program consisted of the emplacement of a survey control grid, the collection of soil & rock samples, prospecting and geological mapping and was completed by Gerard Gallissant, B.A., and a field assistant.

In December 2006, Taras Chebountchak, our president and a member of the board of directors acquired one mining claim containing eleven cells in British Columbia, Canada from Lloyd C. Brewer by paying Mr. Brewer $7,500. Mr. Brewer is a geologist and a non affiliated third party. No additional payments were made or are due to Mr. Brewer for his services. A claim is a grant from the Canadian Crown of the available land within the cells to the holder to remove and sell minerals. A cell is an area which appears electronically on the British Columbia Internet Minerals Titles Online Grid. The online grid is the geographical basis for the cell. Mr. Brewer is a self-employed contract staker, field worker and professional geologist residing in British Columbia.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1129018/000129460607000004/ardent10qsb09302007.htm