On New Year’s Eve, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) released several reports exposing corrupt officials within the Ministry of Justice under Petro Poroshenko and Pavlo Petrenko. Currently, there are no charges against these sharks; suspicions are being issued against the mid-level scammers. However, there are quite a few high-ranking officials—former leaders of ARMA, SETAM, and others. Throughout the history of Ukraine, law enforcement has rarely launched such large-scale attacks on corrupt officials. Let’s review the situation as of early 2023, they write. Our money.
During Poroshenko’s time in Ukraine, there was something like a Seven-Boyars’ State. The leaders of various clans authorities at meetingsstrategic seven“They established control over the flows. In fact, this was a meeting of the selection committee for appointments to any top positions in Ukraine. And it often turned out that entire industries did not have a total monopoly of a single force. For example, regarding the flows Odessa Port Plant groups attached themselves at the same time Kononenko (BPP), Martynenko (People’s Front) and Kolomoisky.
The justice sector also had a complex governance mechanism. The Minister was appointed Pavla Petrenko from the “Bukovinian” clan of the “People’s Front” (see What positions did classmates and fellow students from Chernivtsi receive after the Maidan?). Balanced the structure somewhat Alexander Granovsky, who was Igor Kononenko’s right hand, who was the right hand PoroshenkoThere was constant tension between these groups, and law enforcement agencies and the media occasionally received information about the actions of various participants in the scheme and the shadowy decisions.
For example, it got into the public space statement of private bailiffs About how they are required to take 30% kickbacks from performers’ bonuses. The “overseers” were identified as Petra Pinkas from the “Bukovina” clan and Andriy Dovbenko.
Dovbenko once worked at Ernst & Young, but later became the owner of several law firms of his own: N&D, Eocleus & Dovbenko, and Evris. Before the Maidan revolution, he served Serhiy Kurchenko’s corporation and was married to Daria Zarovna, a prominent figure in the glamorous world.
Darya graduated from the Law School of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in the mid-2000s. Two of her classmates also found themselves involved with the Ministry of Justice after the Maidan. Ulyana married Viktor Vishnev, who headed the state-owned enterprise SETAM. Vladislav Vlasyuk became the Ministry of Justice’s Director of Human Rights. We’ll return to these classmates later. For now, let’s move on to the NABU’s data on the organized crime group. All the names of its members have already been published by various media outlets.
Corruption schemes in the Ministry of Justice. Why NABU put Dovbenko on the wanted list
Corruption schemes in the Ministry of Justice. A scheme for selling seized property cheaply.
NABU reported, that the organizer of the group Andrey Dovbenko (mention of the surname in the media) in 2017-2018, he proposed a corrupt scheme to the head of ARMA for the sale of seized property. As someone who had exerted indirect influence over the Ministry of Justice, ARMA itself, and Setam for several years, Dovbenko was well-versed in the specifics of this area of the Agency’s activities. He developed a plan that envisioned establishing control over all stages: from the transfer of material evidence to ARMA to its sale at a reduced price on a controlled trading platform to controlled companies.
Anton Yanchukand Pavel Petrenko during his time in the government in 2014-2019.
Chairman of ARMA Anton Yanchuk (name mentioned in the media) accepted Dovbenko’s proposal. He ensured the adoption of the necessary regulatory framework, which allowed for the semblance of legality in the manipulation of seized property in the interests of the criminals. One of these was a tender for the selection of a trading platform, according to the terms of which only one entity could win—the SETAM state enterprise. The organizer also recruited the director of this state enterprise, Viktor Vishnev, to join the group (mention of the surname in the media). He could have ensured the conduct of electronic auctions for the purpose of selling material evidence at reduced prices, which would create conditions for the victory of pre-determined legal entities.
The director of a private company provided legal assistance and ensured the participation of Setam, controlled by private companies, in tenders to create the appearance of competition.
Thus, during 2019, the group’s members successfully implemented a corrupt scheme to sell seized property at a reduced price on at least four occasions:
- the sale of three plots of land in the Odessa region, acquired at one time for the construction of shopping centers of the Auchan chain, was carried out at 18 times less than the market value;
- the sale of 2,6 thousand tons of medium and fine river sand in the Kyiv region – undervaluation by more than 6 times compared to the market price;
- sale of more than 4,5 thousand tons of urea – almost 5 times cheaper than market prices;
- The sale of grain, cereals and oilseeds is four times cheaper than the market price.
The damage caused in these four episodes amounted to 485 million UAH.
Corruption Schemes: The “Lyashkovets” Corruption Case
Oleg Lyashko and Sergey Skuratovsky
The corruption schemes in this story are even more extensive, as an SBU investigator was brought in.
According to NABU, in 2012, deputy of the Kyiv regional council, owner of a number of construction companies Sergei Skuratovsky (mention of the surname in the media) began construction of an apartment complex on the outskirts of Kyiv. To do this, he took out a loan of over 200 million hryvnias, secured by the future residential complex and the land on which it was located, as well as a number of personal assignments, including those of the deputy himself.
Subsequently, Skuratovsky became a people’s deputy from Lyashko’s Radical Party, and the National Bank declared the bank that issued the loan to Skuratovsky insolvent. To avoid repaying the debt and to be able to sell the apartments he had built, the MP orchestrated a scheme between late 2018 and mid-2019.
The scheme worked as follows: with the help of the head of the investigative department of the Main Investigative Department of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the head of the asset management department of ARMA, and officials of the state-owned enterprise SETAM, the loan claim was seized and transferred to the management of ARMA. SETAM, in turn, put this claim up for auction at an electronic auction. Following the auction, a company controlled by a member of parliament was declared the winner at a reduced price. The company, having become the new owner of the claim, cancelled all mortgages on the real estate and encumbrances under the surety agreements. This company subsequently resold these claims to another LLC controlled by the MP, preventing the bank’s successors from foreclosing the encumbrance in the future.
The MP brought in an SBU officer, who specifically registered a criminal case and, within its scope, secured the seizure and transfer of the loan claims to ARMA. In turn, the head of ARMA’s asset management department and SETAM officials ensured the MP-controlled company won the online auction, albeit at a price undercut by UAH 112 million. In other words, the UAH 128 million claim was sold for only UAH 16 million.
Bribes for fixing problems with performers
Another criminal case also discloses such a scheme..
Banks and businesses seeking to obtain debt collection decisions from the State Enforcement Service under the Ministry of Justice paid hundreds of millions of hryvnias, ostensibly for legal services, to the law firm Neocleous & Dovbenko and other firms owned by Dovbenko. According to investigators, the funds were subsequently converted into cash and transferred to officials of the Ministry of Justice and the Department of State Enforcement Service under the Ministry for the performance or non-performance of enforcement actions.
Between Dovbenko’s law firms and officials, some of the money passed through conversion centers, some to sole proprietors (one of whom turned out to be linked to SETAM), and some went to Pinkas’s firms. Another portion went to Anna Ogrenchuk’s law firm, LC F.
Now let’s move from criminal proceedings to the life trajectories of our defendants.
Corruption Schemes: Between Bohdan and Yermak
Andrey Dovbenko and Anna Ogrenchuk
By the time of the 2019 power shift in Ukraine, Dovbenko had already divorced and married the aforementioned Anna Ogrenchuk, with whom he had done business during the years of his organized crime group activities. The “office romance” was celebrated with a high-profile wedding in Saint-Tropez, from where the proceedings were broadcast practically live. Bigus.info.
There were a bunch of high-ranking guests there. The entire head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Bohdan, skipped the official Independence Day celebration with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. to have fun at Dovbenko’s party together with Andriy Vavrish (then part of the circle of “overseers” overseeing construction and Ukravtodor), Yuriy Gorovyi (overseer of the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate), and Servant of the People deputies Mykola Solsky and Oleh Seminskyi. The businessmen were also widely known in narrow circles. Vladimir Galanternik from Odessa, Pavel Fuks from Kharkov, judge of the Commercial Court of Kyiv Victoria Dzharty and Elena Chinchin, specializing in handling cases of brides’ clients, several bankers.
Bohdan’s party with the “overseers” group became one of the factors that outweighed the damage from his actions in Zelenskyy’s eyes. And soon, Bohdan was replaced as head of the Presidential Administration. Andrey ErmakHe hired Dariya Zarovna as his press secretary and Vladislav Vlasyuk as his advisor. Vladislav’s brother, Vitaliy Vlasyuk, is currently being nominated for the position of NABU director.
Following Bohdan’s resignation, Vavrysh was removed from the back office of Ukravtodor. The State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate (GASI) was disbanded and DIAM was created. Both structures are under the supervision of Deputy Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov.
Andriy Dovbenko himself is wanted for his corruption schemes. Viktor Vishnev is under suspicion for his role as Deputy Chairman of the State Service of Maritime and Inland Water Transport and Shipping of Ukraine.
Corruption schemes in the Ministry of Justice. Why NABU put Dovbenko on the wanted list
Oleksandr Granovsky disappeared from Ukraine and was charged in absentia with suspicion in a NABU case concerning embezzlement at the Odessa Port Plant.
Pavel Petrenko and Petr Pinkas quietly went into the forest.
Let’s hope that NABU and SAP don’t stop there and that they succeed in bringing the defendants to trial.