All our so-called "reforms" and even "revolutions" actually resemble some strange faggot dance. One day, one is in the lead, then suddenly they switch—one retreats into the shadows, and the other comes forward. And so on several times. But the process of theft itself never stops for a minute. Khomutynnik, the main "fixer" of tax fraud, remains the same. Kolesnikoв He remains the main expert on railway theft. Only now, his longtime junior partner, Ruslan Solvar, is working as Kolesnikov's front man. Seriously, Kolesnikov, the ardent "regional" and Donetsk mafioso, can't be seen now. Solvar, a "UDAR" and "Poroshenko" man, would be just the thing for that.
We quote economist Sergei Staritsky:
The newly formed Ukrainian Railways PJSC is facing its first-ever corruption scandal. With the blessing of the Presidential Administration, BPP MP Ruslan Solvar hired an employee of his company as deputy general director of the Ukrainian Transport and Logistics Center. One hundred thousand state-owned railcars ended up under the control of a businessman who had been profiteering from the railway industry for years. Boris Lozhkin's cronies turned the corporatization of the railway into a gratuitous, shadowy privatization.
Ukrzaliznytsia was rocked by scandals for almost the entire year of 2015. Lozhkin's advisor, Mikhail Beilin, installed Yevhen Khoroshchak, "the only internationally certified procurement specialist in Ukraine," as the head of the state-owned enterprise Ukrzaliznychpostach. Khoroshchak systematically awarded tenders to companies offering products at inflated prices. The competition to appoint a new head of the state monopoly ended in failure. Ultimately, Beilin pushed through the corruption-tainted Oleksandr Zavgorodniy into the position of Ukrzaliznytsia's general director, while Minister Pyvovarsky carried out the appointment without the Cabinet's approval.
In the autumn, the issue of abuses on the railway faded into the background, giving way to local council elections, which were accompanied first by pre-election and then post-election scandals.
However, now, on the eve of the New Year holidays, discussions of railway corruption may once again make headlines in Ukraine's central media, and with renewed vigor.
This time, the anti-corruption campaign at UZ is being sparked by a scandal involving the appointment of Andriy Fedorovsky, director of the private transport company Metrudtrans, to the management of its structural division, the Ukrainian Transport and Logistics Center (UTLC). According to journalist Kirill Sazonov, the new "effective manager" of UZ is a trusted confidant of BPP MP Ruslan Solvar, whose business is related to rail transportation.
When asked about the reasons for Solvar's interest in UTLC, former Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Alexander Kava explained that control over this state-owned enterprise opens up broad opportunities for manipulation of the rolling stock and corruption.
"UTLC is the most attractive asset within Ukrzaliznytsia's structure. Its only competitive advantage in this area is Ukrzaliznychpostach, which handles procurement. UTLC manages a fleet of freight cars owned by Ukrzaliznytsia companies. This division is responsible for organizing freight transportation on the railway. Freight transportation is essentially the railway's primary revenue and profit generator. It accounts for the largest volumes. There is a shortage of certain types of freight cars on the market, and UTLC decides who gets a car and who doesn't. And which car to give—a new one, suitable for transporting freight, or an old one, which the shipper still needs to repair before loading," notes Kava.
"UDAR" member Ruslan Solvar began his political career under Yanukovych with a declaration that he was going to parliament to protect his business. "They started putting pressure on me. Well, I thought, why sit here and run around with these deputies? I need to become one myself," he said of the start of his political career. "Solvar admitted that he ran for parliament because business was under pressure. He constantly emphasized his intention to cooperate with the government. And it seemed like he had already 'disowned' the UDAR party," explained journalist Mykhailo Tkach. As a result, today the businessman has finally secured reliable protection for his companies. With whom specifically in the presidential administration did the representative of the presidential faction negotiate, and how much did the appointment cost? According to Sazonov, this issue will be of great interest not only to Serhiy Leshchenko's group in parliament, but also to Mikheil Saakashvili. This is already a very telling situation, when a major state-owned company is handed over to their own man.
The connection between Fedorovsky and Solvar is more than obvious. As Nashi Groshi discovered, in the early 2000s, Solvar founded several transport companies, which he managed for a long time (Ukrzernotrans-K, FreshLine). Since 2004, both of his enterprises were re-registered to Artem Minich and Oleksiy Mozgovoy, along with the aforementioned Andriy Fedorovsky. In 2007, the company Metrudtrans was established, owned and managed by the same Solvar managers. The MP himself continued to serve as commercial director of Ukrzernotrans-K until the 2012 parliamentary elections. Needless to say, all of these companies specialize in freight transportation by rail.
Despite a long commercial history, Ruslan Solvar's companies only achieved success in late 2010. Just a week after Borys Kolesnikov was appointed Minister of Infrastructure, Fresh Line signed a major agreement with Ukrzaliznytsia. Active cooperation with the state-owned company continued for nearly four years during Viktor Yanukovych's presidency. But in 2014, the decision was made to sever ties with the company, which had prospered under the previous government, as Fresh Line had no intention of playing by civilized rules. The company was fined 3,5 million hryvnias. UZ's press service noted that the reason for terminating the contractual relationship with Fresh Line was the fact that the company repeatedly failed to pay the railway for transportation fees in July and August 2014. Solvar had become accustomed to using state-owned railcars without paying for it. While the Party of Regions was in power, negotiations were possible. But with the arrival of new management at UZ, maintaining the old schemes became much more difficult. However, over time, using his status as a member of parliament and his membership in the Verkhovna Rada's Transport Committee, Ruslan Solvar began pressuring Ukrzliznytsia's management to return the most profitable rail routes to his own structures.
However, as befits a politician, Solvar officially owns no business or income. In his 2014 tax return, the deputy reported just over 160 hryvnias in annual income. His wife and daughter earned another 215 hryvnias from real estate sales. Neither he nor his family owns a home or personal vehicle. He was featured in the investigative journalism program "Groshi" (Hroshi) driving a luxury Chevrolet Express minibus, which he described as his only car.
US Vice President Joseph Biden warned the country's leadership that corruption is Ukraine's main problem. But the Presidential Administration appears to have drawn no conclusions. The sale of lucrative positions is in full swing. It seems Lozhkin's circle understands they will soon lose access to the trough. And they are trying to make the most of their remaining time by siphoning off funds from state-owned enterprises.
It must be said that despite the crisis and the war, Kolesnikov-Solvar's business is only growing stronger. Now, the pair are also becoming the leading thieves of Ukrainian timber.
This is what our Transcarpathian colleagues write:
We have repeatedly heard about those who have never in Transcarpathia blamed foxes so much as they are infected. Despite the fact that the law on the ban on the export of round timber was adopted by the country, President Poroshenko signed it only recently. It’s only because of the leaf fall that the blame arises. In fact, the forest heaths became even more active. Log trucks do not travel on ice in convoys. Law enforcement officials do everything, or ignore everything, in order to separate great swag from the forest mafia. The governors had to hear from people that there was trouble in the forests, and he made a decision to stop the export of round timber even before the law came into force. And what? Nothing. Timber trucks travel in even larger columns.
ZMI continues to show how the forest is depleted, and in one story there was a figure that explains everything: on the territory of more than one forest dominion, forest is harvested and exported for profit for... a million hryvnia.
Now it’s clear to me that I bring millions of hryvnias a day to anyone. So what is the forest mafia planning to buy all law enforcement officers and officials?
And not only law enforcement officers and officials. Serious commissions from Kiev are coming out after the transfer of pennies from the banks and turning a blind eye to all the offenses.
Read also: Illegal deforestation is troubling in Transcarpathia
And the official forest processors are also suffering. Those who do not export round timber, but grow from new crops and export products. Those who pay taxes and have official authority over the work of civil servants. The forest mafia does not need such things. Still, don’t bring in envelopes.
For days, the workers of one of these enterprises wrote governor’s sheets. They wrote that for the sake of introducing a more comprehensive solution to the ban on the export of round timber and giving priority to timber processors. They wrote about the kind of misfortunes they had to endure through the forest mafia. They wrote that they are one of the largest payers of taxes to their district, however, their activities are due to a number of sack officials. And through this they simply ignore them and do not give the wood, but give it to those who are running an illegal timber business and do not buy wood at auctions. They give it to those from whom they take away the swag.
Through this enterprise, which officially protects people and the budget, it is difficult to close down, and the grabbers continue to cut down forests and get rich, the state suffers no more for them.
However, the bureaucratic system, like a rudiment of the Soviet system, flourishes in Transcarpathia. The Governor, who swore for everything, did not even read the sheet. He was handed over to one of the intercessors, and she calmly put a resolution “to reconcile” and handed him over to the office of the timber mafia.
And there is no need to become a great fighter for the conservation of forests. During the rest of the days, both Moskal and Baloga were tormented, boasting that they had done much to cut down the forest in Beregovshchina. And there is no need for the president and the head of the government to work for himself as a steward of the medicinal producers. The President, committed to the fight against smuggling, ordered the Transcarpathians to put an end to the timber mafia, and the head of the department told the authorities that a special commission would come before us.
We know these special commissions. Already sit at home and get drunk on Transcarpathian cognac and bet pennies on special racks with the Transcarpathian timber mafia, as a sign of loyalty.
I still. Smuggling, which everyone has begun to fight against, is not a problem in Transcarpathia or Ukraine. If the European Union is in charge of harm, then let the European Union make more efforts in the fight against smuggling.
And the destruction of foxes is our problem. Head problem.
Foresters rafted 7 million to transport the “transport” people’s deputy Solvar
DP "Storozhynets Forest Dominion" of Chernivets region. The 15th quarter for the results of the tender resulted in a contract with LLC "Metrudtrans" for transportation services amounting to UAH 6,69 million. This is reported in the “Bulletin of Sovereign Purchases”.
The transportation of timber products by forest transport in timber wagons (1,400 wagons) was completed.
The company "Metrudtrans" fell asleep in 2007. Artem Minich, who was also the permanent director. In the spring of 2014, the company was re-registered under the name of Volodymyr Pashka, and Andriy Fedorovsky became the director.
Minich is a sponsor of the LLC “Naraivsk Oil Industry Company” and the insurance company “PAT SK “Teren”. The joint leader of the first and a member of the supervisory board and the minority leader of another company is Oleksiy Mozgoviy, an aide of the People's Deputy Ruslan Solevar from the “Petro Poroshenko Bloc” from the Transport Committee of the Verkhovna Rada. Among Solvar’s assistants is also Marina Pashko, possibly the namesake of the current leader of “Metrudtrans” Volodymyr Pashko.
U 2001 r. Solvar fell asleep under LLC "Ukrzernotrans-K", and in 2004 it was re-registered to Minich and Mozgovoy (they were deprived of their spivvlasniks until the beginning of 2013, recently the part of Minich was re-registered to the same Volodymyr Pashka). For what it's worth, until 2012. Ruslan Solvar himself continued to work at Ukrzernotrans-K in the position of the commercial director.
Around that is 2000 rubles. Solvar, having created the Fresh Line PP, was also re-registered as Minich at the same time with Ukrzernotrans-K. Minich lost his power until 2008, and later the company was re-registered as Fedorovsky, then as Mozgovoy.
Also until the end of 2012. Minich was the owner of LLC “Avtokar-777”, and belongs to Mozgovoy and Luhansk resident Svetlana Tretyakova.
All three companies specialize in transportation/transportation.
Guess what, at the Verkhovna Radya Solvar you can enter the committee with food for transport.
The only competitor, admitted to the assessment, was LLC “Monolittranskompani”, where the founder is Mikola Bachala, and the director is Bogdan Viktorovich Katruk. The company was founded in April 2013. Just in time, Bogdan Katruk posted a resume on the Internet for a job search, indicating what to get from Pishchanka, Vinnytsia region. We guess that a native of this village itself is Ruslan Solvar.
The third participant, LLC “Resurssnab”, was trying to take part in the tender, as it offered services to the second one much cheaper. However, the cheapest bid was rejected because the company proposed to transport timber in bulk wagons instead of specialized timber wagons, as well as a forest manager.
According to VDZ data, “Metrudtrans” has been canceling contracts for transportation services from forests since the beginning of 2012. The amount of agreements signed with the company amounts to UAH 27,24 million, all from forestry plants.”
The funniest thing is that Ruslan Solvar, who doubled his fortune after the "Revolution of Dignity," manages to hide not only his corrupt income but even his real estate, feigning near-homelessness.
We quote "Glavcom":
The "Homeless Man's Trick." How MP Solvar Hid Two Houses and Ten Apartments
December 21, 2015 at 9:20 PM
Inna Mikhailovskaya, for Glavkom
Ruslan Solvar
The law on special property confiscation, passed by parliament and signed by the President of Ukraine in late November, marked a new stage in the fight against corruption in Ukraine. Law enforcement officials now have the power to seize and confiscate real estate, vehicles, and other property registered by criminals to trusted individuals—their relatives, assistants, etc.
"The law is aimed at preventing corrupt officials from hiding their assets with brothers, in-laws, and distant relatives. It also ensures that the court has the right to confiscate property...and from third parties, obtained through criminal activity," Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk emphasized.
Despite the document being included in the list of "EU visa-free bills," it encountered significant resistance and barely passed the Verkhovna Rada. Many MPs resisted the bill's passage to the very end. After all, it's often these same MPs who declare incomes that are significantly lower than their expenses and register property and businesses in the names of relatives.
The opening of the State Real Estate Register has allowed journalists to more effectively search for the hidden assets of influential politicians who, according to their declarations, live on one salary.
Another example of such conspicuous poverty is Ruslan Solvar, a deputy from the BPP faction. His name is currently being actively discussed in connection with the recent scandal at Ukrzaliznytsia. The MP attempted to place his trusted manager in the leadership of one of Ukrzaliznytsia's divisions, which handles the state-owned company's rolling stock. Meanwhile, Solvar himself is the founder and beneficial owner of several transport companies that operate state-owned rolling stock.
However, the deputy himself, who serves on the Verkhovna Rada's Transport Committee, persistently denies any ties to the transport business, or any business at all. Moreover, he formally owns nothing at all—no apartment, not even a car. And not only he, but his family members as well.
But Ruslan Solvar was lucky with his relatives. His mother, Maria Vladimirovna Solvar, a schoolteacher, according to the State Register of Real Estate, owns a dozen apartments in Kyiv, including some truly elite properties. For example, a 130-square-meter apartment in the Da Vinci residential complex on Olesya Honchar Street is registered to her. On the secondary market, the average price per square meter is $2,900, meaning the entire apartment is worth approximately $377,000.
An ordinary school teacher would hardly be able to afford an apartment in the Da Vinci residential complex on Olesya Gonchar Street. But Maria Solvar somehow managed to save up around $400.
Incidentally, Artem Pshonka's "shadow prosecutor's office" was previously located at this same address.
Another luxury property by Maria Solvar, measuring 201 square meters, is located in the Triumph residential complex on Zverinetskaya Street. This skyscraper towers over the Pechersk Hills. The complex boasts its own sports complex, and apartments are equipped with a smart home system. Prices for bare apartments here range from $2,400 to $4,000 per square meter.
Was no less invested in finishing a 200-square-meter apartment than in purchasing the apartment itself?
Such an apartment on the secondary market costs from 500-800 thousand dollars, and with renovations its cost can reach 1,6 million dollars.
Maria Vladimirovna also owns several apartments in buildings No. 12 and No. 14 on Ivana Kudri Street, where her neighbors are Vitaly Grigorievich Luchko and Valentina Vitalievna Minich – the father and sister of the MP's wife, Natalia Vitalievna Solvar (maiden name Luchko). Tracing the family ties is not difficult – the father and both daughters are registered at the same address on Chernyakhovskogo Street in Brovary.
Solvar's relatives are registered at the same address, despite the abundance of real estate
Three relatives of the deputy own nine properties totaling 464 square meters in two buildings on Ivana Kudri Street—seven apartments and two non-residential premises. The deputy's transport companies, Ukrzernotrans-K LLC, Metrudtrans LLC, and Avtokar-777 LLC, are registered there. With prices per square meter in the area ranging from $1 to $2, the combined value of this property ranges from $464 to $928. The value of all apartments owned by Ruslan Solvar's close relatives in the capital ranges from $1,3 million to $2,9 million.
In addition, the state real estate registry reports that the deputy's mother owns two mansions in the "Lesnoye Ozero" cottage community in the village of Rozhivka near Kyiv.
Town security prevents access to the houses. However, from the air, it's clear that Maria Solvar's houses are not country cottages, but luxurious mansions.
Moreover, she's not just a homeowner, but an investor in the entire cottage community, where a one-story house with 20 acres of land costs around $350. Interestingly, among her neighbors here, too, is Vitaliy Luchko—Solvar's father-in-law owns 4 hectares of land in Rozhivka.
Maria Vladimirovna Solvar herself owns 3 hectares of land in her native village of Pishchanka in the Vinnytsia region and an agricultural business – the company Garant LLC is registered in her name.
Why do some influential politicians and officials register all their assets in the names of relatives? Along with transferring funds to offshore jurisdictions, this is one of the most common ways to conceal income obtained through illegal activity. According to political scientist Karl Volokh, the adoption of a special confiscation law will allow the state to recover assets registered by corrupt officials in the names of their relatives.
"All over the world, special confiscation is used in such cases. Its rationale is simple: the owner must prove the legality of their ownership of the asset (just like a government official does when filing a tax return). If they can't, it's written off as state property," the expert explains.
So, if schoolteacher Maria Vladimirovna Solvar can't explain how, while working at a school, she managed to buy up luxury apartments in the capital and simultaneously build mansions in the suburbs, her property could be confiscated in the future.
Ruslan Solvar's family property
Solvar Maria Vladimirovna (mother of the deputy):
Apartments
Ivana Kudri St., Building 12, Apt. 2 – 50 m2
Ivana Kudri St., Building 12, Apt. 11 – 56 m2
Ivana Kudri Street, Building 12, non-residential premises – 63 m2
Ivana Kudri Street, Building 12, non-residential premises – 50 m2
Ivana Kudri St., Building 14, Apt. 10 – 44 m2
St. Olesya Gonchara, 35, apt. 75 – 130 m2
St. Zverinetskaya, 59, apt. 162-163 – 201 m2
Garages
Klovsky descent, 7, garage 104 – 21 m2
Klovsky descent, 7, garage 117 – 25 m2
Klovsky descent, 7, garage 118 – 25 m2
Cottages
Brovarsky district, Rozhivka village, Beregovaya street, 9
Brovarsky district, Rozhivka village, Beregovaya street, 11
Lands
Vinnytsia region, Pishchanka village – 3 hectares
Click on the image to view an extract from the property rights register.
Luchko Vitaly Grigorievich (wife's father):
Apartments
Ivana Kudri St., Building 14, Apt. 6 – 51 m2
Ivana Kudri St., Building 14, Apt. 8 – 51 m2
Lands
Brovary district, Rozhivka village – 4 hectares
Click on the image to view an extract from the property rights register.
Minich Valentina Vitalievna (wife's sister):
Apartments
Ivana Kudri St., Building 14, Apt. 1 – 49 m2
Ivana Kudri St., Building 14, Apt. 2 – 50 m2
Click on the image to view an extract from the property rights register.
Declaration of Ruslan Solvar for 2014
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