Over the past six months, Stanislav Klimenko, a former prosecutor and now a confidant of Vyacheslav Bokiy, who was arrested for the attempted murder of lawyer Alexander Pogorely and the creation of a criminal group in Zatoka, has become one of the main public figures defending the criminal group in Zatoka. Klimenko regularly speaks on behalf of the organized crime group at press conferences, on social media, gives interviews, and acts almost like the leader of the resort town's criminal underworld, reports DO NOT Steal the Bay.
Let's find out who this man is and what "feats" mark his activities in the Zatoka organized crime group.
Stanislav Klimenko at the session of the Zatoka village council on February 14, 2014. Discussion of the General Plan
Prosecutor's "roof" for organized crime groups
Klimenko began his career in the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Prosecutor's Office, where he focused on the Zatoka resort. More precisely, not the entire resort, but rather promising land plots that were, so to speak, "slackly accessible." He worked closely with the chairman of the land commission, Bohdan Shevchuk, and the judges of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Court. Judge Matyash particularly distinguished herself. Klimenko effectively became the organized crime group's "right hand" in the prosecutor's office. You'll agree, a very useful connection for resolving issues.
Klimenko's raider ambitions
While still a prosecutor, Stanislav Klimenko was involved in the hostile takeover of Zatoka resorts. This was repeatedly reported in the media, including Odesskaya Pravda, Rupor, Antikor, and OdesaMedia.
In particular, Klimenko was spotted during the seizure of the "Zori Tiraspolya" recreation center. The seizure was a joint effort by the Belgorod-Dnistrovskyi Prosecutor's Office, the Zatokovka Village Council, and Belgorod-Dnistrovskyi Court Judge Matyash, who was recently dismissed by the President for violating her oath.
The takeover scheme is very simple and has been tried and tested at other bases: the village council refuses to renew the base management's lease on trumped-up grounds, the courts recognize the leasehold right of another legal entity, and the prosecutor's office enforces the court's decision. They're simply "harassing" the management. In the video, Klimenko, without any legal basis, effectively conducts a search of the base and forbids himself from being filmed:
In addition, the prosecutor and representatives of a private security firm burst into the vacationers’ rooms, demanding that they leave.
Also, according to the Antikor website, Klimenko was one of the participants in the scheme to seize the Topaz and Geolog bases, with the threads of this scheme leading to the regional prosecutor's office, which protected the raider seizure of the bases at the regional level.
Let us recall that at the end of May of this year, the Topaz and Geolog bases were captured, looted and burned.
Patron of "dead souls"
To secure his place in the trough, Klimenko, while still a prosecutor, ran in the Zatoka village council elections in the fall of 2015. He was an active participant in the so-called "dead souls" scheme—mass registration at a single address before the elections. But after activists and lawyers deregistered all the "dead souls," Natalia Vernigora won the election.
Incidentally, why would a prosecutor become a deputy of a small town? The answer is very simple. Klimenko was facing a recertification review, which he knew perfectly well he wouldn't pass. Especially since David Sakvarelidze was personally overseeing the review at the time.
After his election failure, Klimenko was forced to resign from the prosecutor's office before he himself was "removed." However, he abandoned all contacts and continued to closely collaborate with the local organized crime group and the Belgorod-Dnistrovsk prosecutor's office.
Information mouthpiece of the organized crime group
After the elections, Klimenko made a public appearance just two days after the assassination attempt on Oleksandr Pogorely. He first spoke at a residents' meeting and then at a press conference, where he identified himself as Vyacheslav Bokiy's lawyer and tried in every way to whitewash his boss.
After the arrest of some of the organized crime group's leaders and their retreat into the background, Klimenko effectively became the criminal group's main mouthpiece. He organizes press conferences, delivers fiery speeches at rallies, and even created a Facebook account where he discredits the actions of an Estonian investor, the Zatoka Welfare parliamentary group, and lawyer Alexander Pogorely.
Following the arrest of former Zatoka Council Secretary Vyacheslav Bokiy, despite statements from the head of the National Police and the Prosecutor General about the former Zatoka official's crimes, Klimenko continued to defend his boss, effectively calling the statements of top law enforcement officials false.
When Natalia Vernigora began working as the village council secretary, Klimenko became one of the organizers of the resistance to her work. He initiated roadblocks, mass rallies, and media appearances.
Moreover, he is one of the participants in the scheme that used "illegal" Kyiv notaries to register Galina Baranovskaya as a secretary in the state registry. Moreover, the notaries were not chosen randomly. Registrar Oksana Korotyuk's husband, Mikhail, is the lawyer for Bohdan Shevchuk, whose right-hand man Klymenko was before Shevchuk's arrest.
Lawyer vs. Law
A group of lawyers is currently gathering evidence about Klymenko's activities to submit to the Bar Association. The goal is to have Klymenko disbarred for activities incompatible with his profession. The most striking examples include sweeping accusations made at press conferences that are not supported by facts, his participation in blocking a highway, and Klymenko's participation in lawsuits against the Belgorod-Dnistrovsk prosecutor's office. However, according to law, a former prosecutor is prohibited from participating in proceedings against his former employer for one year.
The Zatoka organized crime group is a multi-headed hydra. Despite the fact that some of its members are in pretrial detention, new "heads," like Klimenko, keep emerging and continuing the work of their comrades. This is further proof that law enforcement must combat the Zatoka organized crime group not selectively, but comprehensively.
Subscribe to our channels in Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, VC — Only new faces from the section CRYPT!