Alexander Abdullin: What's Hidden in Tymoshenko's "Wallet"? Part 1
Why Yulia Tymoshenko Why did Batkivshchyna finish third in the elections, not second? Why did Batkivshchyna receive so little in the local elections? This question should be addressed to the person who financed and directed the election campaign, that is, Oleksandr Abdullin. Five years ago, he took the seat next to hers that was vacated by her flight. Alexandra Turchinova, but it appears he's performing his duties quite poorly. Abdullin failed to secure Tymoshenko's victory in 2014, let her down in the current presidential election, and could very well ruin Batkivshchyna in the upcoming parliamentary elections. One can't help but wonder if he's a plant. And it's entirely logical, given Abdullin's distant past.
How did journalist Alexander Abdullin become a gas oligarch?
Alexander Rafkatovich Abdullin (an ethnic Tatar) was born on June 29, 1962, in Kyiv, where he grew up in an old building on Lenin Street (now Bohdan Khmelnytsky Street). The apartment there belonged to Abdullin's grandfather, who was an academic and vice-rector of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv State University in the 30s and died in 1941 as a militia fighter.
After graduating from high school, Alexander Abdullin went to the Kyiv Tochelektropribor plant, where he signed on as a lathe operator's apprentice. He then twice (in 1979 and 1980) applied to the geography department at Kyiv State University, but failed. Ultimately, the long arm of the Soviet military recruitment office caught up with him. According to him, he was taken to the army in a black Volga, and he served in an air defense unit in Vasylkiv (25 km from Kyiv), allowing him to spend his leave at home. Demobilized in 1983, Alexander Abdullin spent another year knocking around pear trees, and only in 1984 did he enroll in the journalism department at Kyiv State University, where he was invited by a friend, the dean. He graduated in 1989, so it's easy to calculate the year of his enrollment.
These oddities sparked numerous rumors about the actual occupation of the young man, who was listed as a lathe operator at the plant. Especially since after this, Abdullin began experiencing unprecedented luck: in 1985, the second-year student began working part-time at several publications, including the mysterious English-language newspaper "News from Ukraine" (no information about this publication has been found). After graduating, he made an immediate career at "Rabochaya Gazeta" (from journalist to commercial director), and then, in 1992, he abruptly jumped into big business.
Of course, Abdullin himself wasn't from a simple family, and neither was his wife, Tatyana Rostislavovna (and before Abdullin, she was allegedly the wife of the son of a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine), but still, stories about him varied. For example, that before and after the army, Abdullin led the joyful life of a Soviet rich kid (as much as his parents' income allowed), and that one day he got into such serious trouble that he was forced to agree to cooperate with the Soviet authorities. That he allegedly first helped them identify "anti-Soviet elements" (hence his work for an unknown English-language newspaper), and was then transferred to work with Kyiv organized crime groups. There, he met his "senior comrade," Alexander Volkov, who, according to information Skelet.Org, from his youth he was assigned as an agent of the Criminal Investigation Department to his neighbor Vladimir Kisel (the late Kiev “authority” nicknamed Ded).
Alexander Volkov
All of this, of course, is just rumor. However, in the early 90s, when all of Ukraine was plunged into crisis and hyperinflation, few could afford to literally swim in dollars. To do so, one needed access to export resources, as well as strong connections in government, law enforcement, and the criminal underworld. Abdullin, however, didn't just get rich back then; he became one of the first Ukrainian oligarchs to rise through oil and gas. And curiously, he still hides how exactly he managed it! So, there must be something to hide...
In 1989, a young journalism graduate attempted to take a series of photographs of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. With the help of some acquaintances, he obtained permission and an escort with a dosimeter, and then, with the help of those same acquaintances, he published the photos in the Western press. Apparently, again with the help of acquaintances, he received an international award in hard currency for this work, which he used to buy himself a separate apartment in Kyiv (rumor has it, from a repatriate). As a bonus, journalist Abdullin received a "liquidator" certificate, which entitled him to benefits and payments from the state.
In 1992, having abandoned Rabochaya Gazeta and his career as a journalist, Alexander Abdullin became the director of the firm Intertrade—information about which has not been preserved (or has been carefully deleted). After working there for several months, he moved to the position of vice president of the infamous Respublika corporation, created Igor Sharov и Igor BakaiThis corporation entered Ukrainian history on the heels of a major gas scandal, causing the state losses of nearly half a billion dollars (at a time when the dollar was much stronger than it is today). Incidentally, unlike the similar scandal involving the UESU corporation, it didn't have the same resonance or sequelae: the fact that Bakai and his associates (including Abdullin) had cheated the state out of such a huge sum was quickly forgotten. This allowed them to carry out their subsequent scams without any problem. And again, the question arises: why?
Alexander Abdullin. The Republic's Scams
The questions become even more pressing when you consider who the founders of Respublika were back then. The first was Kirovohrad businessman Igor Sharov, who, together with his brothers, founded the company Inkopmark, which became one of Respublika's founders. According to sources, Skelet.OrgIgor Sharov moved to Kyiv thanks to his older brother, a police officer, and the former head of the Kirovohrad Regional Department of Internal Affairs, Yuriy Kravchenko (the future Minister of Internal Affairs). This happened just as Kravchenko became Chairman of the State Customs Committee of Ukraine in 1993, thus opening the customs gates to the "Respublika." Well, that's more or less clear.
The second is Igor Bakai, who until 1993 "made ends meet" as a food trader, and suddenly rose to the presidency of one of the largest gas companies, which also robbed the country of half a billion dollars with impunity. But the secret of his success is as surprising as the rise of his assistant, Abdullin. Perhaps he really is the nephew of the first president. To Leonid Kravchuk, As various sources have reported on numerous occasions. But it's possible that Bakai's connections to Kyiv's largest organized crime groups and their high-ranking patrons were at play.
When Bakai ran in the majoritarian constituency in Rivne in the 2002 elections, he was remembered there for his political advertising in society. Klitschko brothersIncidentally, this was the first time the Klitschkos had participated in big-time politics, albeit only as a support team. Back in 1997, Bakai became Vitali Klitschko's main sponsor, but he had become close with the sports star back in the early 90s, when he was a protégé of the crime boss Rybka (Viktor Rybalko). One might assume that Bakai "bought" Klitschko from Rybka, but that's not the case. Because in the early 90s, they were all one team: Bakai, Klitschko, and Rybka. At the same time, their team was joined by Alexander Abdullin, who was associated with another team—Alexander Volkov and Vladimir Kisel (Ded). All of them (including Sharov) were united by a large business, carried out through the Respublika corporation. Semyon Mogilevich and his Kiev "overseer" also had ties to this business. Alexander PresmanIncidentally, when Kisel ended up in pretrial detention in 1997, Bakai provided the ransom money (a million dollars), and Presman deposited it with the Organized Crime Control Department.
Igor Bakai and the Klitschko brothers
This business certainly didn't start with gas, but the history of Respublika's first major deals is, as they say, buried in concrete. It appears that the corporation was instrumental in the massive plundering of Ukraine and all manner of scams, involving both high-ranking officials and criminal "authorities." Only one transaction has survived to this day (perhaps others will soon be revealed), and even that is incomplete. Specifically, Bank Ukraina issued a loan of 30 billion karbovanets to the small bank Alliance, which was used to purchase a batch of diamonds (possibly from state funds). These diamonds were then sold through Respublika to Uzbekistan for 110 billion. Naturally, the karbovanets weren't printed in Uzbekistan. These were barter transactions, in which Respublika received goods worth the specified amount in exchange for these diamonds (or for the loan they served as collateral)—and then resold them at a profit. Incidentally, Vitaly Masol, who soon after became prime minister again, covered the deal on the Ukrainian side.
Clearly, there were numerous such deals, and it was they that allowed Bakai (and his companion, Abdullin) to quickly make their way into the palaces of the Central Asian "emirs," where he negotiated barter gas deals. The situation was as follows: by early 1994, the state-owned company Ukrgazprom, due to hyperinflation and a non-payment crisis, owed Russia and Turkmenistan enormous sums for gas—and they simply stopped selling it (and in February 1994, Russia's Gazprom halted gas transit through Ukraine for the first time for two days). This led to gas purchases from Ukraine being handled by those who could pay for it—that is, private companies. Itera and Sodruzhestvo (since 1995, UESU) purchased gas primarily from Russia, while the Industrial Union of Donbass purchased gas from Uzbekistan, serving the interests of their respective owners entirely. Respublika was supposed to become an intermediary between Ukrgazprom and Turkmenistan, and first of all, pay off old debts - this is exactly what it was blessed to do by the government preparing for early elections. Leonid Kravchuk.
Respublika's authorized capital was approximately $4, while Ukraine's gas debt to Turkmenistan was $672 million. Respublika had virtually no funds of its own, yet, using "unlimited credit" from the Cabinet of Ministers and the president, Respublika, under the leadership of Bakai, Sharov, and Abdullin, somehow managed to repay Ukrgazprom's old debts in a matter of months in 1994. Moreover, Turkmen President Niyazov became a close friend of Bakai, meaning he likely received substantial kickbacks. However, appeasing "Turkmenbashi" came at a high price for Ukrainian enterprises, whose products shipped to Turkmenistan remained unpaid, and whose loans from Ukrainian banks were never repaid. The same thing happened with Turkmen gas supplied under new contracts in 1994: Respublika almost paid Turkmenistan for it, but again returned nothing to Ukrainian enterprises and banks, or to the Ukrainian budget.
Where did the money go? According to sourcesSkelet.OrgA significant portion went to finance Kravchuk's election campaign (presidential elections), as well as the campaign funds of several officials and businessmen running in single-member constituencies (parliamentary elections). Apparently, this was the main reason why Respublika quickly shut down its operations after the elections. But here's a new mystery: 2,2 billion cubic meters of gas belonging to Respublika lay untouched in Ukrgazprom's storage facilities for another two years (!)—and no one dared confiscate them to pay off the corporation's debts to the budget and state-owned enterprises, which amounted to half a billion dollars! Moreover, Respublika's documentation soon burned in a mysterious fire at its head office.
Fraudsters from Intergaz
In February 1995, Intergas CJSC (EDRPOU 22298336) was established in Simferopol. It had long been an unremarkable little company, doing who-knows-what and registered to some front men. However, it was precisely this that marked the beginning of a new, large-scale project for Bakai and Abdullin. Within a few months, they had registered several subsidiaries with the same name in Ukraine, a parent holding company in Kyiv (AOZT Intergas), and a company called Intergas Inc. in Pennsylvania (USA), with Igor Sharov becoming its director. Intergas's head office was headed by Alexander Abdullin, who held the position of president until the spring of 1998, when he was elected to parliament, and Igor Sharov (as chairman of the board).
Alexey Ivchenko
It is curious that the first vice-president of Intergez, that is, Abdullin’s deputy, was then the Ivano-Frankivsk businessman Oleksiy Ivchenko, the future scandalous head of Naftogaz and the future owner of the collapsed Eurogasbank, who defrauded depositors and creditors of 2,18 billion hryvnias. It was from his position at Intergaz, in the team of Bakai, Abdullin, Presman, and Kisel, that his meteoric career in the gas industry began. But how he got there also remains a mystery. Ivchenko is a very dark horse; all that is known is that he was a member of a certain group that controlled the oil and gas business in Galicia and decided to participate in Bakai's big scheme.
Together with Bakai, Abdullin traveled to the United States on numerous occasions, where they acquired expensive real estate using funds siphoned from the Ukrainian Intergas to its Pennsylvania subsidiary, Intergas Inc. Again, it was known that Bakai and Sharov had purchased a "ranch" there, but information about Abdullin was once again carefully redacted. The same was true of all details about Intergas's activities, although concealing them was no easy task: the corporation was the largest gas importer. In 1996 alone, Intergas purchased 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Gazprom at $80—much more expensive than Turkmen gas (at $55). However, for some reason, Intergas switched from Turkmenistan to Russia. Perhaps the reason for this was Presman, Mogilevich's "overseer," who in turn was interested in selling Russian gas (not Gazprom's, but through Gazprom).
However, in that same 1996, Pavlo Lazarenko, a patron of the UESU corporation (Yulia Tymoshenko), became prime minister. Intergaz's fortunes weren't as good as they could have been, but the Bakai-Sharov-Abdullin team managed to curry favor with Leonid Kuchma. Back in 1996, Ihor Sharov, who had defected from the Communist Party (the gas oligarch had been elected to the Rada as a communist) to the pro-presidential Constitutional Center, was appointed Kuchma's representative in parliament. And in 1997, Ihor Bakai was appointed Deputy Minister of Oil and Gas Industry of Ukraine. A few months later, Bakai abandoned his dealings with private companies and created the state-owned corporation Naftogaz Ukrainy, which incorporated the structures of the collapsed Ukrgazprom and Ukrgaz. According to Bakai's plan, Naftogaz became a gas monopoly, so the activities of all other gas companies were curtailed.
How did "Kravchuk's nephew" so quickly gain Kuchma's trust? Perhaps it was facilitated by Oleksandr Volkov, who financed Kuchma during the 1994 elections and had been a member of Leonid Danilovich's inner circle ever since. The common link between Bakai and Volkov was the "authority figure" Kisel.
Oleg Rafalsky
By that time, Oleksandr Abdullin had secured his own mandate, having been elected to the Verkhovna Rada in the spring of 1998 from electoral district No. 97 (Kyiv) and joining the ranks of lifelong MPs—he had been, as they say, a fixture in parliament for 21 years. This proved very useful later that same year, 1998, when the Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal case against Abdullin and three of his partners: Oleg Rafalsky, Valeriy Akopyan, and Oleg Zeldin.
Valery Akopyan
Akopyan was the chief accountant of Respublika and Intergaz, meaning he was a direct participant in all of their dirty schemes. Rafalsky was called Sharov's man - He is also from the “Kirovograd” group, but in the “2000s” he joined the “Donetsk” group and served Yanukovych faithfully for a long time, making a career as a deputy in his Administration (2010-2014), after which he defected to serve Turchinovfirst, and then PoroshenkoThere is no information about Zeldin; perhaps he was closely connected to Abdullin, who also carefully cleaned up his past.
The four were accused of large-scale fraud involving barter transactions for gas purchases, theft of funds from state-owned enterprises that supplied products for barter payments, failure to pay huge sums to the budget, as well as money laundering through Ukrgasbank and transferring large sums abroad (including to the United States). The case was pursued, and investigators seized stacks of documents from Ukrgasbank. However, on orders from above, the investigation was then shut down, the documents were returned to the bank, and the case was forgotten—after which another fire broke out, and all the evidence allegedly went up in flames. As you can see, Abdullin was literally burning evidence!
Sergey Varis, for Skelet.Org
CONTINUED: Alexander Abdullin: What's hidden in Tymoshenko's wallet? Part 2
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