Alexander Klimenko
Almost two years have passed since Oleksandr Viktorovych Klymenko fled Ukraine—the former wallet of the Yanukovych "Family," a former "young oligarch," and the former founder and first head of the fiscal behemoth known as the Ministry of Revenue and Duties of Ukraine. He held this lucrative position for only about three years, but apparently the money he "earned" was enough not only for a comfortable life in Russia but also for the massive PR campaign he recently launched to clear his name. Let's recall who this young man was, who quickly entered the Ukrainian establishment and then just as quickly left it.
Let's start from the end
Let's start with his most recent steps in Ukrainian public and media life, and then consider his professional biography. Oleksandr Viktorovich burst onto the media scene about three months ago. That's when he posted his first video on YouTube, titled "Match for Ukraine." In it, Klymenko, who had grown a beard, attempted to surprise all Ukrainians with a platitude about stones from the Book of Ecclesiastes and called for peace.
A video titled "Reconciliation" followed. In it, Alexander Klymenko showed his shameful flight from Ukraine. He then drank tea and coffee with a Donetsk border guard, apparently the same one who tried to detain him. Then he uttered another platitude: "Who if not us?" And, apparently in Aesopian language, he declared that he forgives everyone in Ukraine. So that's what a "magnanimous" guy he is.
Then came the video "Frank Conversation," where Klimenko treated an average family to food and honestly admitted he owned two tigers, saying being rich isn't a crime. He never explained why he fled Ukraine, answering with a question along the lines of, "What would you have done in my place?"
In his fourth video, Oleksandr Viktorovich boasted that he knew how to use a pen. He then hinted that he would return to Ukraine to fight the oligarchs with this pen. He also used a squad of soldiers and a crate with a Ukrainian flag to emphasize the power of both himself and his pen.
But apparently, this had no effect. So Klymenko decided to threaten Ukraine with legal action. A special video was made for this purpose. His lawsuit didn't frighten anyone, but the former tax official's Achilles' heel became clear. Apparently, he's very upset that he's not allowed into the EU, or into the civilized world at large. It's truly quite unpleasant—you have a ton of money, but you can't go anywhere.
Furthermore, Oleksandr Klimenko held a series of press conferences and gave media comments in which he condescendingly lectured the government on how to govern and Ukrainians on how to live. He provided financial assistance to residents of Donbas. He conducted social media polls, which allegedly revealed Ukrainians' complete distrust of the government and their own lack of freedom and prosperity. He even published a book entitled "The Path to Success," which can be ordered free on his website. Moscow-based political strategists have profited handsomely from this creative endeavor. According to insiders, this is Gleb Pavlovsky's Foundation for Effective Politics; another version claims that this campaign is being led by Igor Bunin's Center for Political Technologies. In any case, these are Moscow-based political strategists, as their complete lack of understanding of the Ukrainian political landscape is glaring. Apparently, the Ukrainian websites that publish these videos are also profiting handsomely. Among them were a number of respected publications, namely: Korrespondent, 112, Glavkom, Podrobnosti, Bigmir, Ukrainskie Novosti, Apostrophe, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Vesti, and others. These publications, if not complimentary, then at least neutrally reported on and showed the videos. They all had roughly the same text and identical photographs. What conclusions can be drawn from these videos, other than that Klymenko is a bad actor? There's only one – he really wants to return! And that's entirely possible. He has every chance of being elected as a people's deputy in the upcoming elections. And since the new government hasn't fulfilled its promise and hasn't lifted his parliamentary immunity, no security forces can do anything to him. So maybe he doesn't need to do anything? Maybe he really is a good guy who wants to return to his country and work for its good? To answer these questions, we need to take a brief look at his biography.
Alexander Klimenko
The Klimenko brothers
Oleksandr Viktorovich's residence permit was "correct" for Viktor Yanukovych's presidency: he was born in Makiivka, Donetsk Oblast. Until 2005, he hadn't even considered public service. He owned several companies with the word "Antalex" in their names. It was formed from the initials of his brother, Anton Klimenko, and his own name, OLEKSandr Klimenko. The companies were involved in various businesses, including selling products from the Zhydachiv Pulp and Paper Mill, as well as everything related to corrugated cardboard and packaging. Their firms weren't particularly noteworthy at the time; they evaded taxes, relied on kickbacks, and had nothing particularly criminal. However, the brothers weren't satisfied with their modest business careers and actively entered politics. The eldest, Anton, switched sides in several political parties. He was an activist for Oleksandr Moroz's Socialist Party and founded Mikhail Brodsky's Yabloko network in Donetsk. The younger brother immediately went into government service. In 2005, he became deputy head of the Donetsk specialized tax inspectorate. How did he get there, and even so quickly into a leadership position? This was Donbas, after all; such positions were simply bought in those days.
Anton Klimenko
Tandem
And so the brothers went wild, forming a brilliant business partnership. Alexander, using his position, secured tender wins, while Anton managed the funds. This required opening several additional companies, but it was worth it. The brothers spent nearly half a billion hryvnias on repairs to the Trypilska Thermal Power Plant, and 855 million hryvnias were spent on contracts with Donbassenergo and Centrenergo. Business grew by leaps and bounds, but then the brothers nearly made a political mistake. This was in the wake of the Orange Revolution. Viktor Yushchenko had already come to power, and the fate of his rival, Viktor Yanukovych, seemed predetermined. The older brother defected to the Orange camp, becoming the head of the Donetsk branch of Our Ukraine. For a while, the brothers stood under the Orange flag, but quickly realized the futility of this political project. And so they defected again, this time to the Party of Regions. Rumor has it that Anton Klimenko, having already defected, remained in his position as head of the regional NU-NS. And by agreement with Boris Kolesnikov He "bungled" the election campaign. Back then, in November 2010, Our Ukraine, the ruling party, set a record in the Donetsk region, receiving 1,5% of the vote in the local elections. The award immediately found its hero, and by December of that year, Oleksandr Klymenko became the head of the State Tax Administration of the Donetsk region. As for his professional work, Klymenko is best remembered for his children's matinees and open lessons in schools, which he attended himself or sent his deputies to teach children about the benefits of taxes.
Alexander Klimeno in Our Ukraine
On the way to Kyiv
In 2010, Viktor Yanukovych became president of Ukraine, and the "Donetsk people" flocked to Kyiv with him. Initially, Viktor Yanukovych paid his allies with positions. But over time, or more precisely, beginning in 2011, his son, Oleksandr Yanukovych, began to seize power. At that time, the new appointees, connected to him and personally beholden to him, were known as the "Family." However, the Family was still small at the time, and there was a catastrophic shortage of personnel. The positions had to be filled, as other, "old" Donetsk people—people from the teams of Rinat Akhmetov and Dmytro Firtash—were vying for them. Naturally, Yanukovych Jr. knew Klymenko. The core of his company, Mako, was located in the Donetsk region, so "Sasha the Dentist" was quite close with the Donetsk region's chief tax collector. He brought Alexander Viktorovich to the then head of the State Tax Administration of Ukraine, Vitaly Zakharchenko, and Klimenko became his deputy. This was in February 2011. And already in November of that year, Zakharchenko became head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Alexander Klimenko took his position, heading the State Tax Administration. Simultaneously with his move to Kyiv, the business was also moved there. Only the name "Antalex" was changed to "Unison," and his brother, the aforementioned Anton Klimenko, remained in charge. And, of course, the new position offered new opportunities. For example, "Unison Bank" snagged lucrative clients such as the Lviv Railway and the Odessa Railway. The insurance company "Unison-Garant" acquired Viktor Pinchuk's Interpipe as a client.Read more about it in the article Viktor Pinchuk: Ukraine's richest son-in-law), Nadra Ukrainy, the Avek concern, and Yasinovsky Kosokhim. Overall, business was booming.
Personal life and a craving for luxury
Alexander Viktorovich's personal life was literally "bubbling" at the same time. He has a wife, Elena, who, incidentally, co-owns several of his companies, and three children. But he also has a "common-law wife"—his press secretary, Olga Semchenko. His romantic relationships are quite complicated; despite having a younger and more beautiful mistress, he moved his family to Russia. He left his mistress in Ukraine and promoted her to the position of head of the Vesti media holding. She still holds that position. Incidentally, judging by her Facebook page, she has a son named Sasha.
Olga Semchenko
Oleksandr Klymenko's second passion is luxury. Having just taken over as head of the State Tax Administration, he boasted of a €12 watch; a year later, he revealed a €41 watch. Upon joining the Tax Administration, he began furnishing the "general's" floor, complete with a sauna, gym, luxurious lounges, and even a small boxing ring. A room made of soundproof steel with a transparent table was also built here—this could be called luxury, or perhaps even paranoia. In the Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi district of the Kyiv region, Klymenko owned more than a dacha; it was more like an estate—several houses, a concert hall with expensive equipment, and enclosures for tigers and bears. And everything was, naturally, decorated in the Mezhyhirya style, meaning "luxury."
Fiscal monster
In December 2012, at the initiative of Oleksandr Klymenko and with the massive support of Oleksandr Yanukovych, the Ministry of Revenue and Duties was created, combining the tax and customs services. Oleksandr Viktorovich became the man in whose hands all the country's fiscal flows were concentrated. This is where the aforementioned room with the transparent desk came in handy. By the most conservative estimates, Klymenko stole $11 billion in this position! The sum is truly staggering. The "scam of the century" involved approximately 100-120 shell companies that siphoned money from government accounts and the accounts of companies involved in tax "schemes" to offshore accounts. Oleksandr Viktorovich lists among his achievements the creation of a specialized office for working with large taxpayers. Were not the clients of this office gathering at the aforementioned transparent desk? Moreover, Oleksandr Klymenko, while still minister, periodically reported record VAT refunds to entrepreneurs. True, not everyone was reimbursed, only their own or those who had "paid in." For example, the companies of current President Petro Poroshenko received VAT reimbursements only after he became Minister of Economy in Mykola Azarov's government. And Yuriy Kosyuk https://skelet.org/yurij-kosyuk-kurinyj-bog-i-drug-vsex-prezidentov/ received his reimbursement only after the Euromaidan. Indeed, the strangulation of businesses by the tax authorities and their use has become, if not normal, then at least a harsh reality in Ukraine. This, incidentally, was one of the reasons for the Euromaidan and the businessmen's support for it.
Sins before Euromaidan
Yes, Oleksandr Klymenko didn't personally order the beating of students or the execution of the Heavenly Hundred. Nevertheless, he has "sins" against the Ukrainian people, and not small ones. During the Euromaidan, the tax authorities were actively used as a repressive tool. It's enough to recall the tax "raids" on Espresso TV and Hromadske Radio. The tax authorities also tried to pressure businessmen who donated money and food to the Maidan. Furthermore, Oleksandr Viktorovich owned his own media holding, Multimedia-Invest, which included the Vesti newspaper, Vesti radio, UBR TV channel, and Reporter magazine. All these media outlets cruelly lied about the Euromaidan and its participants, engaged in smear campaigns and manipulation. They also played a role during the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas. Targeting Russian-speaking consumers, they created the necessary informational background for the Russian invasion. This indirectly proves that Oleksandr Klymenko personally financed separatists in eastern Ukraine. The SBU has repeatedly stated that Klymenko and Arbuzov financed the unrest in Odesa, so the blood of those killed in the Trade Union House is on their hands. Incidentally, his media outlets continue to manipulate public opinion and are apparently still controlled by Oleksandr Klymenko. Although, according to some reports, he "leased" them to people from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc.
Why does he need Ukraine?
Why is Alexander Klimenko so eager to return to Ukraine? It's easy to understand by comparing a few facts. In late April 2015, his aforementioned brother, Anton Klimenko, died. According to one version, he drowned; according to another, he jumped into a pool. He wasn't under investigation and could easily have remained in Ukraine and run his business. Immediately after his death, his younger brother became increasingly active, trying his best to return to the country. Apparently, there's no one left to manage the business, and there's a risk that government officials will soon dismantle it. Alexander Viktorovich, of all people, understands this well. And his assets are considerable. In addition to the aforementioned media holding, according to some sources, he still owns Mikhailovsky Bank, Unison Bank, and Unison Insurance, all of which are still alive and well. According to Sergei Leshchenko, he also owns a stake in the Gulliver shopping and entertainment center. And that's just what's in plain sight. So he has a lot to lose in Ukraine.
Denis Ivanov, for SKELET-info
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