This well-worn truth takes on special significance against the backdrop of the new political and social landscape. For today, no one, including those in power, wants to see or hear anything.
Otherwise, how can one explain the reluctance to hear the public's voice or the denial of the obvious corruption of past actions, and today's thoughts of continuing them? In the wake of the total debunking of corruption, this sounds absurd, and in practice, it appears downright criminal.
The media has been discussing information for quite a long time regarding a certain Alexander Lvovich Malin, the former head of the trade department of the Odessa City Council, a former employee of the tax administration, and a former vice-governor (under the Party of Regions). To Eduard Matviychuk!), former head of Ukravtodor, former first deputy minister of infrastructure of Ukraine, and today a modest adviser to the Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
However, the emphasis isn't solely on this final aspect of the end of his previously meteoric career. On the contrary, it's about the obsessive desire, as Odessans say (they know for sure!), of this corrupt official "three in one" (a boor, an insolent man, a scoundrel) to rise higher, put down deeper roots, and spread his tentacles wider.
There are all the possibilities for this. Foremost among these is the personal friendship and goodwill of Ukraine's number two man, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, with whom Oleksandr Malin has been a personal friend since the 2s, and who later became a member of the "Front for Change."
It was thanks to this that Malin took charge of one of the corrupt activities of certain government officials—in March 2014, he took over as head of the State Agency of Automobile Roads of Ukraine (Ukravtodor). By June 2014, Malin was already the First Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine.
After the Law of Ukraine "On the Purification of Power" came into force, Malin, with a deft move of his hands, managed to avoid the lustration procedure through a banal administrative move – resigning at his own request.
But the personality of Alexander Lvovich did not sink into oblivion, but on the contrary (truly, failures make us stronger!) – he soared and began, incidentally, with the highest blessing, further advancement along the dangerous path of theft and division of state and other property, as well as supervision (what an awkward term, prosecutorial, I would say!) of these processes.
Being a smart man and experienced in business dealings, Alexander Malin also turned his attention to the Odessa Railway. And not just to the Odessa Railway, but to the Odessa Railway itself, he directly lobbied for Grigory Boyko to be its new head. However, Boyko's high professionalism and moral and business qualities were not the reason for this. Firstly, in December 2014, Malin was considered for the position of head of Ukrzaliznytsia, but for unknown reasons, he was only awarded the position of advisor to Arseniy Petrovich.
Grigory Boyko
Nevertheless, this doesn't stop Malin from using Boyko to create shady financial schemes at such a lucrative strategic site. And the "interest" achieved here is nothing more than a derivative of the objectives set from above.
It's worth noting that the current administration, by all appearances, has inherited not only the previous regime's systems but also its methods, preserving the institution of "overseers." In this context, Malin's next target was a more modest, albeit also single-purpose, location: the Odessa railway station.
Here, too, key positions are held by their own people—the overseers. Chief among them is stationmaster Oleg Sirota, who rose through the ranks from a military commissariat employee (a veritable Harvard school of bribery and corruption!) to the Odessa Regional Road Administration (where he also served as an "overseer"), and subsequently to the eyes and ears of Malin and his ilk at the main railway gates of the Southern Palmyra. And this peculiarity, given the year-round passenger traffic density, makes all of Alexander Lvovich's corrupt schemes a sure bet.
Knowledgeable Odessans consider the construction of the Portofino entertainment complex in Arcadia to be the pinnacle of Malin's career. Initially, Portofino was billed as a retaining wall in Arcadia. However, a luxurious three-story building was erected in its place, brazenly.
According to available information, as a result of fraudulent financial appraisals of land plots in Odessa's beach area, Oleksandr Malin underpaid the Odesa city budget by approximately 12 million hryvnias over eight years. Despite this, construction subsequently became Oleksandr Lvovich's natural vocation, resulting in the organization of three more construction projects – in Luzanovka, Otrada, and Chornomorka.
You might ask where the money came from. The answer is simple: kickbacks, which Malin brazenly demanded and easily received from anyone who expressed a desire to contract for road repair and construction in Ukraine.
Let's be honest, the size of the benefits, as well as the prices, are impressive. For example, Malin, the First Deputy Minister's consent to carry out a procedure, expressed in the form of a permitting resolution on a document, was valued at 40-50 US dollars. For winning a tender, Malin requested and consistently received up to 1 million US dollars.
Needless to say, this skill (given the number of skilled workers and their comprehensive mastery of all spheres) would be beneficial to the state treasury. In a decade, America and Europe would look simply worthless against the backdrop of Ukraine's overall development.
But let's not digress. In a short time, Malin is already one of the three richest people in Odessa. And how could he not be? His appetite has already kicked in, and Oleksandr Lvovich's body accepts any kind of "food" – from real estate (apartments, of which there are about 12 in Ukraine, as well as estates abroad – Crete, Spain, and other "branches of paradise") to a fleet of eight or nine cars, certainly VIP-class.
And what about Malin today? According to available information, the corrupt official, awaiting the next government reshuffle and the positive outcome, is currently holed up (not located, but holed up!) in the anti-terrorist operation zone in the east of the country. But don't worry – Alexander Lvovich doesn't go on the offensive, artillery shelling doesn't frighten him, and the meager army rations aren't for him either.
In reality, Malin does indeed expect to soon receive a new government post, a high-ranking one (after all, a debt must be repaid!). However, how the country's leadership will be able to explain to the public the employment of such an extraordinary and "legendary" figure is unclear.
Judge for yourself: Alexander Malin is a hardened corrupt official, subject to lustration and 10 years of administrative oblivion. But, apparently, even these arguments are ignored by Arseniy Petrovich, whose political reputation he is the first to inflict enormous damage on.
Indeed, why would Yatsenyuk need an adviser with such a background? After all, it's a surefire way to compromise him, including in the eyes of his Western partners, who are closely monitoring all the twists and turns of the anti-corruption campaign in Ukraine.
Nevertheless, Alexander Malin continues to advise. And his hopes are both immense and sweet. As a plan "B" (if plan "A" fails), Malin is seriously considering pushing his fellow corruption figure, also connected to Odesa, Gennady Gurkov, former director of the Odesa branch of Ukrposhta, into a high-ranking position.
Gennady Gurkov
Incidentally, his personality matches Malin's: according to a source in the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, Gurkov is involved in organizing a corruption scheme to steal money allocated for the renovation of several post offices in the city and region.
Well, we can only hope that it really is true, or, as the saying goes, let the blind see, let the deaf hear... or that the governor of the Odessa region and his new team will pay attention to this.
Skelet.Org
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