Alexander Onishchenko (Kadyrov)
Odious. Scandalous. Rich.
Ukrainian politics over the 25 years of independence has given us a plethora of odious politicians. They are remembered for scandals, bizarre actions, illogical behavior, and simply provocative antics, writes Ivan Nechupara, Facenews.
One such person is Oleksandr Onyshchenko, a former Party of Regions member and current MP from the "People's Will" group. The MP, who missed almost half of the Verkhovna Rada's plenary sessions, was reminded of his status with the "billion-hryvnia gas case" when NABU detectives conducted searches of his office. Judging by Onyshchenko's biography, it's not his first brush with the law.
His track record includes many interesting deeds. For example, Walid Arfoosh and Alexander Onishchenko (Kadyrov) supplied prostitutes to Gaddafi's son. The wife of Seifal Islam, the beloved son of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, claims that his Kyiv friends supplied participants in national beauty pageants for Gaddafi Jr.'s orgies, which the same criminal Seif (who is currently wanted) sponsored. In fact, when Onishchenko amassed a substantial fortune, he became interested in organizing beauty pageants. Those in the know call them castings for VIP prostitution. "Managing beauty" on a national scale in any country brings those behind it numerous informal, useful connections at the highest levels. This allows these "patrons of the girls" to resolve their personal business matters without bureaucratic hurdles, and often possess secret information, not just of an intimate nature.
Moreover, in the turbulent 90s, Alexander Radzhabovich was a "foreman" in the criminal group of the crime boss "Kisel," nicknamed "Tatar." If the "Scorpion" document is genuine, Onishchenko-Kadyrov even received a three-year suspended sentence. In 1993, Onishchenko entered the gas business. According to him, he was able to secure barter supplies of food in exchange for Central Asian gas from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. But here's the rub: Firtash and Bakai are considered to be the leaders in this area. However, Alexander Onishchenko is already considered Dmitry Firtash's man.
Kyiv football fans remember the deputy from the scandalous affair with the Arsenal Kyiv football club. Onishchenko bought the team from Vadim Rabinovich, but instead of paying off the team's debt, he dismantled it within six months.
Alexander Radzhabovich's personal life would be more suited to the tabloids, but it's hard not to mention it in this context. While married, Alexander Onishchenko attempted to court the renowned gymnast Anna Bessonova. To this end, he paved the way for her brother, Alexander, to enter politics. The $7 million investment proved fruitless, as the Harvard-educated lawyer found himself in a difficult position at the Ministry of Ecology.
Anna Bessonova
And Onishchenko's son hardly pleased his father when he was expelled from the elite Consul Gymnasium No. 86 in Pechersk a year ago for forcing a first-grader to take off his pants and urinate, along with a friend. For fun, the teenagers filmed the whole thing. However, the MP himself, like a true father, stood up for his son.
"In my son's six years at this school, there were no problems. And then a fight broke out. These things happen. But I was called to the school, even though my son doesn't live with me. And they made a big scene. But I didn't want to get into the details; I didn't need this mess, so I withdrew his documents from the school and transferred him to another one (the school says, presumably, abroad). But I'm sure my son couldn't have done such a thing," Onishchenko told Vesti.
But let's return to Alexander Radzhabovich. In June 2015, he made a sensational claim that businessmen had contributed to Yatsenyuk's election campaign.
"Why is Yatsenyuk so nervous? During the Verkhovna Rada elections in the fall of 2014, Yatsenyuk boosted his entire approval rating by raising money from sponsors, from businessmen like me. We all chipped in and contributed to his campaign," Onishchenko said.
This statement has two interesting aspects. On the one hand, it confirms Arseniy Petrovich's close ties to Ukrainian oligarchs, but on the other, why would Onyshchenko fund the elections of his direct competitor? Although, an answer can be found here too. The fact is that Andriy Derkach, the leader of the "People's Will" party, is "friends" with the "Revival" party, of which Onyshchenko is a member. And Derkach is a close friend of Petro Poroshenko. Big issues are always resolved behind the scenes.
Andrey Derkach
Yatsenyuk's overall campaign budget, however, didn't prevent Onyshchenko from falling out with Tetyana Chornovol. In June 2015, the equally odious and scandalous representative of the People's Front went to the office of Plast, a gas production company owned by Onyshchenko, to stage a "debriefing." The businessman himself considered this a stunt orchestrated by Yatsenyuk and Pashinsky, and called Chornovol "a professional troublemaker with a certificate." Oleksandr Onyshchenko denied all accusations of non-payment of rent and taxes, calling it a provocation.
However, in January 2016, Onishchenko found himself in legal trouble again. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau suspected the People's Will deputy of causing 500 million hryvnias in state losses. A detective eventually summoned the suspect, who showed up for questioning. After hearing the charges, he left for an emergency parliamentary session and was gone.
"After the NABU detective explained to him (Onishchenko) the grounds for the summons, the criminal proceedings in which he was being summoned to testify, the interrogation procedure, the procedural rights and obligations of a witness, and his criminal liability, in accordance with established procedure, Onishchenko stated that due to a parliamentary session, he had no time to testify. After which, he left the premises on his own," the NABU officer told Ukrainian News.
On December 4th of last year, NABU officers opened a criminal case against Oleksandr Onyshchenko. This was published in the unified register of court decisions (case number 52015000000000002). The documents revealed that the case concerns losses to the state in excess of UAH 500 million during natural gas production in 2014-2015 by companies associated with Onyshchenko under joint venture agreements with the state-owned company Ukrgazvydobuvannya. These companies include Plast PJSC, Nadra Geocenter LLC, Firma Has LLC, Natural Resources + LLC (all in the Kyiv region), and Karpatnadrainvest LLC (Kharkiv region). Thus, it appears that Tetyana Chornovol possesses the facts, but has failed to accurately present them to the public.
Tatiana Chornovol
Oleksandr Onishchenko's escape from interrogation backfired. On March 16 of this year, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) searched the deputy's office.
"The searches were based on a relevant court order. The searches were conducted as part of a pre-trial investigation into a criminal case involving abuse of office in the sale of natural gas produced through joint ventures with PJSC Ukrgazvydobuvannya. According to information entered into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations, the gas was sold at below-market prices, resulting in significant damage to state interests. NABU detectives estimate the amount involved to be over UAH 1 billion," the official statement in the NABU press release stated.
According to unconfirmed reports, a sign was found in one of the gas company offices claiming Onishchenko's office is located there. The problem is, the office isn't registered at that address.
Onishchenko celebrated his birthday in April of this year. The plethora of celebrity guests is unlikely to interest readers. However, former MP Igor Krivetskyi made an appearance at a party at a prestigious Italian club.Read more about it in the article Igor Krivetsky: Svoboda's criminal sponsors), whom the media calls a sponsor of the All-Ukrainian Union "Svoboda" and a crime boss nicknamed "Pups".
Despite conflicts with the NABU and raucous parties, Oleksandr Onyshchenko isn't getting poorer. On the contrary, in his most recent tax declaration, he reported a profit of UAH 33,155,370 million and deposited UAH 157,338,774 in foreign bank accounts in 2015. UAH 3,018,456 of Onyshchenko's income came from dividends, UAH 66,326 from salary, UAH 70,588 from property rentals, and UAH 30 million from property alienation (the declaration omits two plots of land and a residential building, which were declared in 2014). Interestingly, last year, Onyshchenko's income was UAH 7,3 million. This means the politician has gained UAH 26 million in the past year. Oleksandr Onyshchenko is among the 100 richest people in Ukraine according to Forbes for 2015. At his invitation, actresses Olga Kurylenko and Paris Hilton, actors Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren came to the country.
A difficult period for Viktor Yanukovych's former allies appears to be ending. Interesting and controversial politicians like Onishchenko, despite all the lustrations, continue to accumulate wealth, despite the actions of the anti-corruption bureau.
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Relevant. Need to reread.