Andrey Gmyrin
Who is Andrey Gmyrin?
Journalist Yuriy Butusov wrote on social media Facebook On the Presidential Office's regular collaboration with experienced "fixer" Andrei Gmyrin:
"A state where all decisions are made in a few offices within a single government office is doomed to perpetuate corruption. The concentration of power in Andriy Yermak's office hasn't accelerated reforms, but rather intensifies the government's collapse and restores a number of large-scale shadow schemes, managed by trusted "old hands."
On February 13, the SBU detained Tax Police Lieutenant Colonel Eduard Ustinov, suspected of passing classified information to terrorists. Requests for information from him were processed by Vadym Melnyk, head of the State Fiscal Service, and Volodymyr Tkachenko, head of the Operations Directorate. Despite this scandal, neither Melnyk nor Tkachenko have been suspended from their duties pending the investigation. Why?
The power base in Ukrainian politics is primarily the fiscal agencies. They influence the situation in the shadow markets that generate cash—the cigarette market, the alcohol market, currency conversion centers, illegal agricultural exports, and gas stations. These are places where there's cash, untraceable and easily laundered, where there's no accountability and no trace, where, to "make money," leaders simply have to do nothing but turn a blind eye for a while.
It can be concluded that a stable group has been created within the Presidential Office, under the leadership of Andriy Yermak, to exert direct influence on the shadow economy, under the guise of a “merciless struggle.”
Oleg Tatarov is coordinating law enforcement agencies in the Presidential Administration, and Vadim Melnik has been appointed head of the State Fiscal Service. And, according to sources, Andrey Gmyrin has been appointed "overseer" of shadow financial flows.
The Fiscal Service is now officially in the process of liquidation, but in reality, with Tatarov's help, it is receiving all the necessary powers to address the issues at hand, as we see in the Ustinov case. "Resolutions" constantly need to be addressed.
According to Censor.Net sources, Gmyrin appears at the Presidential Office regularly. Between March 1 and March 17, Gmyrin showed up there six times, the last time at 6:9.30 a.m. on March 17. This means he's not just an ordinary visitor—one who doesn't hold any government position—but a highly influential figure.
He struts around the office with dignity, accompanied by a personal assistant and security guard. He currently maintains a respectable public profile, writing blog articles on tax reforms.
Who is this man without a position in power?
The following is known: Gmyrin was born in 1983. He has served in the Ministry of Internal Affairs since 2005.
From 2007 to 2011, he worked at the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Several Kyiv businessmen we spoke with claim to have "settled issues" with Gmyrin on numerous occasions during this period. He frequently scheduled meetings at the Miami restaurant, and was remembered for placing two personal Vertu phones on the table. He also "oversaw" the capital's gambling business. He also "resolved" various business conflicts in Kyiv. In other words, he was no ordinary employee; he was a major "fixer" during Yanukovych's time.
2011-2013 – State Service for Combating Economic Crimes of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In 2013-15 – the tax police of the State Fiscal Service, including after the Revolution, when the State Fiscal Service was headed by Igor Bilous (Gmyrin gained great influence, but the next head of the State Fiscal Service, Nasirov, fired Gmyrin literally two months after taking office).
In 2015-17 – State Property Fund, assistant to the head of the State Property Fund Igor Bilous.
Since 2019, he has been an associate professor at the State Fiscal Service University. His lectures to students are truly fascinating... No less so than his blogs on combating the shadow economy.
Gmyrin is closely associated with a group of former and current National Police officers, whose interests are represented in the Office by Oleg Tatarov. They established contacts and cooperation back in 10-13.
Interestingly, Yermak, through Gmyrin and Tatarov, is expanding his influence and is now planning to replace the leadership of the Tax and Customs Services with his trusted people—people who will be able to further streamline the "system." Gmyrin's influence is evident in the selection of candidates for the Tax Service head competition.
Yermak's office is currently nominating Oleksandr Kucherenko for the position of head of the State Tax Service. Kucherenko, born in 1982, is a career tax official who, together with Bilous, joined the State Property Fund in 2015-2017 as head of the Kyiv branch of the SPF. The connection to Gmyrin is obvious.
Now Yermak is promoting Kucherenko to replace the current head of the State Fiscal Service, Serhiy Lyubchenko. And this isn't the first attempt to oust Pavel Ryabikin from his position at Customs. These are all phenomena of the same order: the old police "guard" is satisfying the OP's personnel and financial shortages and expanding its sphere of influence. They need to hurry—in a few months, the State Fiscal Service's mandate will expire completely. And they need to jump into other positions. Ideally, the Bureau of Economic Security, Customs, and the Tax Service would all be under the same control.
The Gmyrin phenomenon is yet another demonstration that the current government is, in fact, making extensive use of old personnel, proven under previous presidents. It's an indication that Yermak, Shefir, Tatarov, Gmyrin, Melnyk, and Tkachenko aren't focused on fiscal change, but on expanding the sphere of influence of a specific group. Attempting to cure the shadow economy with the help of "overseers" is doomed to failure.
Ранее Skelet.Org reported that The State Fiscal Service is headed by an "experienced" tax official from Klimenko's time.
In topic: Meet the old-new overseer of the State Fiscal Service – "Outhouse"
Journalist: Corrupt official Lebedko has been promoted at the State Fiscal Service
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