Arthur Emelyanov
Almost two years have passed since the start of Ukraine's "Revolution of Dignity," which ousted Viktor Yanukovych and his political team. However, not all of his former allies have faded into oblivion; many still control their old troughs. One of the main "proteges" of the Yanukovych regime is Artur Yemelyanov, former deputy chairman of the Supreme Commercial Court of Ukraine (SCCU). This typical Donetsk figure miraculously avoided lustration by the justice system, and law enforcement officials simply turned a blind eye to his "shady dealings." More precisely, a substantial sum transferred to "competent people" helped turn a blind eye, but more on that later. First, let's examine how Artur Yemelyanov came into the Ukrainian judicial system.
A brilliant judicial career
Artur Stanislavovich has long been known to Ukrainian media. He attracted attention with his rapid career advancement in the judicial system. He first became a judge in 2000, serving in the Donetsk Regional Commercial Court. Five years later (in 2005), having earned a reputation as a "proper" judge, he was appointed deputy chairman. After several years as deputy, he became head of the Donetsk Regional Commercial Court (2010), albeit briefly. In 2011, at the instigation of his main "accomplice," and concurrently the then head of the Supreme Commercial Court of Ukraine, Viktor Tatkov, he became chairman of the Kyiv Commercial Court (2012). A little later, upon recommendation from the Council of Commercial Court Judges, he was recommended for the post of deputy chairman of the Supreme Commercial Court of Ukraine, a position he held until early 2014. After the "Revolution of Dignity," Yemelyanov and Tatkov were demoted to ordinary judges, but their "corrupt control" schemes, built up over the years, remained in place.
Viktor Tatkov (left) and Artur Emelyanov (right)
It was the Tatkov-Emelyanov tandem that was responsible for "building" the vertical economic court system across Ukraine, controlled by the "Yanukovych family." They managed to establish a rigorous system of corruption in the specialized arbitration courts under their control. During their tenure, the tandem appointed over 500 judges to the judicial system. At various times, media reports have appeared implicating Tatkov and Emelyanov in corruption schemes and illegal activities, but law enforcement officials either ignore them or simply refuse to notice.
Artur Yemelyanov hides from journalists in his office.
"Fair" schemes for distributing cases among judges
For many Ukrainian businessmen, the names of Artur Yemelyanov and Viktor Tatkov have become synonymous with judicial lawlessness. Their most "cunning" achievement was their system of assigning cases to judges. The idea was simple: after a case was assigned to a specific judge, they were asked to rule on it in a manner consistent with the client's needs. If the judge refused, the hearing was postponed until the judge was on vacation, and the case was automatically transferred to another judge. Due to these machinations, some cases would pass through five or six judges at once, but ultimately landed with a "knowledgeable" judge willing to resolve the matter for a certain fee. These schemes were often used to legitimize corporate raids organized by the Tatkov-Yemelyanov criminal group. Other businessmen and oligarchs often resorted to their services. The price of resolving cases often hovered around several million dollars. Over time, several dozen millionaire judges emerged in the Ukrainian judicial system, assisting the "tandem" and, consequently, receiving kickbacks. Today, most of them still hold their former positions, as lustration didn't really affect them.
This is not surprising, as the activities of the organized crime group of raiding judges are protected by a reliable umbrella in the High Council of Justice (HCJ). One of Artur Yemelyanov's partners is Pavlo Grechkovsky, a current HCJ member. During the time when Leonid Chernovetsky was mayor of Kyiv ( read more about him in the article " Leonid Chernovetsky: How "Lenya Kosmos" Robbed Kyiv and Moved to Georgia "), Grechkovsky, with the active assistance of Yemelyanov, managed to gain control of over 7,5 hectares of protected forest on Zhukov Island near Kyiv. Prosecutors waged a long, bitter battle with the company "Cesil" (owned by Grechkovsky), which leased the land, but the company emerged victorious, in part due to Artur Yemelyanov, then head of the Kyiv Commercial Court.
As a result, Yemelyanov earned the nickname "All Inclusive" among his colleagues and others, since if he took on a case, he was guaranteed to follow it through from the first to the last court instance. No connections or money could offset Yemelyanov's influence on judges' decisions.
The most famous corporate raids in Ukraine involving Tatkov-Emelyanov:
The Konstantinovka Crystal Plant, the Makeyevka Department Store, the TOR Mechanical Plant, the Bratislava Hotel, Polymer Alliance LTD, the Donetsk Central Department Store, the Druzhba Restaurant in Konstantinovka, the Shakhtar Hotel, the Decor Donbass Shopping Mall, the Odessa Stalkanat, Europe's largest industrial goods market, the 7th Kilometer, and dozens of other businesses throughout Ukraine.
Investigation by the Public Lustration Committee:
"Honest" income declaration
Judge Yemelyanov's embezzlement is indirectly demonstrated by his income declaration, in which he shamelessly listed 12 apartments ranging in size from 42 square meters to 319 square meters, as well as two large houses (one of which is over 725 square meters). Furthermore, his wife has several million hryvnias in her bank account. And this is just the tip of Artur Stanislavovich's financial iceberg.
Artur Yemelyanov's wife, Svetlana, owned a small beauty salon in Donetsk and ran self-development courses. While it's certainly possible that she purchased the apartments and is the family's primary income earner, an analysis of her companies' financial results revealed that they were actually operating at a loss. This begs the question: where did the millions in her income declaration come from?
"Stash" in Liechtenstein
In the summer of 2015, the State Financial Monitoring Service (Gosfinmonitoring) managed to uncover some of the funds belonging to the former deputy chairman of the Supreme Commercial Court of Ukraine. Working with Liechtenstein law enforcement, the Ukrainian monitoring agency uncovered several companies registered in Panama and Liechtenstein, whose accounts had accumulated enormous financial assets of dubious origin over several years. Yemelyanov's total assets in Liechtenstein accounts (his "stash") amounted to over 13 million Swiss francs (approximately 300 million UAH). The Prosecutor General's Office has long held the results of investigations into the illegal origin of these funds, but has yet to issue a motion to prosecute Artur Stanislavovich, who is no stranger to "dealing."
Personal "indulgence" from lustration
The amendments to the law "On Restoring Trust in the Judicial System" serve as evidence of his phenomenal ability to "negotiate." According to sources, as a result of these amendments, deputy court chairmen, like Artur Stanislavovich, were excluded from the list of individuals subject to dismissal under lustration. Yemelyanov later stated that he achieved the amendments through direct negotiations with the drafter of the law, current Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko ( read more about him in the article "Pavlo Petrenko: The "Pocket" Boy of the Yatsenyuk "Family" ). However, he modestly omitted the fact that these amendments cost him $5 million. In fact, it's not that expensive, especially considering they freed his hands for new "exploits" in the judicial arena.
Latest events
Media reports have suggested that Andriy Portnov, former First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration (under Viktor Yanukovych), has had a grudge against Artur Yemelyanov for years ( more on him in the article " Andriy Portnov: A Raider Story "). His involvement is traced to the revelation of accounts in Panama and Liechtenstein. However, Petro Poroshenko is known to have had an equally strong grudge against Portnov, dating back to Portnov's time at the Securities and Stock Market State Commission (mid-2000s), when Portnov actively prevented the future president from acquiring a number of valuable assets through corporate raiding. Therefore, Yemelyanov's position in the conflict with Portnov is somewhat more advantageous given the current political landscape.
Andrey Portnov
In late summer 2015, it became known that Tatkov and Emelianenko had been hired by the Ukrainian oligarchs, the Vagorovsky brothers. He decided to regain control of the Amstor retail chain, a controlling stake in which Vadim Novinsky had purchased from the Vagorovskys back in 2009. Read more in the article " Yanukovych-era raiders are creating a new retail empire at Vagorovsky's behest ."
All law enforcement agencies are aware of the criminal activities of Artur Yemelyanov and his accomplice, Viktor Tatkov. They have been investigated at various times by various investigative bodies and inspection commissions. Over the years of their "activities," they have committed thousands of crimes, but not a single investigation into their activities has reached court. Ukrainian raider judges continue to plunder Ukrainian businesses. And neither the revolution nor the war in the country has stopped them.
Dmitry Samofalov, for SKELET-info
Also on the topic:
Elusive scammers: Yemelyanov and Tatkov continue to rob Ukrainian businesses
Why doesn't lustration apply to the gangster judges from Yanukovych's clan?
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