Borislav Rozenblat. Amber Mafia Favorite. Part 1
Former BPP MP Boryslav Rozenblat is a well-known developer and farmer in Zhytomyr. However, many Ukrainians were unlikely to have known him before he became embroiled in a high-profile corruption scandal: his bodyguard was arrested with a $200 bribe. Then came the twists and turns: a special operation with the FBI, undercover agents and intimate relationships, the lifting of his immunity, and the "Burshtyn mafia."
So, who is Borislav Rozenblat, who is caught up in a high-profile corruption scandal?
Borislav Rosenblat. Amber for a deputy
Sunstone is mined en masse in the Rivne and Zhytomyr regions. Here, everything operates in the best gangster traditions: entire clans control the deposits, workers, the so-called diggers and washers, have protection, and newcomers to the business must pay a membership fee for every day of work. Rates are quoted in dollars, the salaries can be exorbitant, and bloody clashes occasionally erupt. Law enforcement officials long denied the problem, but now they've taken it on, and heads are rolling.
In July 2016, Ukraine was shocked by the "Yantar" special operation in the Rivne region, which targeted the organizers of the "Burshtyn mafia." Just imagine: 300 security forces, 123 searches, $160, and Kalashnikov assault rifles... It turned out that the criminal group included the First Deputy Prosecutor of the Rivne region (Andriy Borovyk), current and former police and SBU officers, as well as criminal figures. The Prosecutor General personally arrived to detain them. Yuriy Lutsenko and the head of the SBU Vasyl Hrytsak, and the Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov posted a traditional photo report on Facebook.
It would seem that such an operation would cause a stir, and the perpetrators would be punished. In the end, a year later, almost all of those arrested were released. Two logical questions arise: who is digging for amber today, and who is protecting them?
June 19, 2017. At the upscale Tri Vilki restaurant in the city center on Volodymyrska Street, officers from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau detained a security guard for Boryslav Rozenblat, a member of parliament from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, on suspicion of accepting a bribe. They found $200 on him, allegedly intended for Rozenblat himself and another official. The BPP MP immediately denied the money, claiming it was the work of "enemies" seeking revenge for his efforts to legalize amber mining, or more precisely, for writing a law that would bring order to the chaotic industry.
Borislav Rozenblat. Amber Mafia Favorite. Part 1
The director of NABU took it upon himself to explain the situation. Artem SytnikAccording to him, the Anti-Corruption Bureau teamed up with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for the first time to conduct an "amber operation." This involved exposing a criminal amber mining scheme involving MPs Borislav Rozenblat and Maksym Polyakov from the People's Front.
Maxim Polyakov
Representatives from the NABU and SAPO "took care" of the officials for about a year. An undercover agent, Ekaterina, with whom Rosenblat allegedly even had an intimate relationship, participated in the special operation. Skelet.Org tells the details of the operation, like from a movie.
Episode #1. The Underground Plan
In September 2016, Vadim Rudenko, head of the secretariat of the inter-faction parliamentary association "Deputy Control," asked Maksym Polyakov for a "favor." He wanted to assist a foreign company, Fujairah, which wanted to mine amber in Ukraine. The company's representative was Ekaterina, a businesswoman from the UAE. She stated that the company was willing to invest in the legal mining and export of amber. Polyakov was required to amend the legislation. After some time, the fish bit the bullet—Ekaterina received a call from Tatyana, who introduced herself as Polyakov's assistant. She said the deputy was ready to help. He could amend the draft law "On the Mining and Sale of Amber" (registered in the Verkhovna Rada on December 26, 2014), authored by Borislav Rozenblat.
Episode #2. Conspiracy of MPs
Polyakov approaches Rosenblat and talks about a "profitable" collaboration. The MPs decide not to introduce amendments, but to register two new bills. They become the initiators of Bill No. 5436 "On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine" (regarding the taxation of amber mining activities) and Bill No. 5437 "On Amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine" (regarding tax exemptions for importing equipment for industrial amber mining into Ukraine). If adopted, these documents would reduce the royalty on amber mining from 25% to 5%.
For their "initiative" on the bills, Ekaterina paid Rosenblat and Polyakov $7,5 each. The money was transferred exclusively through intermediaries: Polyakov's assistant, Tatyana, and Rosenblat's security guard.
Episode #3: Unexpected Climax
In November 2016, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution establishing a pilot project to reclaim forest lands in the Zhytomyr and Rivne regions damaged by illegal amber mining. The resolution entered into force in February 2017.
Borislav Rosenblat quickly took action. He suggested that Kateryna not wait for the bills he and Polyakov had introduced to be considered in the Rada, but establish a new company in Ukraine. The newly formed company would mine the amber through Ukrburshtin's subsidiary, the State Joint-Stock Company Ukrainian Polymetals. The agent agreed, and Ukrtekhdobych LLC was registered on January 28, 2017. The MP promised the "businesswoman" a five-year contract between the company and the state-owned enterprise responsible for the pilot land reclamation project. According to Rosenblat's plan, 60% of the amber would be given to the state, while 40% would remain with the company. The company would sell some of the amber through an intermediary at a price close to market value to Arab countries. The proceeds would be split equally, but they would be deposited in an offshore zone. The MP instructed Kateryna to create a company in the United States, the founder of which was his sister Elena, a deputy of the Novohrad-Volynskyi District Council.
Elena Rosenblat
In March 2017, the State Forestry Agency allocated forest land plots for amber mining. However, it turned out that these lands already had owners with special permits and potential amber diggers. But Boryslav wasn't at a loss; he assured Kateryna that he could influence the prosecutor's office and judges, securing permission to exploit the land's mineral resources. Naturally, he would eventually transfer the permit to a foreign company from the UAE.
The deputy was unable to conclude a contract between the newly formed Ukrtekhdobych LLC and the state-owned Ukrburshtin State Enterprise (SE UkrPolymetals), so he proposed a so-called turnkey project to Kateryna. The company was to acquire 30 hectares of state-owned land and a subsoil use permit. Rosenblat was responsible for all the "technical details"—bribery of government agencies. He demanded $285 for his "services"—$85, which had been handed over to security guards, and the remaining $200, which went to waste.
Episode #4. Summing Up
From November 2016 to June 2017, agent Kateryna paid six bribes to members of parliament totaling $311. NABU even compiled a tranche diagram of the money. It is noted that all the money flows are traced back to Rozenblat.
— 10 and 20 thousand dollars went to officials of the State Forestry Agency and the State Geocadastre for the “correct” decision – to extract amber under the guise of land reclamation;
— 55 thousand dollars for employees of the prosecutor’s office to obtain permission to use subsoil resources;
— 200 thousand dollars — for amber mining licenses from the State Geological Service for Ukrtekhdobich LLC.
Episode #5: What's Left Behind the Scenes
After details of the case were revealed, information surfaced online that the relationship between Boryslav Rozenblat and agent Kateryna had gone beyond business. She had engaged in sexual activity with the MP. NABU allegedly possesses an intimate video. Political strategist Taras Berezovets stated this on Channel 5.
Rosenblat, for his part, neither denied nor confirmed this information. Although he later added, "There was no intimacy."
And then things unfolded according to the usual pattern: the Prosecutor General's Office submitted a motion to the Verkhovna Rada requesting permission to prosecute Boryslav Rozenblat. The MP himself addressed his colleagues and asked that his immunity be lifted so he could "defend his honor in court." The deputies considered the matter and gave Rozenblat 296 their "yes."
Borislav Rozenblat. Amber Mafia Favorite. Part 1
But the most interesting thing is that officials refused to authorize his detention and arrest. While 183 officials voted for his detention, only 181 agreed to his arrest.
Borislav Rosenblat in court
Episode #6 Not yet an epilogue
The case was soon sent to the Solomensky District Court in the capital, which set Rozenblat's bail at 7 million hryvnias, and also ordered him to wear an electronic bracelet, surrender his passport, and not leave Kyiv and Zhytomyr without permission.
In the courtroom, the defendant sadly stated that he didn't have the money to pay bail. However, a couple of days later, he found the money. His sister, Elena, bought the MP's freedom. She was the one who owned the offshore company in the US. An interesting fact: the day before, this relative had borrowed 6,9 million hryvnias from the MP's wife, Zhanna. However, this fact was immediately brought into question. declarationSpecifically, on July 28, Olena received a 4,4 million hryvnia loan, and on August 3, a 2,5 million hryvnia loan. At the same time, the MP's sister received a gift from her brother—half of a house in the Zhytomyr region, which had already been seized by a court order.
Borislav Rozenblat. Amber Mafia Favorite. Part 1
The cost of the gift is 98,5 thousand hryvnia.
Upon his release, Rosenblat's first stop was one of Kyiv's most expensive restaurants, "Karavan," which, incidentally, is located just 1 kilometer from the Prosecutor General's Office building.
One of the most expensive restaurants in Kyiv, Karavan
He was spotted by patrons of the establishment. There, the MP was smoking a hookah, drinking wine, and chatting pleasantly with his long-legged companion.
Arina Dmitrieva, for Skelet.Org
CONTINUED: Borislav Rozenblat. Amber Mafia Favorite. Part 2
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