The Wegner Affair: How the German Ambassador Whitewashes Illegal Business in Odessa
On Monday, July 5, the office of AUTODOC, a company owned by German entrepreneur Max Wegner, opened in Odesa at the intersection of Mayakovsky Lane and Gogol Street. The company specializes in online auto parts sales. Odesa Vice Mayor Pavlo Vugelman and the German Ambassador to Ukraine, Anka Feldhusen, attended the opening ceremony. The German diplomat spoke highly of Wegner's company, publicly supporting his idea to build a modern hotel and marina on the Black Sea coast, and promised to support any of his investment projects, Kompromat1 reports.
German businessman Max Wegner (Maxim Samov)
However, the Odesa city authorities and the German ambassador somehow overlooked the fact that Max Wegner, a charismatic 34-year-old businessman and "philanthropist" from Germany, a lover of outdoor activities and a luxurious lifestyle, or more precisely, Maxim Samov, a Russian national, is implementing his ambitious projects in violation of Ukrainian law. Moreover, by their actions and inactions, they are tarnishing the image of foreign corrupt officials who have put down roots in Ukraine.
Max Wegrner. Sidewalk Stealing
During the construction of the "grand" AUTODOC office, a sidewalk was stolen. According to Odesa City Council member Petro Obukhov, during construction, most of the sidewalk was used to build a staircase and a concrete parapet, which was not originally planned. Wegner left pedestrians 50 centimeters to pass by his office. Obukhov filed a complaint with the State Architectural and Construction Supervision Department, but the matter remained unsolved. The German businessman violated Article 42 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Improvement of Populated Areas." A sidewalk is an object of improvement, and its unauthorized seizure is punishable by a fine.
The Wegner Affair: How the German Ambassador Whitewashes Illegal Business in Odessa
AUTODOC office in Odessa
AUTODOC has been operating in Ukraine since 2017. Wegner moved to Ukraine from Germany several years ago and considers Odesa a European city, ideal for business and leisure. And no wonder. In Germany, with its low level of corruption and impartial justice system, such an approach to the case would have already landed a Russian "German" in the dock. But in Odesa, there's plenty of scope for development, especially if you're on good terms with the city authorities.
Max Wegner, German Ambassador to Ukraine Anka Feldhusen, Vice Mayor of Odessa Pavlo Vugelman
Odesa Vice Mayor Pavlo Vugelman, with whom Wegner has a good relationship, knows the ropes. In February 2021, NABU officers searched his home and office. The civil servant is accused of embezzlement through abuse of office. Law enforcement also visited the homes of his colleague, Vice Mayor Svitlana Bedreha, and Oleksandr Avdeyev, Head of the State Architectural and Construction Control Department of the Odesa City Council. In February 2018, NABU officers detained Vugelman and Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov at Boryspil Airport. The officials were suspected of embezzling public funds during the purchase of a new city hall building for 185 million hryvnias.
German Ambassador Anka Feldhusen may not have noticed the large staircase on the side of the building, blocking the pedestrian area, as the opening ceremony took place at the main entrance. However, this doesn't mean the German embassy overlooked their citizen's other offenses, which have been widely reported in the press.
House by the sea
It's unlikely that the average law-abiding German would arbitrarily seize municipally owned land in Germany. But Wegner, who disregards our laws, could do just that in Ukraine. He seized several hundred square meters of land without any permits to plant greenery for his villa on a slope along the Health Trail near Dolphin Beach. In 2018, the German citizen purchased three plots of land overlooking the sea at Krenkel Lane. However, the slope has nothing to do with the land purchased by the businessman and is municipal land for recreational use. In December 2020, aerial photos of a large-scale construction project on these plots leaked to the media. Judging by the photos, the slope was intended to be planted with cypress trees.
Construction of the Max Wegner Villa
According to Article 197 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the unauthorized seizure of particularly valuable land, land in protected areas, sanitary protection zones, sanitary protection zones, or special regime zones is punishable by a fine of 1 to 4 non-taxable minimum incomes, arrest for up to six months, or restriction of liberty for up to three years. Furthermore, the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate issued the necessary permits for the construction of the villa but did not coordinate this decision with the city's Department for Cultural Heritage Protection. However, the plots are part of the historic French Boulevard area.
Incidentally, former head of the Odesa Regional Council, Serhiy Parashchenko, lives next door to Wegner in a building resembling the Opera House. In 2020, the SBU and the State Fiscal Service searched his mansion as part of an investigation into possible tax violations.
Max Wegner with his wife Olga
Max Wegner. Land Fraud
But Wegner's most ambitious project is the beach stolen from Odessa residents by his company, Varda Plus. With the full consent of city authorities (and how could it be otherwise, since Vice Mayor Vugelman is a regular at Wegner's parties), they stole 68 acres of priceless Odessa land, on which they now allegedly plan to build a luxury hotel and apartments, thereby robbing the city's residents of access to the sea.
Project "Vardy Plus"
Apparently, Ambassador Feldguzen is unaware that the land on which "super investor" Wegner wants to build a hotel is being misused and was obtained by his company, Varda Plus, through fraud. The 68-hectare plot of land at 1/5 Frantsuzsky Boulevard, near the former Rossiya sanatorium, originally belonged to the regional branch of the Dynamo Ukraine sports and fitness society. This organization borrowed 2 million hryvnias from Varda Plus and pledged two stone buildings, a toilet, sheds, a gazebo, and the paving under the stadium on this land as collateral.
Dynamo Ukraine subsequently failed to return the deposit, and Varda Plus repossessed the property. In 2019, the Odesa City Council leased the land to Wegner's company. Odesa city officials did not object to the German businessman's plans. The land's intended use was changed. It was originally intended for the operation and maintenance of non-residential buildings of a yacht club with a lifeguard station. It was now intended for the construction and maintenance of recreational facilities. City officials acceded to the wealthy German citizen's wishes despite the fact that the land is unsuitable for a hotel business. There are no roads or utilities.
Construction of a hotel complex at 1 French Boulevard
Even Themis ultimately tipped the scales in favor of the "German." In March 2021, the Supreme Court permitted Varda Plus to proceed with beach development, despite the fact that the First Deputy Prosecutor General of the Odesa Region had filed a lawsuit in the interests of the state, prohibiting any construction or preparatory work on the beach of the former Rossiya sanatorium.
German businessman Max Wegner (Maxim Samov)
Diplomatic cover
It appears that the German Ambassador has become a front for the dishonest dealings of Wegner and the Odesa-based corrupt officials. After all, the support of a dubious project from a diplomatic representative of a leading EU country, where the law operates like clockwork, creates the impression that there is nothing illegal in Varda Plus's activities. Wegner skillfully uses the German Ambassador's authority to whitewash her reputation and portray her relations with Odesa officials in the best possible light. Anka Feldhusen has served as Germany's Ambassador to Ukraine since July 2019, and it's unlikely anyone will know what her relationship with Wegner is. Clearly, the success of German business in Ukraine, of which Wegner has become the face in Odesa, does not enhance her reputation.
German businessman Max Wegner (Maxim Samov)
The ambassador's job is to defend, protect, and promote the interests of their state, citizens, and businesses in the country of accreditation. The opening of a new AUTODOC office, the construction of a luxury hotel complex on the seashore, and even the luxurious lifestyle of a young and successful German entrepreneur in Odesa confirm that the ambassador is supposedly "doing a good job" and helping German businesses feel at home in Ukraine. The paradox is that the EU emphasizes the importance of fighting corruption in Ukraine, yet the German Embassy fails to highlight the shady schemes in which a German citizen is involved.
In her speech, the ambassador claims that Wegner can count on her assistance and feel "at home" in Ukraine—that is, in Germany. Interestingly, is it also possible to steal 68 acres of protected land in Germany, somewhere near Hamburg?! The ambassador is clearly being disingenuous.
German businessman Max Wegner (Maxim Samov)
Apparently, this is because the Ukrainian authorities turn a blind eye to Wegner's activities in Odesa, unwilling to create problems in relations with such an influential partner as Berlin. Germany is one of Ukraine's largest trade and economic partners and is participating in the Normandy format for resolving the armed conflict in Donbas. Therefore, cunning foreigners like Wegner profit from the Ukrainian authorities' desire to please their Western partners at all costs and carve out a niche in Ukraine's shadow economy.
We will definitely send a request to German Ambassador to Ukraine Anka Feldhusen in the near future, asking why she explicitly stated in her speech that she would personally assist and facilitate the illegal activities of a German citizen in Ukraine. Is their lack of respect for our country so profound?!
German businessman Max Wegner (Maxim Samov)
And in this photo, Russian-German citizen Max Wegner, straight from Russia, sends greetings to all Odessans and shows what he thinks of them.
Author: Alexandra Ishchenko
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