Eduard Matviychuk: Ukrainian customs is raking in the dough!
In 2015, independent Verkhovna Rada deputy Eduard Matviychuk was among the poorest elected officials: he declared an annual income of just 6719 hryvnias! It was simply astonishing how he managed not only to maintain his weight, but also to fill up his Mercedes S-500 with gasoline and build an estate in Uzhhorod rivaling a count's palace. "My family helps," Yevhen Leonidovych muttered at the time, declaring that they had earned 437,000 hryvnias that year. Yet even this sum seemed far too modest for a man who had milked the Odesa region for nearly four years as its governor, and before that, had been a tycoon in the shadow economy of Transcarpathia.
How to become a customs officer?
The answer to this question is a secret known to few. Otherwise, half of Ukrainians would rush to become customs officers. Our hero knew this secret. Eduard Leonidovych Matviychuk was born on April 29, 1963, in the village of Velyki Luchky, Mukachevo district, Zakarpattia region. After skipping military service for some reason (flat feet?), he first graduated from a trade and culinary school, and then in 1986 from Uzhhorod University, specializing in physics teaching. He then taught physics for three years at schools in Yasin and Uzhhorod. Essentially, Eduard Matviychuk spent 26 years of his life sitting idle, like Ilya Muromets, and only then did he get back on his feet, quitting his physics teaching job and taking a job as a customs inspector in the city of Chop.
He never admitted who the "traveling beggars" were who helped him find this "privileged" job. However, according to rumors from Matviychuk's acquaintances and Skelet.OrgThey were the parents of his wife, Evgenia, whom he met while still a university student. She was madly in love with him and hadn't even considered what it would be like to be the wife of a schoolteacher—but fortunately, her parents were pragmatists and had the right connections. They gave their son-in-law a "fishing rod," and he proved to be quite resourceful, quickly amassing his start-up capital with it. Incidentally, always mindful of who he owes not only his happiness but also his wealth, Eduard Matviychuk always registers his money and property in his wife's name. However, this isn't all of it, as there's a huge gap between his declarations and what his friends and neighbors say about him, and what journalists learn about him!
When Matviychuk became governor of the Odessa region and began cultivating a positive image, he apparently hired journalists from the ranks of those who write fake testimonials of gratitude to various witch doctors and "white magicians." Because these were precisely the kind of journalists who appeared in articles in which Matviychuk's supposed former customs colleagues described his crystal-clear and principled honesty: they claimed he didn't take bribes, fought smuggling, and left because the mafia threatened to kill him. Well, "everything is a lie—but there's a hint in it!" Alternative sources reported that Matviychuk had indeed been threatened with death, but only because of his greed, as he had attempted to extort "excessive" fees from smugglers. However, they weren't killed, but framed, resulting in Matviychuk's resignation in 1996, losing a very lucrative position.
Eduard Matviychuk: Ukrainian customs is raking in the dough!
Eduard Matviychuk. Mysterious Business
However, he didn't lose his extensive connections, which extend beyond Ukraine. After resigning as a customs officer, Matviychuk immediately found work as president of the Verkhovyna football club. Considering that only owners and sponsors become presidents of football clubs, one can only imagine how much magic Inspector Matviychuk must have performed during his seven years of impeccable service at customs! Yet, he carefully conceals the business he started in the 90s. In fact, if you look at Eduard Leonidovych's official biography, you'll see a penniless dependent who, after 1996 and until his appointment as governor in 2010, held virtually no jobs—except for the eight years he spent as a member of the Verkhovna Rada. And even in that capacity, it's rare to find someone who so carefully conceals their business from prying eyes. Which raises a fair question: what is Eduard Matviychuk doing that needs to be hidden?
Uzhhorod residents claim that the Matviychuk family owns (in whole or in part) the Luxor Plaza shopping center, the Dastor shopping center, the Chili Pizza chain of pizzerias, several cafes, and the Uzhhorod Mechanical Plant, a closed joint-stock company that has long produced furniture, wooden window frames, and doors. It's worth noting that none of this appears in MP Eduard Matviychuk's declarations for 2014, 2015, and 2016. There are no businesses or shares listed there; the Matviychuk family lives solely on Eduard Leonidovych's salary and his wife's old savings, which arose inexplicably. This oddity should have long ago alerted the relevant authorities, yet they seem to be ignoring Matviychuk's lies.
Besides the aforementioned business in Uzhhorod, the Matviychuk family also has another one, and one abroad: specifically, in Hungary. Several of Eduard Leonidovich's fellow countrymen claimed Skelet.OrgThat he runs either a manufacturing facility or a tourist resort there. Matviychuk allegedly started this business while still working at customs, creating a joint venture based on a Hungarian branch, which then expanded into the neighboring country. Is this credible? Considering the long-standing information, dating back to 2010, about Eduard Matviychuk himself, as well as his wife and children, Mark (born in 2004) and Alisa (born in 1993), holding dual Hungarian citizenship, this information is entirely plausible. However, we repeat, this matter should be settled by a proper investigation. It would also be interesting to know what kind of mansion Eduard Matviychuk is building on Zagorskaya Street in Uzhgorod, and with what money?
According to journalists, this estate belongs to Eduard Matviychuk
The carve-up on Deribasovskaya
The secret of Matviychuk's immunity may be his old acquaintance with Petro Poroshenko: While still a deputy of the Zakarpattia Regional Council, he became the head of the Solidarity faction. This gave him a ticket to the Verkhovna Rada in the form of a qualifying spot on the Our Ukraine list in the 2002 elections. But a year later, Matviychuk unexpectedly defected to the Party of Regions, lured by the promised prospects. Since then, he has been labeled a traitor and "accomplice of the Donetsk forces" by the Orange Party, an image further exacerbated by his governorship from 2010 to 2013. Therefore, the path to Solidarity is now closed to him. However, Skelet.Org There is information that he still maintains good relations with Petro Poroshenko, who himself not long ago worked in the government Azarov.
Matviychuk's appointment as governor of Odesa was surprising: for a little-known shadow businessman from Transcarpathia, it was a lucrative coup, especially since the region had attracted the interest of the notorious Yuriy Ivanyushchenko. He was so intrigued that he immediately sent his business partner and "overseer" there. Ivan Avramov, who first took over Odessa's Southern Customs Office (and then customs again), and then launched a hostile takeover of the 7th Kilometer market. And all this—under the cover of Governor Matviychuk! Therefore, the information that Matviychuk's appointment to Odessa was directly facilitated by Yuriy Ivanyushchenko is accurate. Looking ahead, we can say that everyone got into trouble later: Matviyenko, Ivanyushchenko, and Avramov.
Matviychuk began his Odesa governorship with a minor political scandal: he advocated for regional status for the Russian language and cut off budget funding for the local Ukrainian-language newspaper, Chornomorski Novyny. But this was merely a misunderstanding, as he subsequently began to embezzle the "saved" Odesa budget, including through his "People's Budget" program. The cynicism of this scam lay in the fact that the "People's Budget" program formally stipulated public approval for the regional budget's distribution. In reality, it was simply embezzled, under the guise of public opinion. However, this opinion was foolishly shaped for Matviychuk by the Odesa "barons" with whom he was in league (the now "very pro-Ukrainian" political strategist Oleksiy Golobutsky also moonlighted for him, only harming his boss's image). And the biggest embezzlement of public funds was the reconstruction of the Severnaya biological treatment plant, costing the budget 731 million hryvnias! That's how much the "reconstruction" cost, which suddenly transformed into the "Deepwater Discharge" project, consisting of two pipes laid deep into the sea to discharge waste. Matviychuk's partner in this project was a well-known Odessa construction swindler. Ruslan Tarpan, closely connected to local corrupt and criminal clans. Matviychuk allocated the funds, Tarpan "appropriated" them, and how and among whom else the profits were distributed is anyone's guess. So what happened? Law enforcement agencies investigated the scam several times, even naming suspects and perpetrators—but Matviychuk's name was never among them! On the contrary, it was mentioned in the context of the former governor's concerns about the embezzlement of budget funds and his request for appropriate investigations. Tarpan himself was only mentioned in passing.
Matviychuk's other scams were smaller in scale, but numerous nonetheless. Among them: painting a school in the village of Zelenogorskoye in the Lyubashevsky district, which cost 8,9 million hryvnias (a sum that would have been enough to build a new school); completing a school in the village of Troitske in the Belyavsky district (35,3 million hryvnias); repairing the pavement on Grecheskaya Square (10 million hryvnias); restoring the English Club (45 million hryvnias); and others.
The governor also made money in other ways. For example, Odessa businessmen Boris Kaufman and Alexander Gennadievich Granovsky (not to be confused with Kyiv resident Alexander Mikhailovich Granovsky) was given to Governor Matviychuk, then-mayor of Odessa Oleksiy Kostusev and the head of the Party of Regions faction in the city council To Gennady Trukhanov A bribe of $4 million to secure the transfer of ownership of the Odessa airport. Moreover, the three divided the entire day among themselves, without sharing with the city council members.
Ultimately, the actions of the governor, who was ruthlessly embezzling the budget, and his friend Ivanyushchenko, who was taking the 7th Kilometer market from the traders, caused such a stir that President Yankovic dismissed Matviychuk from his post and even fell out with his old "buddy" Yura Yenakievsky.
However, there was another version of the scandal: that, allegedly, the reason for Matviychuk’s resignation was his friendship with Igor Markov (whom he helped become a people's deputy in the 133rd single-mandate constituency), who spoke out sharply against the Party of Regions and Yanukovych when he was stripped of his mandate in September 2013 by a ruling of the Supreme Administrative Court (deeming his election victory fraudulent), and a month later arrested on charges related to the 2007 beating of a pro-Ukrainian activist. However, immediately after his arrest, Matviychuk "forgot" about Ihor Markov's existence and even acted pointedly coldly toward his younger brother, while emphasizing his loyalty to Yanukovych in every possible way. In any case, his resignation occurred in November 2013, when it was simply advantageous for Matviychuk to distance himself from the collapsing central government.
Eduard Matviychuk. Parasite deputy
So, according to his 2014 declaration, the dismissed ex-governor was living off his wife—yet he still decided to run in the parliamentary elections. He ran in the same single-member constituency No. 133 where, two years earlier, Matviychuk had helped Ihor Markov get elected. It appears he had "privatized" this constituency, but still, as a safety net, he generously distributed food packages to voters, which didn't seem so ridiculous given the escalating crisis in the country. However, the estimated value of these packages exceeded 100 hryvnias, and at least a thousand were distributed. Where did the "impoverished" candidate get such money? Well, as Odesans joked, the money stolen from them was being returned to them in election bribes!
Election gifts from a "poor" candidate
But as soon as he received his parliamentary mandate, Eduard Leonidovych began frantically plotting how to recoup the money he'd spent on the elections. He stopped at nothing, even securing 170 hryvnias in "deputy expenses reimbursement" the following year. But the bitter irony was that Matviychuk hadn't done any parliamentary work; he'd actually been one of the top ten parliamentary parasites who ignored almost all the votes on bills. So he even went there?
However, according to information from sources close to Eduard Matviychuk Skelet.OrgHis periodic appearances in the Verkhovna Rada are motivated solely by the hope of regaining attention and securing at least some position that would grant him access to budget funds. At the same time, should he be recalled not to offer him a portfolio but to strip him of his mandate, Matviychuk has a backup plan: "Hungary." Moreover, his family is reportedly already in Europe.
Sergey Varis, for Skelet.Org
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