Elena Shulyak: From auditor of the "steel Jews" to figurehead of the "Servant of the People" party. Part 1
If Ukrainians had known who they voted for in the summer of 2019, their choice would likely have been completely different! Unfortunately, the true faces of many "servants of the people" were hidden behind the masks of honest professionals, experienced reformers, and principled public figures. They were only toppled after the new "corrupt guard" took their seats in the Rada's session hall.
Take, for example, the current chair of the ruling Servant of the People party, Olena Shulyak. What do we know about her? Practically nothing, other than her official biography, a short interview, and a couple of scandals that have already been squashed. But believe me, she's a much more interesting person, deserving the attention of not only the public but also law enforcement agencies!
Elena Shulyak: Relatives, Husband, Scandals
Shulyak Elena Alekseevna She was born on January 24, 1976, in Kyiv, and at that time bore the surname Oksenyuk (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Osenyuk). She has a sister, Tatyana, who was recently стало известноthat she works as the financial director of Aurum Trans LLC and Nasosholding, and is also a member of the supervisory boards of Nasosmash andSvesky Pump Plant" belonging to the family of former Defense Minister Pavel Lebedev (wanted since 2016). Although this fact greatly angered Ukrainian patriots, it was ignored by the Servant of the People party (like other scandals surrounding Shulyak).
Elena's father is from the Volyn region, and her mother is from the Cherkasy region. In the 70s, her parents acquired an apartment in the Minsk (now Obolon) district of the capital, where Elena grew up and graduated from Secondary School No. 231.
In 1992, she enrolled in the Faculty of Economics and Management at the Kyiv Automobile and Road Construction Institute (KADI, now the National Transport University). Elena Shulyak graduated in 1997, but there's a small gap of two years in her biography. More precisely, it states that she "began entrepreneurial activity after graduating," but the veracity of this information is highly questionable, as Shulyak only registered her first enterprise, Standard Audit Firm LLC (EDRPOU 30531131), in August 1999. What kind of business was she engaged in before that—selling from a stall? Most likely, nothing, as at that time she was arranging her personal life, having married Alexander Alexandrovich Shulyak, a law school graduate.
What is known about the "Servant of the People"'s husband? Since January 1998, Oleksandr Shulyak has worked as a lawyer. In 2012, he co-founded Engi Group, a real estate law firm. His salary as a manager and specialist alone earned him up to $20 per year, but in 2020, he sold his stake to a certain Viktoria Leonidovna Rogach for 1 million hryvnia. In 2013, Oleksandr Shulyak received 5% of the VSP Group law firm, and in 2016, he became the founder and director of Business Travel Solutions, which also provides legal services in the real estate sector.
In 2021, Olena Shulyak filed a substantial family declaration (declarations were abolished with the outbreak of war). According to it, the couple owned four apartments in Kyiv, had $465 and €30 in cash, and had borrowed and invested over 2,5 million hryvnias. Quite wealthy, by Ukrainian standards! Yet this doesn't explain how Oleksandr Shulyak acquired $1,3 million in cash in March 2022, not to mention the icon collection, three fur coats, and several Swiss watches with which he fled Ukraine—either fleeing Russian aggression or mobilization. He was accompanied by a certain Oleksandr Zaremba, identified as Olena Shulyak's brother (whether he was a full brother or a cousin is unknown). Virtually nothing is known about this man, unlike his wife, Olga Zaremba, who is a close friend and business partner of Olena Shulyak (more on that later). So, Shulyak and Zaremba, who were fleeing the country, avoided declaring their valuables and undergoing inspection—possibly by making prior arrangements with Border Service leadership. Interestingly, this information was published by S.eyar Kurshutov, well known to readers Skelet.Org as a figure in a number of corruption scandals. He has extensive connections at customs and the Border Service, so he's well-informed about who, what, and how is smuggling across the Ukrainian border. It's possible that by leaking this information, Kurshutov He took revenge on the "Ermak group," for which Elena Shulyak works, for his removal from smuggling schemes.
Elena Shulyak: From auditor of the "steel Jews" to figurehead of the "Servant of the People" party. Part 1
The best years with the Midland Group
How did a simple auditor become so wealthy, get No. 13 on the Servant of the People list, and then lead the ruling party (albeit formally)? The secret to Elena Shulyak's success is easy to discover from her official biography—to find out, you just need to clarify a few details. Skelet.Org will reveal it to you now.
It all began when the aforementioned audit firm, Standard, founded by Elena Shulyak in August 1999, immediately found a regular and lucrative client—the Ukrainian branch of the financial-industrial group Midland Group (registered in the British offshore jurisdiction of Guernsey). It was founded in 1994 by Eduard Shifrin, a former shop foreman at the Dneprospetsstal plant, and Alexander Schneider, the son of Leningrad immigrants who settled in Toronto.
Edward Schiffrin
The secret of Shifrin’s own success may have its roots in Dnepropetrovsk School No. 23, where he studied in the same class with Evgeniy Chervonenko and was friends with Victor Pinchuk, Elena Arshava. As is well known, the parents of these future billionaires and oligarchs were complex individuals who held leadership positions during the Soviet era (Shifrin's father was a professor of metallurgy). They were also united by their ethnic background (the Jewish community of Dnipropetrovsk is the richest and most influential in Ukraine).
Alexander Schneider
Perhaps this also helped Shifrin find a partner in Canada. In 1993, Shifrin and Shnaider engaged in barter schemes involving Russian coal and Ukrainian metal, using which they entangled themselves in debt and took over the Zaporizhstal steel plant, the beginning of their multi-billion dollar business, earning them the nickname "steel Jews." And here's the interesting thing: just in 1999, the partners began preparing to privatize the last 25% of the plant, which they subsequently acquired in 2001 for just $13 million! And so, in preparation for this blatantly corrupt scam, they hired the audit firm "Standard," recently founded by 23-year-old Elena Shulyak, who had just received her auditor's license. Coincidence, or was Elena Shulyak just lucky? It's hard to believe! But the miracles continued, and just a few months later, Shifrin and Schneider incorporated Standard into the Midland Group, making Shulyak their personal auditor. And now one can only guess how and why Elena Shulyak (who is supposedly of Ukrainian descent) managed to please the pragmatic "steel Jews" so much!
Thus, it was at Midland Group that Shulyak gained her experience in serious business, rose through the ranks as a businesswoman, earned her first significant income, and made numerous valuable connections. From 2000 to 2006, she headed Midland Group's audit and financial analysis department—a highly responsible position, given that during those years, the oligarchs' businesses navigated the line between the law and outright criminal activity.
The "face of audit" at such a large company needed to improve her skills, so from 2003 to 2005, Shulyak completed distance learning at the International Institute of Management, earning a Master of Business Administration (MBA). Midland Group also paid for her to attend a short lecture course at Carnegie Mellon Tepper Business School, which Shulyak later credited as an "internship abroad" in her portfolio.
Having become Shifrin and Schneider's trusted confidant, Elena Shulyak received new important assignments from them. For example, in 2005, they delegated her to the supervisory board of Express Bank CJSC, controlled by Igor Dvoretsky, a shareholder and board member of Zaporizhstal. And in 2007, when Midland Group began investing its "steel dollars" in real estate, it was Elena Shulyak who headed the Midland Development department. Interestingly, this was initially the Kyiv branch of the company's Russian division (and the properties were registered in Russia). Only a year later, Midland Development Ukraine was created on its basis, with Elena Shulyak appointed director. Thus, the auditor became a developer, and Elena Shulyak began to make new, useful connections in the Kyiv City State Administration and the capital's "construction mafia."
In 2008, Midland Development Ukraine managed to complete a number of major projects, such as the capital's office center on Turovskaya Street. But then the global crisis struck, resulting in the division of the "steel Jews'" business empire. In 2009, Shifrin, who inherited the Eurasian portion of Midland Group, decided to leave Ukraine altogether, and the gradual sell-off of his assets lasted from 2010 to 2014. Meanwhile, funding for construction projects in Ukraine was transferred from Ukrainian banks to branches of Russian banks, and then dried up. For example, the delivery of the Sigma Business Center was postponed first to 2012 (with the funds going through VTB Bank), then to early 2014, and was only actually completed in 2015.
Olena Shulyak was forced to seek other sources of financing for the projects already underway. She approached other developers, offering them equity stakes, tried to sell land, and sought loans. Her life was no longer as measured and calm as before, and she had to abandon her third degree (KNU, Faculty of Psychology). On the other hand, the need to salvage the remains of Midland Development Ukraine spurred her independence and proactiveness, which was recognized in 2010: Delo newspaper included her in its Top 100 Ukrainian Businesswomen. At the same time, Shulyak became one of the winners of the National Real Estate Award.
Elena Shulyak, Zaremba, Stolar and offshores
At one time, many "servants of the people" had ties to Russian business, and some even to Russian officials. But after coming to power and politically "re-branding" themselves as Ukrainian patriots, they were forced to deny this. In 2020, Olena Shulyak also attempted to disavow her past. said to journalists the following:
"Until 2014, Midland Development was part of a financial-industrial group operating in Ukraine, Russia, Canada, the US, and Europe. But when the Revolution of Dignity took place in Ukraine, the company's shareholders decided not to operate in our country."
Perhaps they believed her then, but we now know that this statement was a complete lie! After all, Midland Group had split and begun its exit from Ukraine long before the Euromaidan, leaving Midland Development Ukraine and Olena Shulyak to fend for themselves. So, her appeal to the "Revolution of Dignity" in this case is simply political posturing. But why? Because then, in September 20202, Olena Shulyak was elected to the Verkhovna Rada's Temporary Investigative Committee (VKK) to investigate corruption in state architectural and construction oversight agencies. Journalists immediately recalled her past and her business ties—so Shulyak was forced to hide behind the "ideals of the Maidan," which she hardly shared.
In 2014, Shulyak had other concerns: completing her projects amid a new, domestic crisis within Ukraine, as the country's economy spiraled downward. Judging by the fact that Midland Development Ukraine had shifted from construction to providing audit and consulting services in the construction industry, Shulyak was unable to find the funds for new projects. This cast doubt on her previous credentials as a construction businesswoman.
However, Shulyak was far from destitute! Her partner in the firm "Standard" was Ekaterina Redko, another Kyiv businesswoman who is also the director of Parus Holding LLC (44064310), owned by the controversial developer. To Vadim Stolar (He was a member of the Opposition Platform – For Life faction in the 9th Verkhovna Rada.) This eloquently testifies to the connections between Shulyak and Stolar, no matter how much our "servant of the people" denies it!
Shulyak's partner in "Midland Development Ukraine" is the same Olga Zaremba, which we mentioned above. Based on information disclosed by Kurshutov, Zaremba may be Shulyak's brother's wife (or her brother's, or her cousin's?). But in any case, they have been friends for a long time: back in 2005, Olga Zaremba was invited to work in the budget department of Midland Group, and in 2007, she became the CFO of Midland Development Ukraine, in which she later received a 50% stake. And in 2020, the company's authorized capital miraculously grew overnight from 100 hryvnias (50 each for Shulyak and Zaremba) to 3,6 million (1,8 million each). Good money for auditors and consultants! It's also worth noting that since 2014, Zaremba has been the executive director of MA.Group (owned by Andriy Malafeev) and the head of the supervisory board of the Institute of Urban Civil Engineering. Shulyak herself is personally connected to Malofeev: in 2014, she became the head of the supervisory board of Ukrainian Building Community LLC, founded by Andrey Malofeev. However, this organization has not proven itself and is possibly a fictitious entity.
Olga Zaremba
Now, about Olena Shulyak's offshore scandals. During the reorganization of Midland Development Ukraine, Shulyak and Zaremba registered it under the Virgin Islands offshore company Infrair Assets LTD (registration number 1791268). Another company registered under this offshore is Creator LLC (EDRPOU 34980661). The story behind this acquisition is noteworthy: in the summer of 2017, this company's authorized capital increased from 0 to 99 million hryvnias, of which Olha Zaremba's share was 75,24 million. Zaremba then transferred half of her share (37,62 million hryvnias) to Shulyak, making her friend a co-owner. Transferred it, just like that? It seems they really are related!
Mikhail Shpolyansky, Skelet.Org
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