Yevgeny Metzger: the husband of the president's friend's godmother
To become a successful banker, and then the head of a major state-owned company, in today's Ukraine, you need very little: to be married to the godmother of President Zelenskyy's close friend. Combined with a quick mind and a lack of moral insecurities, this made Yevhen Metzger both an important figure and a great boor…
The scandalous story of Metzger ordering physical violence against journalists who came to interview him will haunt him for the rest of his life. It's hard to forget what happened in October 2021, even though it seemed like a throwback to the 90s! How did this high-profile scandal begin and end? We'll tell you everything in detail, step by step.
Evgeny Metzger: A Nearly "Flawless" Biography
Evgeniy Vladimirovich Metzger was born on November 8, 1977, in Kryvyi Rih, to a family of Soviet employees. He first attended Secondary School No. 69, then transferred to the Saksagan Lyceum of Natural Sciences, in the Physics and Mathematics Department. Although young Zhenya Metzger struggled only with formulas in physics, he was truly an ace in mathematics! This determined his future choice: in 1995, Metzger entered the Finance and Credit Department of the Kryvyi Rih Technical University, graduating in 1999 with honors and a bachelor's degree (Metzger, like the vast majority of the "Ze! Team," did not serve in the army). He went on to earn his master's degree at the Hetman Kyiv University of Economics, graduating in 2001. An interesting detail: in March of that same year, even before defending his diploma, Yevgeny Metzger began working at the Kryvyi Rih branch of the Finance and Credit bank (owned by oligarch Konstantin Zhevago ). This means he may have only studied economics part-time.
Metzger's career at Finance and Credit was slow but successful. He initially worked as an economist in the corporate banking department, then became head of the retail lending department. In 2003, he headed the active retail operations department, rising to deputy head of the credit risk department. In 2006, he transferred to the state-owned Ukreximbank, where, over nine years, he rose from deputy head of the retail sales department to head of the small and medium business department.
Metzger's official biography describes this period of his activity in a terse manner, without any details.
Evgeny Metzger
In May 2015, Metzger transferred to Ukrgasbank and headed the small and medium business department there. From 2016 to 2020, he was a member of the board and deputy chairman of the board of Kyrylo Shevchenko at Ukrgasbank . And there are no details about this either—we have before us a practically perfect biography of a successful young specialist! Unless you recall that Kyrylo Shevchenko, under whose direct supervision Metzger worked at Ukrgasbank, had a reputation first as Yulia Tymoshenko's man , then as Arseniy Yatsenyuk's man, and in 2020, he so pleased Zelenskyy (through the patronage of the "Sorosites" and corrupt officials) that he appointed him governor of the NBU. Unless you recall the scam Shevchenko pulled off with Terra Bank in 2010-2011, bilking depositors out of almost forty million dollars. And let's not even mention how Shevchenko and Metzger, now running Ukrgasbank, later pulled off a scam involving the purchase of cash-in-transit vehicles, pocketing over 13 million hryvnias. And, of course, in October 2022, the now-former head of the National Security Service, Kyrylo Shevchenko, was placed on the international wanted list , along with his two former deputies, Olena Khmelko and Denis Chernyshov, in connection with the illegal withdrawal of over 200 million hryvnias from Ukrgasbank.
Kirill Shevchenko
But why didn't the investigation raise any questions for his third deputy, Yevgeny Metzger? Perhaps because the investigators didn't dare touch a man with such connections within the presidential entourage. Or perhaps because the investigation selectively focused on only certain incidents involving corrupt bankers.
For example, Kyrylo Shevchenko could have faced a multitude of questions regarding various episodes of his activities as head of Ukreximbank and the NBU, involving billions of hryvnias. For example, regarding "green lending," through which colossal sums flowed into the hands of energy oligarchs and their patrons at Bankova Street! But these cases could lead to exposure of Zelenskyy's inner circle , so they are taboo—and Shevchenko was "punished" for a case that didn't involve people who shouldn't be touched. Or take the aforementioned story of Ukreximbank's purchase of 54 armored cash-in-transit vehicles. The application for them was signed by Metzger himself, everything was done with Shevchenko's consent, and the third party in this scam was their good friend Vitaly Dzhurinsky, director of the firm VIDI. It was through this company, bypassing Prozorro, that the bank purchased 54 Ford vehicles at 1,5 million hryvnias each. Similar Volkswagen, Citroen, and Renault vehicles from other companies were much cheaper: between 1 and 1,2 million. The media reported on the case in detail , but the investigation never progressed beyond a State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) investigation, which found no violations of the law.
Evgeny Metzger, "Green" Nepotism and the "Saw-Embedding" Bank
Skelet.Org doesn't make a habit of interfering in other people's family affairs unless they involve corruption. And in the case of the Metzger family, it's obvious! We'll start with Elena Kravets, a member of Kvartal-95 since 1998 and its administrator since 2000. She's not just a famous comedian; she's a close friend of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the godfather of his wife, Elena Zelenska. Clearly, with such "VIP access" to the presidential family, Kravets is a very influential person in Ukraine. She also has another friend from her youth, who is now the goddaughter of her child: Yulia Metzger, the wife of Yevhen Metzger. Thus, through Elena Kravets, the Metzger family has access to the Zelensky family.
Elena Kravets and Yulia Metzger (right)
While the main star of "Kvartal-95" was strumming the piano on stage, this connection played no role. Meanwhile, Yulia Metzger worked as a lawyer at Ukreximbank, where her husband had arranged for her to work. But as soon as Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected State President, all the family and crony connections in his circle came into full swing, and by July 2019, Yulia Metzger was appointed to the supervisory board of PrivatBank under the presidential quota, earning a fixed salary of over half a million hryvnias per month!
In November of that same year, 2019, the new Ukrainian president decided to replace the leadership of Ukreximbank, traditionally the "wallet" of Ukrainian presidents.
And "suddenly," the SBU detained its then-head, Oleksandr Hrytsenko, right on the street (some reportedly kidnapped him while he was walking with his small child). He had previously been appointed to the position due to his relative's relationship with Petro Poroshenko's wife . Then the government changed, and Zelenskyy decided to install a relative or godfather at Ukreximbank. Initially , Yulia Metzger was considered for the position , lobbied for by Olena Kravets and Olena Zelenska. But something didn't work out, and so in March 2020, Yulia Metzger's husband, Yevhen Metzger, was appointed head of the bank instead.
Evgeny Metzger
Under various presidents, Ukreximbank became a key part of schemes for the massive embezzlement of public funds. The gist of the scheme is this: when the budget is depleted and the corrupt officials' appetites are unsatisfied, funds for various tenders and projects are allocated through loans from state-owned banks, primarily Ukreximbank. Under Zelenskyy, the largest embezzlement (before the war) was the "Velike Budivnytstvo" road construction project, dubbed by Ukrainians "the great theft." Who hasn't profited from the asphalt and gravel, the prices for which were almost doubled? And just a month after Metzger took over Ukreximbank, with Zelenskyy's personal approval, the latter signed an agreement to provide Ukravtodor with a 19,3 billion hryvnia loan in exchange for its bonds. Ukreximbank itself took these funds as refinancing from the National Bank (headed by Kyrylo Shevchenko). So, that's how they worked!
Evgeny Metzger: Loans for Terrorists and Uncomfortable Questions
But in addition to generously funding government projects, Ukreximbank also provides loans to private businesses. The essence of the corrupt schemes here is that Ukreximbank loans are granted either to companies that would be unable to obtain loans from other banks or to companies that have no intention of repaying their debts. Naturally, in both cases, the loans are issued either through a "call from above" or in exchange for a kickback.
The "additional terms" of the $60 million (over 1,5 billion hryvnia) loan approved by Ukreximbank in October 2021 to Optova Merezha 2011 LLC and Slavian LLC for the purchase of the Sky Mall shopping center remain unknown. But Yevhen Metzger, who signed the loan agreement for these companies, was caught in another situation: their owner is the controversial businessman Serhiy Bryukhovetsky. He owns businesses not only in Ukraine but also in the "uncontrolled territory" of Horlivka: Gorspetslifit LLC and Spetsremmash LLC. According to Ukrainian law, Bryukhovetsky is a "sponsor of terrorism" and should not have received loans, but Ukreximbank's management ignored this fact.
However, a question about this loan was posed to Metzger by journalist Kirill Ovsyany from the program "Schemes," who had come to Ukreximbank with his film crew to interview its head. This unexpected, highly inconvenient question, not included in the pre-agreed press release, infuriated Metzger. He couldn't think of anything better than to order security to forcibly take the recording of the interview from the journalists! Also involved in the attack was the bank's press service head, Vladimir Pikalov—a former Kvartal-95 performer hired by Ukreximbank at Zelenskyy's request. "Volodya, please turn it off!" Metzger said to him, pointing to the "Schemes" cameraman. However, journalists later managed to restore the recordings and show this shocking scene to all Ukrainians.
Perhaps, had this been a film crew from some other program, the journalists would have merely apologized. But the program "Schemes" is broadcast under the logo of Radio Liberty, popularly known as "State Department Radio" (which allows them to produce bold, incriminating reports). It's safe to say the scandal reached the highest international level. Apparently, the West called Zelenskyy and asked him to punish the idiot banker. On the other hand, Olena Kravets and Olena Zelenska pleaded on his behalf. So, a "Solomon's decision" was made: Metzger was fired "at his own request," an investigation was conducted, a case was opened against him, and he was even briefly placed under overnight (!) house arrest (meaning he was simply ordered to sleep at home). And it all ended with him being fined 3400 hryvnias by the most humane court in the world, the Holosiivskyi District Court in the capital! For a man whose annual salary exceeded 4,5 million, this wasn't much. That's how this scandal ended for Metzger—though its echoes, we repeat, will haunt him for a long time.
And what about the loan? It was issued and utilized, despite the scandal. Attempts to raise the issue in the Verkhovna Rada, specifically in the subcommittee on banking activities, were unsuccessful. This was partly because the subcommittee's head, Andriy Ivanchuk, is the godfather of Ukreximbank Supervisory Board member Yuriy Terentyev.
"Donkey" for Metzger
After his dismissal, Yevhen Metzger immediately began actively seeking a new position. On his wife's recommendation and with the help of her godmother, he began attending roundtables at Bankova Street, appearing before the president's eyes—and his friends and gossips whispered about Metzger as a "strong crisis manager." And not only Zelenskyy's: Metzger was soon "picked up" by Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. She first made him her consultant, then tried to appoint him as her deputy for banking affairs. However, this attempted appointment almost caused a stir among journalists. And yet, in the end, Metzger was put to good use—appointed head of the company Ukrfinzhytlo in November 2022.
This company performs functions similar to Ukreximbank, financing state housing projects. Among the most well-known are the promising "eHome" (subsidized housing loans) and "Great Thermal Modernization" (housing insulation). The concept of these projects would be welcome, were it not for one thing: they also present a wide field for corruption and embezzlement of budget funds. Some will receive insulation contracts and inflate their costs, while others will illegally receive subsidized loans. It will be a repeat of Metzger's previous activities!
The scale of the future embezzlement was eloquently demonstrated by the rapid infusion of funds into Ukrfinzhylye, which began immediately after Metzger's appointment. Its authorized capital was increased to 30 billion hryvnias by issuing bonds at a staggering 19,5% interest rate, which in itself resembles a financial scam. And this is only a tenth of the size of the originally planned (before the war) "thermal modernization" program, whose budget was supposed to be 300 billion hryvnias. And now this company plans to finance programs to rebuild damaged housing. One can only imagine the colossal sums at the disposal of a man who, after being convicted of corruption, used violence against journalists!
Mikhail Shpolyansky, Skelet.Org
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