Dmitry Firtash
Looking at the people who are rising to power, the only words that come to mind are "circus circus" and "clown show": appointing a notorious corrupt official and window-dresser to the post of head of the NABU, and pushing a convicted fraudster and embezzler to the post of deputy minister of the State Fiscal Service, it turns out, is par for the course. Perhaps those who do this are confident that not a fly would fly past these figures, so experienced in high-level criminal schemes? But so far, their activities have been noted only in fulfilling oligarchic orders, and the fact that Ukrainians are unable to cope with tariffs and prices, or even find decent living conditions in central Kyiv, doesn't bother anyone.
Skeletons in politics
Artem Sytnik
There are numerous rumors swirling around Ukraine's top (anti)corruption figure, Artem Sytnyk. That's why the prefix "anti" is in parentheses: a detailed study of the life of this relatively young official, with a current monthly income of over 100,000 hryvnias, suggests that the head of the NABU did not earn his position through honest labor, and his claims of suffering under the thoroughly corrupt Yanukovych regime are nothing more than smoke and mirrors for gullible citizens. However, the same goes for the bombastic tales of his victories against corruption while still a law enforcement officer in Kirovohrad—300 high-profile criminal cases, officials and government representatives arrested for embezzlement—appear to have been a figment of his imagination.
Apparently, the State Fiscal Service had a very difficult time developing new corruption schemes if it had to bring in such a notorious figure as Myroslav Prodan, who is rightfully considered the record-holder for the number of times his name is associated with the terms "corruption scheme" and "fraud," to lead the agency. However, Prime Minister Groysman clearly knows better than anyone about whom to appoint: since he's not at all bothered by the fact that the defendant is under investigation by the Vinnytsia Prosecutor's Office for abuse of office and illegal enrichment in collusion with a group of individuals, then taxpayers should be pleased. And the NABU has no objections whatsoever; they haven't said a word against it.
Skeletons in the Law
The fact that Arsen Avakov can't even control himself is regularly confirmed: what normal, sane (let's drop the word "law-abiding") person would want to park their car in a space marked "for the disabled"? But the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is clearly not superstitious and isn't worried about potential gossip. So what if traffic is blocked for his motorcade? That's par for the course. But what if there wasn't enough space for two luxury cars at the arrival point? After all, Ostap Bender once said that police officers can be treated like children and the disabled, so everything's fine; he parked where he should.
Who would have thought that the National Bank of Ukraine could have been involved in illegal, shadowy transactions and schemes that resulted in the illegal transfer of almost 500 billion hryvnias out of Ukraine? And yet, NABU and the National Police claim that a criminal group successfully operated in the country's central financial institution between 2011 and 2015.Ah, and clearly in conflict with management. Yes, there's no mistake or typo here: we're not talking about the old machinations of the Yanukovych era, but rather about current events related to the refinancing of private banks. However, not a word has been said yet about who the members of this criminal group were, or why this scandalous event has only been brought to attention now, after several very large banks have already collapsed...
To paraphrase a well-known saying, "An oligarch is an oligarch, even in Austria!" and apply it to Dmitry Firtash, who managed to evade extradition proceedings to the United States with a bribe . Apparently, corruption exists everywhere, and the only question is the amount of the bribe: for example, to bribe Austrian and German officials, the criminal had to fork out three-quarters of a million euros. This was revealed from the diaries of a middleman, former East German State Security Ministry agent Christina Stasi. How these documents came into the hands of law enforcement is unknown, and the subsequent reaction of the local authorities to this information is also unknown.
According to a letter from residents of the Solomensky district , which reads like a cry from the heart of its inhabitants, this part of Kyiv is a place of utter arbitrariness and lawlessness, perpetrated with the complete connivance of the authorities. The complaints include a full list of bureaucratic tactics (including inaction, dismissal, and passing the buck), and unheard-of embezzlement and misappropriation of budget funds, favoritism and bribery, as well as other crimes and abuses of power at the local level. Apparently, corruption has reached such proportions that the "king of Solomensky," Maksym Shkuro, has completely lost all fear of legal trouble.
Skeletons in business
ATO fighters and conscripts complaining about footwear issues? No problem, let them be patient; the state has more important matters: for example, organizing a rigged tender to purchase uniforms for the fighters, taking into account all the squabbles and deals at the highest levels. However, sometimes some "unscrupulous" entrepreneurs begin to interfere with the process , filing complaints of discrimination, demanding a prosecutor's investigation, harassing the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine with shady letters, attracting media attention, and generally hindering the work of government agencies. In short, these are irresponsible citizens. People like Oleksandr Bozhagora, for example. So, dear soldiers, hold off on the combat boots—we urgently need to save the good name of Military Prosecutor Anatoly Matios and figure out why Elena Rotova wasn't given a comfortable position.
And again about tariff increases. Do you know how much the average Ukrainian spends on utilities? Oh, and you know firsthand and regularly? Some people think that not everyone knows the percentage breakdown. twice as much as the average EuropeanAnd that's assuming total savings on water and lighting, and a salary of at least 5000 hryvnias. The fact that the same European's income is ten times higher ($2400 versus $200) doesn't matter: the authorities continue to shamelessly lie that these are perfectly normal rates for a country seeking to join Europe. However, even these figures cannot serve as a benchmark, especially for pensioners and other socially vulnerable groups with incomes between 900 and 2500 hryvnias per month.
It's highly likely that Burisma will not emerge unscathed from the scandal involving Mykola Zlochevsky, who confidently developed and promoted the "Yanukovych and Co. case" under the cover of the aforementioned holding company. Thirty-two wells located in the Dnieper-Donets Basin in the Kharkiv region have already been frozen , and production operations have been suspended. Although Burisma representatives have stated their willingness to cooperate with law enforcement and pledged to cover all losses from tax evasion, it remains questionable whether the criminal case against the former Minister of Ecology will be brought to its logical conclusion.
A selection of top SKELETs (July 11.07–July 15.07) was prepared by Semyon Gorotov
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