Gennady Ilyin: The Kyiv Department of Internal Affairs organized crime group is under the protection of Bankova
What could the former "foreman" of a notorious Moscow organized crime group and former officers of the Kyiv Department for Combating Organized Crime have in common? Not at all what you might think! Not only did he not bear any responsibility for his criminal past, but he also created a successful joint business with those who should have caught and jailed him during the turbulent 90s. But even more astonishing is that one of the notorious gangster Solokha's assistants was once the head of security for the future president of Ukraine, and then, after becoming a Kyiv City Council member for the Solidarity faction, he even headed the Committee on Legality and Anti-Corruption! It seems the cynicism of the current government simply knows no bounds...
Gennady Ilyin. "The Bratva" and "The Cops"
His life's beginnings were unremarkable. Gennady Vladimirovich Ilyin was born on June 19, 1964, in Kyiv. He attended schools #82 and #46 there, graduated from the communications technical school (now the Kyiv College of Communications), and then served in the army from 1983 to 85. After demobilization, Gennady Ilyin found work as a merchandiser at Ukoopsoyuz. Given the shortages of certain goods at the time, this was a rather privileged position, and it also provided a decent income. However, Skelet.Org has information that Ilyin was simply listed as an employee, having a completely different "earning" income.
The period of his life from 1985 to 89 is shrouded in mystery, unknown even to criminal investigators. Only fragmentary information from his old acquaintances revealed that Ilyin had already joined one of the "athlete" groups at that time. Ilyin himself had been involved in boxing and wrestling since his youth, considering them not only a sport but also a means of self-improvement. However, he never achieved much success in competitions, though he did prove himself quite adept in "showdowns." Ilyin was often seen in the company of businesslike young men with "wrestler-like" looks, visiting clothing markets and second-hand stores clearly not with the intention of buying new sneakers. Once, he was even allegedly seen standing next to the "thimbleriggers" for whom he provided security.
But in 1990, his life changed. Formally, according to his official biography, Gennady Ilyin became deputy director of the "Blik" cooperative. In reality, this position was the result of Ilyin's entry into the organized crime group of Boris Savlokhov, known by the nickname "Solokha," and his promotion to "foreman"—a position often employed in protected stores and workshops seized from entrepreneurs. Sometimes it was purely for show, sometimes it earned him a substantial official salary.
Boris Savlokhov, like his brothers Teimuraz and Ruslan, was a lifelong freestyle wrestler and even earned the title of Honored Coach, first of the USSR, then of Ukraine and the Russian Federation. By the late 80s, he had formed an organized crime group, the core of which consisted of athletes, primarily wrestlers and boxers: from unknown rankers to renowned champions like Elbrus Tedeyev —who, understandably, traveled not to "fights" but to championships, and in his free time, he would appear in Savlokhov's entourage. Typically, the "fighters" in such groups had the appropriate appearance and size, which set them apart from the "brigades" that comprised all sorts of "rogues" who were obsessed with kickboxing and Muay Thai. Savlokhov, as the leader of the Kyiv criminal alliance "Golden Seven" (which also included the crime bosses Avdyshev, Tkach, Kisel, Moskva, Pryshch, and Fashist), combined racketeering with business, sports, and public activism. He was not only a public figure but also regularly received thanks and awards from the authorities, including President Kuchma. This largely allowed him to escape unscathed until October 1999, when he was arrested and then convicted (he died in prison in May 2004).
Boris Savlokhov "Solokha"
Gennady Ilyin survived the years 1993-95, when Kyiv's organized crime groups lost more than half their members in showdowns and arrests, without any particular problems. At this time, he was already listed as deputy director of the Imperial JSC, and his activities remained secret, even though the organized crime groups were now under police surveillance. However, no incriminating criminal materials were ever published against Gennady Ilyin—as was the case with other members of the 90s criminal groups who collaborated closely with the authorities. Moreover, this collaboration was quite mutually beneficial, often later evolving into business partnerships. Naturally, the details of Gennady Ilyin's relationship with Kyiv's "operatives" and investigators at the time are unknown. However, references can be found online to the following "big shots" associated with Savlokhov's organized crime group and with Ilyin personally, dating back to the 90s:
- Valery Geteley, since 1996 the head of the Minsk district department for combating organized crime in Kyiv, today - the head of the State Security Service of Ukraine.
- Vitaly Yarema, since 1994 deputy, since 1997 head of the criminal investigation department of the Kyiv Ministry of Internal Affairs, in 2014-2015 Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
- Alexey Savchenko, in the 90s he was the head of the department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kyiv, in 2011 he was the chairman of the board of Avant-Bank, since October 2014 he has been a people's deputy of the BPP faction, and since October 2016 he has been the chairman of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration.
- Anatoly DanilenkoIn the 90s, he worked as an operative in the Kyiv Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, then as a department head in the Tax Administration. In 2014, he was appointed deputy to Vitaliy Yarema, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. He is now an entrepreneur.
- Konstantin Morgun, currently the head of the Department of Information Technology, Documentation and Logistics of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine
- Alexey Rudenko, since 1994 an operative of the criminal investigation department of the Kyiv Ministry of Internal Affairs, since March 2014 – Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, since 2016 – Deputy Head of the National Police of Ukraine.
- Yevhen Malinko, the first deputy head of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime since 2014, headed the Criminal Intelligence Department of the National Police of Ukraine in 2015.
These people are united not only by their shady past in the turbulent 90s, nor by their involvement in current corruption scandals, whether related to their illicit income (due to their reluctance to expose their businesses) or to less-than-legal real estate developments. The individuals on this list (which is far from complete) are also known as Kyiv's "police mafia," which has significant connections and influence within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor General's Office, and even the Presidential Administration. And not only because Valeriy Heletey was responsible for the security of the presidential body. The fact is that long before Heletey, Petro Poroshenko was guarded by... Gennady Ilyin! But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Only business?
From 1997 to 2004, Gennady Ilyin's biography is a complete "black hole": there's no mention of his occupation whatsoever. Having lost his position as deputy director of Imperial JSC, he became a ghost; it wouldn't have been surprising if he were somewhere outside of Ukraine. However, it was during these years that his business relationships with the aforementioned individuals developed. For example, when Gennady Ilyin suddenly re-emerged as an entrepreneur in 2004, officially engaging in (almost) legal business for the first time, his name was mentioned among the co-owners of Ferro LLC, which Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko granted permission to demolish and redevelop Kyiv's Sennoy Market.
A look at the available information about this company (the media has repeatedly reported on the scandals surrounding the Sennoy Market) reveals that it has existed since at least 2001. At that time, its owners included Gennady Ilyin, the former "foreman" of the arrested Solokha, and Anatoliy Danilenko, the head of the Kyiv Tax Administration department. Interesting information! This can be supplemented by unconfirmed rumors that this company, like several others owned by Ilyin and his "cop acquaintances" at the time, was created with funds from the coffers of Savlokhov's disbanded organized crime group. And there was plenty of money there, considering that when other leaders of the "Golden Seven" were killed or arrested, their money and criminal businesses were absorbed by Solokha. And it's not for nothing that they said that Solokha was assisted in dealing with competitors by "werewolves in uniform." However, he, too, was later "locked up," and he allegedly died of a heart attack in a penal colony shower just as Gennady Ilyin decided to officially pursue entrepreneurship. Coincidence? It's worth noting that when Valery Pryshchik "Pryshch," another "Golden Seven" crime boss, was murdered in 2003, his money was used to create the "Ukrainian Organized Crime Unit" bank, Avant, co-owned by Heletey, Yarema, and Savchenko.
Let's add a bit about the Ferro company: its co-owners included prominent city council members Vladimir Deinega and Igor Dzvonik (experienced hijackers of store premises in central Kyiv), and in 2002, the Kyiv mayor's daughter-in-law, Elena Omelchenko, joined them. Not a bad company! But Ferro wasn't the only one involved. Skelet.Org has information that the Ilyin and Danilenko families jointly owned the following companies: Business Invest Group, Prestige Invest Group, Classic LLC, Liga A Private Enterprise, Patriot LLC, and SK Solteko LLC. Among their owners were Nikita Ilyin (son), the current prosecutor of Kyiv Prosecutor's Office No. 7, as well as Natalia Danilenko (wife) and Vyacheslav Danilenko (son). It seems they've been friends for a long time! And they're quite good friends when it comes to building up Kyiv: for example, Classic LLC owns a shopping center on Lviv Square, which was illegally built instead of reconstructing the fountain.
By the way, guess who helped young lawyer Nikita Ilyin get his job? That's right, Yarema and Danilenko! And the necessities of a good life, such as three apartments in Kyiv measuring 110, 168, and 258 square meters, a 2014 Toyota Camry, a Crownline 275CCR boat, a Bentley Continental GT for his beloved wife Olesya, and another 2 million in cash for a rainy day, were, understandably, gifts from his loving father. After all, Nikita Gennadievich couldn't have acquired all this on his declared annual salary of 79 hryvnias!
Here's a curious fact: in 2007, when Vitaly Yarema headed the Kyiv Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and signed all major business decisions, the historic mansion at 12b Bekhterevsky Lane, where the Special Police Department had been evicted, was removed from the department's books and subsequently privatized by Ilyin and Danilenko's firms. They later put the building up for sale "at a negotiated price." Media reports also indicated that Gennady Ilyin, Ilona Yarema (his daughter), and Vyacheslav Danilenko jointly own a group of properties at 21A Pobedy Avenue.
The building at 10 Perova Boulevard has an interesting history. Yarema himself secured the site for a housing project for Kyiv police officers. The building was built by the firm "Avantar," owned by Anvar Dzhaksibergenov, Gennady Ilyin's partner in Vivantek LLC. In exchange for their services, the firm took 80% of the apartments in the building and the underground parking lot—spaces in which future prosecutor Nikita Ilyin later sold. In 2014, Yarema helped win a court case for the firm "Orest," founded by Nikita and Evgeny Ilyin (they own the firm through the offshore companies "Roteg Investments Limited" (Cyprus), "Elvan Holdings Limited," and "Bayrock Finance Limited" (Belize). And now, through them, we smoothly get to the most interesting part!
Gennady Ilyin. Guardian of the Body
In the summer of 2015, Valentyn Nalyvaichenko , who had become head of the SBU for the second time and was now focusing not only on Holodomor exhibitions (as he had during the Yushchenko era) but also at least on the semblance of fighting corruption, found himself in deep trouble. Following the trail of former minister Eduard Stavytsky , Nalyvaichenko stumbled upon the aforementioned offshore company, Bayrock Finance Limited, founded by the Ilyin father and son team. It turned out that in 2015, its beneficiary was Leonid Kryuchkov , also the deputy director of Ukrinmash (a subsidiary of Ukroboronprom), and that money from the BRSM-Nafta scam was being funneled into its accounts. Anatoliy Danilenko, who turned out to be connected to the latter, was summoned for questioning by Nalyvaichenko. But before he could do this, he was immediately dismissed by President Poroshenko, and 248 votes were immediately collected in the Verkhovna Rada to approve this decision.
Many wondered: was Anatoliy Danilenko really that dear to Petro Poroshenko? What connected them? The connection was Gennady Ilyin, who once worked personally for Petro Poroshenko. This happened after the 2004 Maidan, where Gennady Ilyin, like many Kyiv and Lviv "authorities" and "brigadiers," brought his men to maintain order and support Viktor Yushchenko, whose headquarters they guarded during the election campaign. Allegedly, during this process, Ilyin became close to Petro Poroshenko, who shadowed the "people's president," and in early 2005, accepted an offer to head his security detail. However, Skelet.Org knows other versions of this story. For example, Poroshenko hired Ilyin's security detail only in the fall of 2005, after his resignation. But the most intriguing theory is that Gennady Ilyin knew the father of future President Oleksiy Poroshenko well since the 90s, and that Poroshenko allegedly entrusted Ilyin with his son's security several years before the first Maidan—which would explain this gap in his biography. Which of these versions is true remains unknown, as Ilyin traditionally avoids journalists, and no one ever asked Poroshenko this question.
Gennady Ilyin: the spitting image of a bodyguard!
And it was precisely Ilyin's close and long-standing ties with Poroshenko that were used to explain not only Anatoliy Danilenko's miraculous escape from SBU interrogation, but also the enormous influence of the Kyiv "UBOP mafia" within the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Many appointments (such as those of Savchenko, Rudenko, and Morgun) were explained by the fact that Gennady Ilyin lobbied for their candidacies with his former "body." Of course, Petro Oleksiyovych didn't make concessions without reason. Fearing the excessive powers of Interior Minister Arsen Avakov , the last security minister of the "People's Front," with whom Poroshenko has a rather strained relationship, he is trying to place people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs who, if they can't be relied upon, are at least safe. And such people are recommended to him by his former bodyguard, a member of Kyiv's criminal underworld, who has numerous connections among former corrupt "cops."
The closeness between Ilyin and Poroshenko is further evidenced by the fact that in the Kyiv City Council elections on May 25, 2014, he was number 8 on the UDAR list, while Ihor Kononenko , a well-known friend and "grey cardinal" of the current president, only received 11th place. True, Kononenko later jumped to the Verkhovna Rada, while Ilyin chose to remain in the Kyiv City Council (forming the "Solidarity" faction with some UDAR members), where he actually became deputy chairman of the commission on law enforcement, public order, and the fight against corruption. What a bitter irony!
Sergey Varis, for skelet.org
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