What a vile bunch, indeed. It's all clear with the Geregas: they need to get into the Kyiv City Council to continue stealing. Just like they did when the female Gerega was Kyiv City Council secretary. It's a wonder her estate in Mala Oleksandrivka, Boryspil district, wasn't burned down during the Maidan. It's amazing what Poyarkov is doing there. Has he really decided to retrain as a painter? Or have his paintings completely stopped selling? It's sad.
Many have probably forgotten what the Gereg clan actually is. But it's worth remembering, so as to prevent this family from plundering Kyiv again and collaborating with the occupiers not only in Crimea but also in Moscow.
The owners of Epicenter have already renounced the previous government, but haven't yet made friends with the new one.
Oleksandr and Galina Gerega are perhaps the most secretive family among Ukrainian politicians and businessmen. They rarely give interviews and go to great lengths to minimize the leakage of any "unnecessary" information about themselves, especially about their business—Epicenter K, the largest hypermarket chain in Eastern Europe. However, this is understandable: journalists have plenty of uncomfortable questions for the couple, related to land allocation for development, political decisions, and many other facts that could add blemishes to their reputations.
In politics, Gereg's defining trait is their shared talent for getting along with any government. In December 2009, then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko attended the opening of another "Epicenter" in Kyiv's Svyatoshensky district. Two years later, the odious mayor, Leonid Chernovetskyi (Read more about it in the article Leonid Chernovetsky: How "Lenya Kosmos" robbed Kyiv and moved to Georgia) nominated Kyiv City Council deputy Halyna Gerega for the position of secretary of this government body. In this position, one of Ukraine's richest women played into the hands of the Party of Regions, which blocked elections in Kyiv until the end of the revolution (directly targeting the head of the Administration of the President, Serhiy Lyovochkin).
However, this is far from all that Ms. Gerega has been remembered for as secretary of the Kyiv City Council. For example, under her leadership, the Kyiv City Council held a session that was dubious in terms of legality and unprecedented in its speed: ten minutes were enough for the deputies to vote on five resolutions and leave the meeting hall. All this occurred during a storming of the building by members of parliament and ordinary activists.
The stronger half of the Gereg family, her husband, Oleksandr Volodymyrovych, also demonstrated loyalty to the ruling party for a long time. Having won the 2012 parliamentary elections in a single-mandate constituency in the Khmelnytskyi Oblast as an independent candidate, the co-owner of Epicenter joined the Party of Regions faction. There, the businessman conducted himself in an exemplary manner: he maintained discipline, voting for everything that came down from above, including the "dictatorial laws" of January 16.
"The Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office has opened a criminal investigation into abuse of office by officials of the Kyiv City State Administration and Kyivpastrans.
"Based on a decision by the Kyiv City State Administration, officials from the Department of Economy and Investments of the Kyiv City Council's executive body signed an investment agreement, transferring a 9,6-hectare plot of land at 20 Polyarna Street to a private enterprise for the construction of a shopping mall. During the prosecutor's investigation, it was established that the transfer of this land plot occurred in violation of land legislation, without the relevant decision of the Kyiv City Council. Furthermore, it was discovered that the plot houses the Kyivpastrans motor pool, which serves as a base for the deployment of a pre-assembly point and dispatch point for mobilization resources in the Obolonskyi district. As a result, military personnel and equipment intended for support of the army and dispatch to the ATO zone are effectively deprived of a collection point," the prosecutor's office press service said in a statement.
In addition, the Kyiv Prosecutor's Office filed a lawsuit with the Kyiv Commercial Court seeking to invalidate the Kyiv City State Administration's orders and the investment agreement, which served as the preconditions for the transfer of these properties to private ownership.
As Svidomo reports, the land at 20 Polyarna Street was awarded to Epicenter K LLC, which won an investment tender to attract investors for the construction of a shopping mall in Obolon. According to the document, the client for the construction is Kyivpastrans. Epicenter K LLC is co-founded by former Kyiv City Council Secretary Halyna Gerega. The company owns a number of Epicenter shopping centers.
"White collar" Gerega, regional representative Kaletnik, or some deputy Shinkovich?!
We continue to build dossiers on current Verkhovna Rada members. Of course, such profiles should be published alongside income declarations and election platforms. But many are skillfully concealing their image and promptly "cleaning up" the internet. And many simply need time to reveal their true colors, which are revealed through their daily work in the Verkhovna Rada.
Today, our "hero" is Andriy Vasilyevich Shinkovych, a man who had dreamed of parliamentary ambitions since 1997, when he began serving as chairman of the Vinnytsia public organization "People's Democratic Youth League," which in turn was initiated and created under the auspices of the People's Democratic Party, founded by Anatoly Matviyenko. In reality, Shinkovych was simply a runner for then-Governor Matviyenko.
As is common in Ukraine, people rarely enter politics independently. Behind it are big money, big plans, and serious people. One such example is Andriy Shinkovych's run for the Kyiv City Council elections in 2014. He ran in Kyiv's single-member constituency No. 15 (Troyeshchyna). His immediate supervisors, Oleksandr and Halyna Gerega, provided him with unwavering support during the campaign, as Shinkovych has been deputy chairperson of Epicenter K LLC since 2012. Incidentally, Halyna Gerega herself did not run, but big businesses must have an insider who will help expand their operating platforms, officially block competitors, utilize budget funds, and oversee tenders. The Kyiv elections resulted in a complete fiasco, but the Verkhovna Rada elections were still to come.
It should be noted that Shinkovich, the patron of Hereha, doesn't need special encouragement. His loyalty is evident. Shinkovich has always supported Alexander Hereha. For example, when a tragic incident occurred at an Epicenter supermarket, where a man's head was fractured by a poorly secured falling pellet in front of his entire family. Shinkovich then noted that the staff was not at fault. Or in another case, now as an assistant to deputy Alexander Hereha, Andriy Shinkovich defends the interests of the Center for Innovation and Construction Technologies LLC (a chemical polystyrene foam manufacturer) in Dunaivtsi, Khmelnytskyi Oblast. This despite the fact that the enterprise's activities were banned by the Supreme Administrative Court of Ukraine as a hazardous production facility; there is an official opinion from the Marzeyev Institute banning harmful emissions from the enterprise; there is also a decision by sessions of the city and district councils banning the enterprise's activities; law enforcement agencies have opened cases against the owners of the enterprise. The initial permitting documents for the enterprise do not contain signatures from the district sanitary and epidemiological service or the city council. More than 3000 signatures from city residents have been collected on a letter calling for the banning and relocation of this chemical production facility outside the city of Dunaivtsi. Dozens of protests and rallies have been held against the activities of TsIBT LLC in the city.
It's well known that Oleksandr Gerega used the Verkhovna Rada elections as an opportunity to secure his people in many constituencies across Ukraine. For example, single-member constituency No. 189 in the Khmelnytskyi region was "closed" by Andriy Shinkovych. Shinkovych himself, born in Vinnytsia and residing in Kyiv, had no connection to the chosen constituency. The scheme by which the candidate won the seat was simple and standard—direct and indirect voter bribery. For example, Shinkovych generously installed energy-efficient plastic windows and doors.
Natalia Linnik, Director of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, revealed shocking figures for the costs of election campaigns for deputies in single-member constituencies, which ranged from $1 to $3 million!
I wonder where Shinkovich got the money for his election campaign, if in 2013 he declared 51,643 UAH of total income?!
Having become a people's deputy, Shinkovich acquired additional sources of income.
The story of Vinnytsia National Agrarian University. This university has been plagued by rampant corruption for years under the leadership of Hryhoriy Kaletnik, a former Party of Regions member who voted for the draconian laws on January 16. He is also the father of Ihor Kaletnik, a notorious corrupt customs official and former Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, who orchestrated the "January vote" that subsequently led to mass bloodshed. Under Hryhoriy Kaletnik's leadership, professional faculty members are being laid off and replaced by relatives and acquaintances, university property is being plundered, financial fraud is being perpetrated with student stipends and faculty vacation pay, and student labor is being used in election races for parliamentary seats.
Despite the fact that this information has finally become public knowledge and a series of investigative measures are being carried out, Shinkovich, having received a contract from his puppeteers, began to actively defend Kaletnik!
Knowing Kaletnik's methods, his and his family's corrupt earnings, as well as his approaches to resolving issues through administrative resources and the use of banknotes, the question of Shinkovich's motivation disappears.
But further clarification is needed. Shinkovych was once Hryhoriy Kaletnik's press secretary when he served as head of the Vinnytsia Regional State Administration. When Kaletnik ran for the Verkhovna Rada, Andriy Shinkovych again actively supported him, for which, in gratitude, he was appointed head of the Vinnytsia Regional State Administration's press and information department. After the election, Kaletnik took Shinkovych under his wing as an assistant and consultant to the people's deputy.
The character of the “six” and the “boy-executor”, as with Gerega, was clearly evident in this situation.
Today, Shinkovich is already a deputy himself, but he clearly uses the same methods that Matviyenko and Kaletnik have been practicing for years.
A patriotism test also revealed separatist sentiments. Andriy Shinkovych, posing as a political expert, warned voters back in 2012 to "be careful and not succumb to the euphoria the government is trying to inspire in the people with Ukrainian 'European prospects,'" although, in his view, there are none. Instead, it turns out, there are excellent "relations with Russia, which, unlike the European Union, offers us equal, mutually beneficial cooperation!"
Currently, further evidence that the "Revolution of Honor" has had no impact on Shinkovych is provided by his current parliamentary activities and voting under the dome of the Verkhovna Rada. For example, Shinkovych abstained from voting on bill No. 1854, "On the recognition of the Russian Federation as an aggressor state," and he also abstained from the adoption of bill No. 1656, "On ensuring the right to a fair trial."
Needless to say, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Former Party of Regions member Alexander Gerega, for whom Shinkovich works, voted for the dictatorial laws on January 16, which allowed security forces to intensify repression against protesters and led to tragic deaths.
Running for and winning the Khmelnytskyi district election, Andriy Shinkovych followed a standard pattern: creating a public organization called "For Specific Causes," which installed the same plastic windows. One wonders, "Andriy Vasilyevich, maybe you should actually get down to business instead of following the tide of the former Party of Regions?"
Well, we'll see what else Andriy Shinkovych will do. For now, Gerega's "white collar" and Hryhoriy Kaletnik's "little man" are making a living and exploiting the interests of the Ukrainian people.
Igor Alekseev, for ORD
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