"A man said, a man did"—this saying, alas, does not apply to the current Prosecutor General, Vitaliy Yarema. He throws his words around left and right. He promised not to hire the odious former head of customs, Vladimir Orlov, to the Prosecutor General's Office—and he did. Furthermore, Yarema made a number of other very interesting appointments, turning the Prosecutor General's Office into a veritable gypsy camp, where prosecutors, instead of being vetted, simply wander from office to office.
Was customs officer Orlov blown into the GPU by a lucky wind?
Vitaly Yarema's "Gypsy Camp" has acquired new personnel. True, they're new only on paper; in reality, the prosecutor's offices are occupied by the same "Gypsies" whom "Baron" Yarema transformed from sedentary to nomadic. Why all the complications? We'll try to figure this out...
So, we meet a supposed new addition to the GPU ranks: the scandalous Vladimir Orlov has finally become deputy head of the Main Directorate for Procedural Guidance and Oversight of Law Enforcement by Special Forces and Other Agencies Combating Organized Crime and Corruption in the Transportation Sector and in Criminal Proceedings of Investigative Bodies.
Interestingly, when journalists began predicting this post for Orlov, the Prosecutor General's Office (GPU) denied such a personnel move and declared that this visiting gypsy would never be allowed into the prosecutor's camp. However, Baron Yarema had his own way: he took Orlov into the camp and ignored the lustration. It's worth remembering that Orlov's name had been on that very same "hit" list for lustration back in October. However, for this man, the lustration turned out to be a routine personnel reshuffle, just like others in the GPU camp.
Interestingly, Orlov himself doesn't even consider himself a candidate for lustration, stating that cleansing the government isn't for him. The nomadic, cunning Roma is convinced that the law is simply being misinterpreted, and his leadership in regional customs offices under Viktor Yanukovych is not grounds for lustration.
Orlov also denies any involvement in the construction of smuggling schemes related to transit cargo at the Luhansk customs office, as well as accusations from Odessa activists of demands for a bribe of $300 from him while already working in the Prosecutor General's Office.
The prosecutor's office's previous accusations of illegal customs clearance of vehicles, which caused significant losses to the state, are also not grounds for Orlov's lustration.
However, all this is trivial: Vladimir Orlov now occupies a much more lucrative position in the Prosecutor General's Office, overseeing all personnel matters in place of the equally disgraced Mr. Igor Biletsky, and he is keeping the public eye off Yarema's wealthy deputy, Anatoly Danilenko.
Against this backdrop, Orlov's "insurance exercise" against lustration was also laughable, when he decided to travel in a "gypsy wagon" to the ATO zone, but in fact, to a meeting held on October 2-3.
And then Orlov added his two cents, declaring he knew nothing about any immunity granted to prosecutors who had performed in Donbas. "It was a business trip—a seminar on combating terrorism and sabotage in transport was taking place in Kramatorsk, and my colleagues and I spent a day and a half at the Anti-Terrorism Center," the prosecutor stated.
“Well, what can I say, it’s a really important mission in an active combat zone.”
In short, this is how lucky the protégé of the former head of the State Customs Service, controlled by Igor Kaletnik, the nomadic customs officer Orlov was: he both saw the war and escaped lustration.
Despite this, based on his declared financial status, he's hardly a lucky man. Last year, 34-year-old prosecutor Orlov earned just over 40,000 hryvnias, enough to support himself and his wife and daughter. He owns no real estate, and both apartments and a small garage are registered to his wife. However, Orlov does own a "gypsy wagon" with a spirited horse nicknamed "Zhigulyonok," a 13-model model just nine years older than he is.
However, the issue today is not Orlov's evasiveness, but the behavior of the "Gypsy Baron" Vitaly Yarema, who deliberately ignores the lustration law and fails to expel individuals from the Prosecutor General's Office. After all, Oleg Umansky, head of the information systems department; Lyudmila Yerkhova , head of the planning and financial activities department; Larisa Milevich , head of the public information access department; Olga Kidisyuk, head of the department for organizing the maintenance of the Unified Register of Pre-trial Decisions; and Lesya Kulbida, head of the department for organizing citizen receptions; Furthermore, individual individuals from the regions also managed to escape the purge of power.
Experienced Roma in the camp of Vitaly Yarema
There are two people in the Prosecutor General's camp with very questionable experience. The first is Oleg Ulinets — took up the post of Deputy Head of the Main Directorate for Procedural Guidance and Supervision of Law Compliance by Special Forces and Other Agencies Combating Organized Crime and Corruption, in the Sphere of Transportation, and in Criminal Proceedings of Investigative Bodies — Head of the Department for Supervision of Criminal Proceedings in the Sphere of Transportation. Incidentally, Ulinets joined the Prosecutor General's Office in February of this year, when Oleg Makhnitsky appointed him Head of the Main Directorate for Supervision of Criminal Proceedings of Investigative Bodies.
Ulinets also managed to work as a regional prosecutor in the Ternopil and Chernivtsi regions, serving as deputy prosecutor of Lviv, deputy prosecutor of Donetsk, and first deputy prosecutor of Rivne. So to speak, always in a good position, under any government. Along with his professional achievements, Ulinets's name is associated with a high-profile fatal accident that occurred in Chernivtsi in 2000. An Opel Vectra driven by the senior assistant prosecutor of Chernivtsi struck a pedestrian. The case was immediately dragged out: immediately after the accident, Ulinets ordered an interested party—an investigator from the prosecutor's office—to be summoned to the scene. The court ignored this and didn't even question Ulinets. He simply faxed a judge of the Ivano-Frankivsk City Court, stating that he simply... didn't remember the circumstances of the case.
This is the kind of forgetful prosecutor Yarema has hired. One can only hope his absentmindedness won't affect the work of the Prosecutor General's Office.
As for Prosecutor Ulinets's income, he lived almost entirely last year on his salary of 143 hryvnias and his income from teaching (7,5 hryvnias). He also had to support his wife. Despite his meager income, however, the prosecutor owns two large apartments and a garage, while his wife owns three apartments, for a total of five apartments between them. Apparently, the prosecutor's family didn't have enough money for a car. Well, that's not necessary, since in addition to his mountain of living space, Ulinets owns 85 square meters of real estate.
Vitaly Yarema appointed the prosecutor's son, Maxim Ryabenko, to the position of deputy head of the Main Directorate for Procedural Guidance and Supervision of Law Compliance by Special Forces and Other Agencies Combating Organized Crime and Corruption, in the Sphere of Transport, and in Criminal Proceedings of Investigative Bodies—head of the Directorate for Procedural Guidance for Criminal Proceedings of Investigators of the Central Office.
It is known that Ryabenko previously served as deputy prosecutor of Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi district. His father, Vyacheslav Ryabenko, served as head of the Prosecutor General's Office's department for overseeing compliance with laws by special forces and other agencies engaged in the fight against corruption in 2009 (this is when his son's successful career began).
Furthermore, Ryabenko Sr. was previously the head of the forensics department of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office. He is considered responsible for the polygraph test that failed to detect the lies of Yuriy Veredyuk, who claimed responsibility for the murder of journalist Igor Alexandrov. Whether his father taught his son such tricks remains unknown, but time will tell, as the Prosecutor General's Office trains even strangers.
"Nomadic Gypsies" in the service of Yarema
Yarema also has a whole host of "nomadic gypsies" who regularly move from one Prosecutor General's Office to another, or who have come to the Prosecutor General's Office from other regional positions, which isn't a bad thing either. Moreover, these "passengers" were previously on the lustrated lists, but now, look.
So, Serhiy Gritsenko has already parked his "kibitka" for the post of deputy head of the department for overseeing law enforcement by special forces and other agencies combating organized crime and corruption. He is the same deputy prosecutor of the Donetsk region who was kidnapped by representatives of the self-proclaimed "DPR" in late May and soon exchanged for their own people. Gritsenko took the place of the lustrated Igor Prishko, the son of former Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine Anatoly Prishko.
It is known that Gritsenko began his prosecutorial career in 1997 as an intern in the Zhytomyr prosecutor's office. He worked in both the city and regional prosecutor's offices, even moving between several district prosecutor's offices in the Zhytomyr region. In April, Oleh Makhnitsky sent Gritsenko to Donetsk, appointing him deputy regional prosecutor. But the prosecutor's service behind enemy lines didn't last long; Yarema lured another "nomadic gypsy" to his camp with songs and dances.
It's worth noting that, according to his declaration, Gritsenko worked for the entire past year, instead living off his wife and two sons, who earned 347 hryvnias. The prosecutor has his own apartment, but he doesn't own a car. But for a true gypsy, a horse is more important than a piece of iron, so two expensive cars are registered to his family.
Following recent appointments, Yuriy Melnyk has taken over the position of deputy head of the department for overseeing law enforcement by special forces units and other agencies combating organized crime and corruption . He replaces Andriy Stasiv, who was purged.
It's known that as recently as July of this year, Melnik was working at the Prosecutor General's Office as deputy head of the Department for the Protection of Children's Rights and Freedoms, where he was appointed by Yarema. Then, in December, that same Baron Yarema gave him a new office.
For the past year, Melnyk, like an honest prosecutor, lived on his salary of 174 hryvnias. Interestingly, he doesn't own any real estate, but his wife owns a 107-square-meter apartment, despite her salary being just over 14 hryvnias. The prosecutor couple doesn't own any transportation. Apparently, gypsy horses are a popular option here, too.
Viktoria Pasechnik has been appointed Deputy Head of the Main Directorate for Procedural Guidance and Supervision of Law Compliance by Special Forces and Other Agencies Combating Organized Crime and Corruption in the Sphere of Transport and in Criminal Proceedings of Investigative Bodies—Head of the Directorate for Supervision of Law Compliance by Special Forces and Other Agencies Combating Organized Crime and Corruption. She has replaced Oleksiy Denisyuk, the former First Deputy Regional Prosecutor of the Mykolaiv Region.
It's worth noting that Pasechnik lived on a salary of 187 hryvnias for the entire past year. She doesn't own a home or a car. It's unclear where Pasechnik has settled after her new appointment, but it appears to be in a Roma prosecutor's tent, where other homeless prosecutors live.
Georgy Svatok has taken over Pasechnik's old position . He is now the head of the department for overseeing compliance with laws during operational investigative activities and investigations within the department for overseeing compliance with laws by special forces units and other agencies combating organized crime and corruption.
Before his appointment, Svatok was no stranger to the GPU: he moved to his new post from the position of deputy head of the Main Directorate, head of the department for supervision of compliance with laws during operational-search activities, investigations, and pre-trial investigations.
Svatok is quite successful. Last year, his income was 712 hryvnias, including 302 hryvnias from salary, 230 hryvnias from property sales, and 180 hryvnias from other sources. However, despite this substantial income, Svatok owns only a small 23-square-meter apartment, part of which belongs to his wife, who also owns a 104-square-meter apartment.
The boss has his own 2008 Audi A8 (used costs about 600 thousand UAH), and his wife has a 2010 Volkswagen Golf (used costs about 300 thousand UAH).
Ruslan Karpalyuk has been appointed head of the department for procedural guidance and public prosecution in criminal proceedings against criminal groups within the department for oversight of law enforcement by special forces and other agencies combating organized crime and corruption. Unfortunately, it was impossible to find out where the new head had previously worked. "Gypsies" are generally a very secretive bunch.
Last year, Karpalyuk lived on a single salary of 179 hryvnias and supported his family. The prosecutor's only real estate is a 600-square-meter plot of land. According to his asset declaration, the prosecutor's couple owns no home. However, the unemployed wife owns a Ford Fiesta worth her husband's annual salary.
Stanislav Turovsky has taken over as head of the Department for Supervision of Law Compliance in Preliminary Investigations within the Department for Supervision of Law Compliance by Special Forces and Other Agencies Combating Organized Crime and Corruption.
Interestingly, last year Turovsky earned almost half a million – 472 hryvnias, of which his salary was a whopping 342 hryvnias. The boss owns a plot of land and two apartments. His wife also has her own apartment. Turovsky drives a 2008 Lexus RX 350, a used version of which can now be purchased for 600 hryvnias. His wife drives a similar car, but a 2012 model (currently worth about a million hryvnias).
Vitaly Konstantinov has taken up the post of Head of the Department for Supervision of Compliance with Laws in the Application of Coercive Measures for Administrative Offenses of the Department for Supervision of Compliance with Laws in the Application of Coercive Measures.
Konstantinov, like his colleagues from the Prosecutor General's Office, lives almost entirely on his salary, according to his declaration. His income last year was only 241 hryvnias. 236 hryvnias was his salary, and the rest was interest on a savings account of almost 70 hryvnias.
The boss has two apartments, one of which is a whopping 163 square meters, while his family owns only a 900 square meter plot of land.
Oleh Oleynik became a senior assistant to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine in the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. Oleynik is one of Yarema's poorest protégés, having earned only 73 hryvnias last year, 29 of which was his salary and the rest his pension. It was on this meager income that Oleynik and his wife lived in her apartment. Incidentally, these pensioners also don't own a car.
Another nomadic GPU officer, Sergei Shmalenya, has become head of the organizational and methodological department of the department for overseeing law enforcement by special forces and other agencies combating organized crime and corruption. Yarema had previously appointed him head of the organizational and methodological department of the department for the protection of citizens' rights and freedoms and state interests.
Shmalenya is certainly no poor boss: last year, his income was 314,5 hryvnias, including 230 hryvnias in salary. He has his own apartment, and his family (wife and two children) also have their own living space. He drives a brand-new 2013 Geely EC7, worth approximately 170 hryvnias.
Vladimir Cholan took up the post of head of the department for supervision of compliance with laws during preliminary investigations of criminal proceedings on corruption crimes of the department for supervision of compliance with laws by special units and other bodies that combat organized crime and corruption.
Cholan is another of Yarema's subordinates who lives solely on his salary. Cholan's annual income was approximately 174 hryvnias. He owns only a quarter of a 26-square-meter apartment, while his family owns a 62-square-meter apartment.
And so, in just one day, December 11th, with his appointments, "Baron" Vitaly Yarema transformed the GPU into a gypsy camp. Now the GPU has its own "Budulai"—Vladimir Orlov—and a host of nomadic gypsies who specialize more in moving from office to office than in their respective fields.
In short, life at the Prosecutor General's Office is in full swing: appointments, relocations, and, as is customary, congratulatory songs and dances with a guitar and a bear. However, such gypsy theater is hardly a source of joy, because, in essence, with his latest appointments—a return to the trough of Yanukovych's men and a routine personnel reshuffle instead of dismissals—Yarema has once and for all dashed the lustration law and the hopes of those who believed that the cleansing of power had finally arrived.
In connection with the above, Prosecutor's Truth has several questions:
Why and from whose quota does Vitaly Yarema appoint people from the lustration list, or is the law not applicable to him?
— How did it happen that just a month ago the GPU was disowning Vladimir Orlov, but on December 11th he was already among Yarema’s appointees?
— What benefit does the country gain from the “Gypsy camp” that the GPU has become in connection with the latest personnel appointments?
Prosecutor's Truth
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