Ilya Pavlyuk
Zelenskyy's team, which Ukrainians believed to be monolithic and cohesive, is in fact comprised of numerous factions created by their sponsors. Now they are squabbling over power, influence, and money. One of them, a group of MPs from the Servant of the People faction, controlled by Chernivtsi "customs fixer" Ilya Pavlyuk, appears to have already suffered a defeat. After directly opposing their allies and defeating several important bills, they have drawn the wrath of Bankova. However, the final word on this scandal has not yet been written…
Since the spring of 2019, Pavlyuk has been described as a highly influential figure in Zelenskyy's campaign headquarters, and later in his Servant of the People party. Even then, journalists began to wonder who this little-known yet so important figure was, ensuring the Zelenskyy team's victory in several regions of Ukraine. Unfortunately, very little was revealed, which only heightened the intrigue surrounding him.
Ilya Pavlyuk and the Athlete Gangs: The Story of a Kidnapping
Ilya Nikolaevich Pavlyuk was born on July 3, 1973, in the village of Horishni Sherovtsi, Zastavnivka District, Chernivtsi Oblast. Despite its antiquity (the remains of a local settlement are over a thousand years old), the village is small – only 2,7 residents, nearly forty of whom bear the surname Pavlyuk. Dozens more Pavlyuks live in neighboring villages, making it difficult to identify Ilya Nikolaevich's relatives among those originally from there. However, rumors suggest that Viktor Igorevich Pavlyuk (Mayor of Chernivtsi from 1991-94, Deputy Minister of Economy of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea from 2003-2005, Deputy Head of the Chernivtsi Regional State Administration from 2006-2010) and his son, Mikhail Viktorovich Pavlyuk (Acting Head of the Chernivtsi Regional State Administration from 2018-2019) are among them. Whether this is true or not has not yet been confirmed. What is known for certain is that Ilya Pavlyuk has a brother, Vasily, who has a son, Maksym (born 1992), whom he made a member of parliament, including him in his group within the Servant of the People party.
We usually always try to tell where each character in the Kunstkamera started and how they rose to fame. Skelet.Org. Unfortunately, there's virtually no information about Ilya Pavlyuk's early life. The media briefly mentioned that in the 90s, he smuggled clothes from Turkey, then chicken (earning the nickname "Ilyukha the Chicken Coop"), during which he made his first important connections at customs, and then "privatized" a poultry farm in the village of Tarasivtsi (Chernivtsi Oblast). An extremely private and secretive man, always studiously avoiding any contact with journalists, he remained completely unknown until 2011, when he became the victim of a high-profile kidnapping: a ransom demanded for him was $2 million! This sum was immediately raised by Pavlyuk's family (not borrowed, but scraped together), which attracted even more attention than the kidnapping itself: where did a modest businessman, the owner of a mediocre poultry farm, get such a large amount of spare cash?
What happened then? According to the official version, which was held by the kidnapped Pavlyuk, his guards, and the investigation, subsequently published by the journalist of "Mirror of the Week" and editor of "Censor" Yuri ButusovHere's how it happened... Late in the evening of October 4, 2011, Ilya Pavlyuk arrived at his home at 15a Lipskaya Street in a jeep in Kyiv, accompanied by two security guards. Leaving his guards in the courtyard, Pavlyuk entered the building's entrance, where three kidnappers awaited him, struck him several times, threw a bag over his head, and dragged him back out into the street. The kidnappers allegedly held a gun to his head, so the guards merely stood there, confused. Then (attention!) the three kidnappers, along with Pavlyuk, climbed into a Lanos driven by a fourth criminal and accelerated... Readers familiar with this marvel of the Ukrainian automotive industry will likely be surprised: squeezing five healthy men (one of whom had a bag over his head) into a Lanos is no easy task; it's the worst car for a kidnapping (the only one worse is a Tavria). How did the overloaded Lanos manage to evade pursuit? There wasn't one, because, according to the guards, while they were wailing over the kidnapped boss being shoved into the Lanos, another criminal slashed the tires on their jeep. So, instead of a chase, the only option was the "Intercept" plan, and that was only due to a call from Pavlyuk's wife. And here's the surprising part: the Lanos was found burned out that morning not far from the scene of the abduction, even though it had been reported stolen since 2008, meaning it was gathering dust somewhere in a garage or parking lot.
Things got even more interesting. On the morning of October 5th, the kidnappers called Pavlyuk's wife and demanded a ransom – $2 million. The money was found almost immediately, practically pulled out from under the sofa, as if prepared in advance. The police began preparing the raid, even allegedly writing down the numbers of all the bills – and that was 20 bills, which would have taken several hours to write down! Nevertheless, the operation began already on the afternoon of October 5th: the Organized Crime Control Department (UBOP) set up an ambush at the agreed-upon location for the money transfer. But at the last moment, the kidnappers changed the location, then again, and again. The UBOP officers later justified their actions by claiming they didn't have time to travel around the city setting up ambushes. Finally, near the entrance to the zoo, one of the assailants on a motorcycle grabbed the bag of money and disappeared. The UBOP officers simply blinked at him in confusion. And on the evening of October 5th, Ilya Pavlyuk, very frightened, returned home.
Isn't this funny yet? Oh, the most ridiculous ending of this story! So, according to the Organized Crime Control Department, on October 8, 2011, a Kyiv crime boss nicknamed "Kazakh," who had once led a "brigade" in the Kisel organized crime group, walked into a Kyiv car dealership. He pulled $150 in cash from his bag and bought himself a brand-new Mercedes, a luxury model. The dealership owner allegedly immediately notified the Organized Crime Control Department (his money and Mercedes were gone), and the police began searching for the criminals. They were allegedly found in Yalta, Crimea, where they were planning to leave for abroad—but for some reason, via Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk. And it was on the way there that they were arrested. Here's the ending of this story from Yuriy Butusov:
"...one group flew to Kyiv, the other took a train to Dnepropetrovsk. The bandits were taken quietly and completely unexpectedly, and they didn't have time to offer any resistance... During a search, most of the ransom money received for Pavlyuk was discovered—after all, all the banknote numbers had been written down. Surveillance of the criminals also allowed for the collection of other compelling evidence. Thus, a record-breaking crime was solved in record time..."
It was Butusov who then told the Ukrainians that Pavlyuk was the "king of smuggling," that he allegedly knew Kazakh from "joint activities in Chernivtsi," that Kazakh had offered him a place in his business, and that Pavlyuk's $2 million was the smugglers' "slush fund." Finally, he expressed hope that the secrets and schemes of the smuggling business would be revealed at the criminals' trial... Overall, it was a compelling piece of material. Incidentally, Yuriy Butusov, an active participant and fan of both Maidan protests, wrote the film's screenplay. Orange Sky, friend Turchinova, in 2014-2016 member of the NABU competition commission.
What else is surprising about this story, besides the bewildered bodyguards standing idle, the reckless bandits in the Lanos stolen three years ago, and the UBOP officers running around the city in a ridiculous manner? Oh, so many things! Many things that, for some reason, were not mentioned by Butusov or the Ministry of Internal Affairs press service.
Yuri Pleskachevsky (Kazakh)
Firstly, it's strange that no one mentioned the Kazakh's name back then – who was a fairly well-known figure in Kyiv, Yuriy Nikolayevich Pleskachevsky, a former football player (let's note this fact), who joined Kisel's organized crime group in the 90s and actually rose to the rank of "foreman." He was also known for his connections to Sergei Kalinovsky, his stepson. Dmitry Firtash, whom Pleskachevsky helped escape from Ukraine after the accident caused by the major, in which two people died.
Sergei Kalinovsky
Secondly, in 2010, Yuri Pleskachevsky committed a similar crime – kidnapping A Kyiv businessman (his name was never revealed by the media), who was "ordered" by his business partner, Vitaly Alekseevich Makovetsky. These are the real names of the "heroes," but in publications at the time, their names were changed (to Plikachevsky and Marovitsky). Incidentally, the descriptions of this kidnapping were also fascinating—they featured two Lanoses, driven by Kazakh's men. But there weren't five of them in one car, and only one of them was stolen (the day before the events). The second Lanos, however, belonged to Sergei Garnaga, chairman and founder of the ATEK children's sports school, the Kyiv Kickboxing and Muay Thai Federation, and the Kyiv Equestrian Federation. Through Garnaga, Makovetsky and Pleskachevsky were connected to the notorious Kyiv "schemer" and "sand queen." Larisa Ilienko.
Vitaly Makovetskiy, who in 2010 was not only a businessman but also the vice president of speed skating in Ukraine, had a long-standing close relationship with Pleskachevsky—they were even godfathers. But what's interesting isn't that, but rather the fact that... according to media reportsPleskachevsky was arrested in this case back in late 2010 in Uman! So, it turns out he was later released—otherwise, how could he have kidnapped Pavlyuk in October 2011?!
Thirdly, Pleskachevsky received his sentence in 2012, but received He and his godfather, Makovetsky, were convicted of the 2010 kidnapping of businessman Yu. But there's no information about him being tried in the Ilya Pavlyuk case, or that such a trial ever took place! This case never followed up; it was "lost"—possibly because it was initially falsified, and everything turned out completely differently than Butusov described.
Fourth, the kidnapping (or simulated kidnapping) of Ilya Pavlyuk was just one episode in a series of events unfolding at the time. A few days later, on October 7, 2011, Vadym Zayets, head coach of FC Bukovyna, was attacked in Chernivtsi. An unknown assailant with a shotgun wounded Zayets in the leg as he was getting into his car. What connection could there be between these events, which occurred in different cities? It's obvious: Ilya Pavlyuk was previously one of the founders of FC Bukovyna, which in 2010 was sold to certain businessmen (ostensibly from Kharkiv, but in fact, it was given to Firtash).
Vadim Zayats
Another person was mentioned in this Bukovyna affair: Mykola Klim, who became the president of Bukovyna after its repartition. They mentioned him in hushed tones, with cautious glances. Because he previously bore the surname Zagursky, and, together with his younger brother, Vladimir Zagursky, headed one of the most scary organized crime groups of Chernivtsi, which was involved in racketeering, contract killings and kidnappings, debt collection, and protection rackets for smuggling. This gang was responsible for numerous crimes, including the 1995 murder of Leonid Schwartzberg, director of the Ukrainian-German joint venture "Svoboda-Burgas."
Nikolai Klim (Zagursky)
All of this, of course, is now a thing of the past, buried in the archives and forgotten under the rug. By 2011, Mykola Klim was already a "respected businessman and philanthropist," president of a beloved football club, and a member of the Chernivtsi City Council from the Party of Regions, while his brother, Volodymyr, headed the local Boxing Federation (complete with gangster athletes). Everyone understood why Klim-Zagurskyi had been appointed head of Bukovyna: his former "supervisor" was Ivan Myrnyi, the former head of the Chernivtsi regional criminal police, who later served as Firtash's chief of security and later became a people's deputy twice on the Party of Regions list, and in 2014 on the Opposition Bloc list.
Also involved in this dirty deal were then-governor Mykhailo Papiyev (a former member of the Chernivtsi Social Democrats who defected to the Party of Regions) and businessman Yuriy Borisov, who was associated with Firtash's financial group. Moreover, Borisov, who at one time represented the interests of the offshore company Collide Limited in Ukraine and was involved in oil transactions, Boyko's schemes, and then Firtash's gas schemes, was called a very influential coordinator of smuggling flows. And that, allegedly, in the field of this smuggling, he became close to Zagursky and also Pavlyuk. Yes, yes, here we come to the heart of the story: Pavlyuk had known Zagursky since the 90s and, as rumor has it in Chernivtsi, was involved in shady business under his protection, including smuggling. That's why Ilya Pavlyuk always preferred to remain in the shadows and keep a low profile, and Zagursky even changed his last name. However, as you can see, secrecy is a tradition among the Chernivtsi elite; they even handed over Bukovyna to Firtash on the sly!
So what really happened in October 2011? Judging by the collected Skelet.Org According to reports, Ilya Pavlyuk was involved in a scam involving FC Bukovyna, during which he either "stole" some property or money, or staged some other gamble and turned against his old accomplices. They decided to "punish" him with two million, while also giving him a good scare. They also wounded (also "warned") the club's head coach, Zayats, who perhaps knew too much or showed stubbornness (there are also reports that Zayats had previously had run-ins with the law and was even allegedly a member of Zagursky's gang). Pavlyuk, well aware of what Zagursky (and his regional backers) were capable of, was truly terrified. The only question remaining is the involvement of Yuriy Pleskachevsky, who should have been in pretrial detention since December 2010, not continuing to kidnap people and buy luxury Mercedes with cash. If it really was him, why wasn't he punished for Pavlyuk's kidnapping? Was the Kyiv Organized Crime Control Department involved?
Sergey Varis, for Skelet.Org
CONTINUED: Ilya Pavlyuk: The Servant of the People Customs Mafia. Part 2
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