Ivan Avramov: Yura Yenakievsky's "black accountant"

Ivan Avramov: Yura Yenakievsky's "black accountant"

The more time passes since the Euromaidan, the more often its participants ask themselves why their comrades died. After all, those they opposed not only escaped with their stolen goods without facing any punishment, but are now being vindicated by the Ukrainian justice system. Among them are the most notorious figures from Yanukovych's inner circle, whose greed and lawlessness forced Ukrainians to rebel against the "Donetsk" government.

In big Ukrainian business, where set-ups and corporate raids have become the norm, a long-standing, trusting partnership unsupported by family ties is a rare exception. Examples of such partnerships can be counted on the fingers of one hand: the infamous PrivatBank couple Kolomoisky andBogolyubov, the Poroshenko “family” shrouded in corruption schemes-Kononenko, as well as the virtually unknown Ivanyushchenko-Avramov duo. The media has written largely about the latter, stating that Ivan Avramov is the "overseer" of Yuriy Ivanyushchenko, who in turn was the "overseer" of Viktor Yanukovych—and almost nothing about the details of their nearly quarter-century-long collaboration, rife with corruption and a smattering of crime. Well, Skelet.Org will fill in some of the gaps in this exciting puzzle!

Heavy metal

Much less is known about Ivan Ivanovich Avramov's early life than about the past of his scandalous associate. He was born on September 2, 1965, in the village of Kalchevo, Bolgrad district, Odessa region. He graduated from high school in 1983 and from the Odessa Institute of National Economy (now the Odessa National University of Economics) in 1988. He also has a brother, Sergei, about whom no information is available in open sources—which raises certain questions. Indeed, ordinary, honest businessmen would hardly have to hide their biography or even their brother's birthdate from the public.

Based on scant information from various sources Skelet.OrgIvan Avramov became interested in commerce (black marketeering) while still a student, as Odessa had long been the southern gateway for imported consumer goods (both legal and contraband) entering the USSR. At that time, the resourceful young man realized that it was much more profitable to sell domestic valuables for dollars rather than foreign "clothes" for Soviet rubles, even at speculative prices. However, he had no access to Odessa's stream of smuggled goods (antiques, icons, jewelry).

Student photo of Ivan Avramov

But the "winds of change" that blew across the country saved him. Immediately after graduating, Ivan Avramov began working as a "cooperator," seeking channels for exporting Soviet raw materials through various joint ventures. By the early 90s, Avramov had found his niche – first exporting non-ferrous scrap metal, and then larger consignments of ferrous metals. It was here that he made a business acquaintance with Yuriy Ivanyushchenko, a crime boss from Yenakiyevo, then known by the nickname Yurets Maloy and later as Yura Yenikyevsky. Incidentally, Anatoly Zuyev, Viktor Yanukovych's godfather, was already a member of Ivanyushchenko's "brigade" at that time.

Ivanyushchenko also got involved in metals: Donbas was teeming with metallurgical plants, but sales of their products stalled in the early 90s. Seeking access to foreign buyers, Ivanyushchenko struck up a common language with Ivan Avramov: as the saying goes, "We have the goods, you have the merchant!" Avramov's services proved so useful that Ivanyushchenko immediately made him his business partner, and then his most trusted confidant. For Ivanyushchenko, who wasn't particularly knowledgeable about the intricacies of economics, Avramov began to act as a sort of accountant-partner, primarily focused on "black bookkeeping" and complex schemes. Thus, their partnership was formed.

Yuri Ivanyushchenko

But metal wasn't the only thing. The "shadow" Odessa of the first half of the 90s was a vast communal apartment in five dimensions—that is, there existed, in parallel, a purely thieves' Odessa, a smuggling Odessa, an Odessa of semi-legal business, a corrupt Odessa, and so on. And each was divided among dozens of "princes," over whom loomed a succession of "overseers." That's why Odessa always had several such "overseers": the thieves appointed their own "overseer" overseeing the criminal underworld, the organized crime groups protecting smuggling and shady businesses appointed their own, and there were also "overseers" from the corrupt authorities. And Yuriy Ivanyushchenko, who had just broken with the Yenakiyevo gang of the Dolidze brothers, who had started a war with Alik Grek's Donetsk gang, began eyeing Odessa as a new area of ​​influence. He was primarily interested in the smuggling going through Odessa, which was becoming increasingly widespread.

However, the mid- and late 90s were marked by a series of violent crimes both in Odessa itself (the murder of Viktor Kulivar "Karabas") and in the Donetsk region (the murders of Alik Grek and Grigoriy Dolidze). It was during this period that Ivan Avramov left Odessa and joined Yura Yenakievsky, and then the two of them "went underground"—all details of their activities during this period are lacking. However, Ivanyushchenko himself once said of Avramov: "He's got a very clear head. For someone from Odessa, dealing with the mines is incredibly difficult, but he did it." It was in 1994 that Ivanyushchenko became a co-owner of the Yenakiyevo Coke and Chemical Plant (where, according to his official biography, he allegedly worked in the 80s), which was involved in the "coal-coke-metal-export" scheme. He needed his own mines to minimize coal costs. During this period (1996-2005), Ivanyushchenko was listed as the president of NPP Alvi-Invest, which traded everything from coke to footwear. Meanwhile, the shadowy figure of an unnamed deputy for economics loomed alongside him. Some believe this was Ivan Avramov.

Ivan Avramov. Coal Baron, Spirit King

It was only in 2004 that Ivan Avramov first appeared publicly on the Ukrainian economic scene as the modest and little-known president of Luhansk Coal Company (which, incidentally, is why he was often mistakenly referred to as a Luhansk native). This company is 50% owned by Financial Company LLC, which in turn is 50% owned by Ivan Avramov. According to official information, Ivan Ivanovich holds controlling stakes in only a few of the related companies and firms of Ivanyushchenko and Avramov; in the rest, he is merely a co-owner and manages them. The other co-owner of these companies is Yuriy Ivanyushchenko or his relatives (children). The names of the remaining shareholders are not directly disclosed, and only fragmentary information indicates that they include Sergei Avramov (how could he leave his brother without income!), as well as several other business partners of Avramov and Ivanyushchenko, such as Luhansk businessmen Igor Antimonov and Konstantin Khvorostyany. Thus, the business relationship between Ivan Avramov and Yuri Ivanyushchenko is a nearly equal partnership (at least in terms of shareholding), in which Avramov assumed control of the business, while Ivanyushchenko provided his protection. However, given that Ivanyushchenko's net worth in 2012 was estimated at $756 million, while Ivan Avramov's was "only" $252 million (plus a certain share from his brother, Sergei), it's clear that not all of Ivanyushchenko's business was divided evenly with Avramov. Furthermore, Yuri Yenakievsky had numerous other sources of income, in which Ivan Avramov's involvement remains unknown.

But let's return to Lugansk Coal Company CJSC. Together with Antimonov, it owned the Lugansk Repair and Mechanical Plant OJSC, in which Ivan Avramov also held a 17% stake through the Odessa-based Ukragrokomp LLC. Lugansk Coal Company also owns 51,77% of Donbassholding CJSC, which in turn owned stakes in Yanovskoye CJSC (formerly the Yanovskaya Central Processing Plant), Mikhailovskaya Group Processing Plant LLC, Nagolchanskaya Central Processing Plant, and Belorechenskaya Group Processing Plant. Antimonov and Khvorostyany held stakes in these companies, but it was reported that they intended to sell their shares to Ivan Avramov, who would thereby consolidate control over the coal enterprises of his and Ivanyushchenko's joint venture.

Among Ivan Avramov's other enterprises, it is worth highlighting:

• Grand LLC (Donetsk region) – co-owner of the Bolgrad winery
• Stavr LLC is a co-owner of Yenakiyevo Coke and Chemical Plant.
• Rodon Private Enterprise (Odessa) is a co-owner of the Bolgrad Winery.
• LLC "Rukan"
• Yenakiyevo Transport Company LLC
• LLC "Depas Ltd" (Odessa)
• Donbass-Odessa State Enterprise
• Parrox Corporation Ltd (Britain) is the owner of a stake in Promtovary Rynok LLC (Odessa's 7th Kilometer)

It's worth noting that Avramov's schemes often employ a sophisticated ploy whereby the companies he controls own each other's shares—a sort of "snake chewing its own tail." Why? Perhaps to make these tails (ends) harder to find?

In 2010, Avramov and Ivanyushchenko began to take control of Odesa. By this point, their power had reached its peak. Thanks to Ivanyushchenko's personal relationships with the Yanukovych family (Viktor Fedorovich and his son Oleksandr, nicknamed Sasha the Dentist), he was able to obtain from the presidential family the authority to oversee most of Ukraine's regions. It's worth clarifying here: the Ukrainian presidential overseers (not just Yanukovych's) primarily protected corruption in government and law enforcement, shadow business, redistributions, and corporate raids, and also acted as a shadow court of appeals. The "overseer"'s job is to stay abreast of shady dealings and corruption schemes in their region, ensure that locals don't get too cocky (respect the center and share profits), resolve conflicts, and use their influence to eliminate some businessmen or officials and, for a bribe, save others from being targeted. In other words, these aren't classic criminal underworld "overseers," but rather something akin to unofficial presidential representatives with a wealth of unofficial powers and authority.

In turn, Ivanyushchenko appointed Ivan Avramov as his "overseer" in the Odessa region. However, Ivan Ivanovich and his mysterious brother, Sergei Ivanovich, already had plenty of personal connections. Through Ivanyushchenko, they became close to the Yanukovych family, especially Alexander, with whom they shared a hobby: boar hunting. But their main connection was the coal business. When the media wrote about the mines and pits of Sasha Stomatolog and Yura Yenakievsky, they were somewhat mistaken: Ivan Avramov, the "bright mind," was Yanukovych's partner in the coal schemes; he was the one who worked with them, but he habitually ceded all the "glory" to his associate, Yuriy Ivanyushchenko, who was the one who suffered all the blame. This is why Avramov's name was rarely mentioned in later public coal scandals; he discreetly remained in the shadows.

The Avramov brothers and Alexander Yanukovych

So, by 2010, Ivan Avramov had already firmly established himself in his native Odessa, primarily by taking over the Southern Customs Office. Few knew the true scope of their plans, as customs offered enormous opportunities, but Avramov and Ivanyushchenko were caught, one might say, on a small scale. First, they established complete control over the sole monopoly producer and seller of rectified ethyl alcohol in Ukraine, the Ukrspirt Group of Companies, by framing it for their schemes. Then, they used the Southern Customs Office's capabilities for its intended purpose, blocking the supply of contraband alcohol to Ukraine from Transnistria, Moldova, Bulgaria, and Georgia—leaving all producers of counterfeit alcoholic beverages without raw materials. Then they offered them the opportunity to buy counterfeit alcohol from their own factory (including from their Bolgrad distillery). Avramov and Ivanyushchenko themselves purchased some of this illegal alcohol abroad and transported it through their own private channel, the Southern Customs Office. The customs office was also used to import duty-free fuel into Ukraine (the treasury lost billions of hryvnias), and in this business, Avramov and Ivanyushchenko's partners included the Deputy Prime Minister. Andrey Klyuev and the former Minister of Ecology Nikolay Zlochevsky).

It was precisely because of this fuel that they burned themselves out: in Kyiv, they were angry that Klyuev and Ivanyushchenko had "lost their edge," and they also had plenty of ill-wishers both among Akhmetov's team and among the local Odessa "barons"—not to mention the opposition, which was constantly looking for miscalculations on the part of the government.

From that moment on, Ivanyushchenko's meteoric rise stalled. He fell into conflict with the presidential family, the SBU became interested in Ukrspirt, and in early 2012, Ivanyushchenko and Avramov even temporarily left Ukraine, fearing serious trouble, after generously paying Ukrainian websites for deleting their information. However, they escaped unscathed, and although Ivanyushchenko's influence in Odessa plummeted afterward (he was pushed aside), and Avramov's Southern Customs office was "taken away," they continued to cultivate the city. It was said that this was facilitated by Avramov's personal and business connections with Oleksandr Yanukovych, who had a better relationship with the docile, chubby Ivan Ivanovich than with the tough "Uncle Yura."

Since 2012, thanks to Avramov's efforts, his and Ivanyushchenko's company, Parrox Corporation Ltd., began increasing its stake in Promtovary Rynok LLC, becoming the majority owner of 7th Kilometer (they had literally "squeezed" the initial 27% stake from businessman Viktor Dobryansky in 2011). Control over one of Ukraine's largest markets, a hub for wholesale consumer goods sales, promised lucrative dividends, especially in the form of uncontrolled "black cash." However, part of this cash had to be donated to the Party of Regions—this was one of the conditions of the presidential "family," which allowed Avramov and Ivanyushchenko to "devour" the market. And so they began to mercilessly milk 7th Kilometer. Sources reported that Ivan Avramov, through his trusted confidant, Oleh Gres, and market director, Boris Melnichuk, imposed new fees on the vendors: for space, rent, the right to trade, security, utilities, and an additional unofficial service—protection from visits from sanitary and fire inspectors. Furthermore, at the end of 2013, with the onset of the Euromaidan, when the situation became increasingly tense for the "Donetsk" market, the market stopped paying fees to the budget and related companies (regional power companies and water utilities), leading to its scandalous bankruptcy.

Ivan Avramov. Maidan, Antimaidan, and Girkin

Another old acquaintance of Ivan Avramov and Yuri Ivanyushchenko is Armen Sargsyan From Horlivka. His father, Nagapet Sargsyan, was a highly respected figure in the city's Armenian diaspora, but his son, in the 90s, formed an organized crime group whose debut, interestingly enough, was quite successful: just the day before, the old Horlivka gangs had been destroyed by OBOP forces (led by Yuri Shrubyanets). So, Sargsyan's "brigade" effectively entered a cleared space, immediately taking over first the city's entire shadow economy, then the economy in general, and law enforcement agencies along the way. So why did the "cops," who had destroyed the Horlivka organized crime groups of the early 90s, suddenly back down before Sargsyan? Because he had acquired influential friends like Yuri Ivanyushchenko and Gennady Uzbek (former leader of the Donetsk "Lux" organized crime group, now honorary president of Union Boxing Promotion), who made Sargsyan the "overseer" of Horlivka.

Thus, he received the nickname Armen Gorlovsky, became the vice-president of the Donetsk Boxing Federation, the owner of the Gostiny Dvor restaurant (which became its headquarters), the owner of the Krasnoarmeysk Machine-Building Plant, the best friend of the head of the Gorlovka Department of Internal Affairs, Pavel Panasyuk (now former), and so on and so forth.

Incidentally, back in 2013, at Armen's initiative, a small "decommunization" took place in Horlivka: Klokov Street (a Bolshevik and active participant in the events of 1917) was renamed... Nagapet Sargsyan Street. Thus, the grateful son decided to perpetuate his father's memory. Moreover, when colleagues Skelet.Org When we approached the residents of the renamed street and asked if they approved of this surprise, they merely nodded their heads in fear—as if to say, "We have nothing against it, leave us alone!" And this is understandable: people were simply panicky afraid of the all-powerful and cruel "overseer."

Armen Sargsyan

When the Euromaidan began, Sarkisyan's "boys" (athletes and tough guys with criminal records) were "mobilized." However, they didn't sit out the protests with other "titushki" in Mariinsky Park; instead, they participated in "special operations," including criminal ones. Specifically, on January 19, 2014, they staged a hooligan attack on the Donetsk Maidan, beating up its participants. One of the attackers' leaders, Eduard Polepkin (Sarkisyan's business partner), even broke Ukrainian national flag poles over his knee. On January 26, Sarkisyan's men, along with the "boys from Avdiivka" who had arrived, and some costumed Cossacks, staged an attempt to seize the Donetsk Regional State Administration building. During the attack, peaceful supporters of Yanukovych, quietly protesting nearby, were beaten.

And on the night of February 18-19, already in Kyiv, as representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Security Service of Ukraine later officially stated, it was Sarkisyan's men who participated in the attacks near Mykhailivska Square, during which five people were killed, including Vesti correspondent Vyacheslav Veremiy. Witnesses noted that Sarkisyan's men were regularly seen near Ivanyushchenko-Avramov's Kyiv office (4 Rylsky Lane), where they had something like a base and rally point. And here's the interesting thing: there was information that Ivanyushchenko was no longer in Kyiv on February 18-19, 2014, and had "fled" much earlier. This means that Ivan Avramov was in charge of the office during those days, who, it turns out, could have coordinated the "work" of this gang of killers. Moreover, immediately after these high-profile crimes, on February 20, Ivan Avramov hastily left Ukraine for two weeks. Let us emphasize: the flight of Yanukovych and his entourage began only on January 22.

But the most interesting thing happened next. On March 6, Ivan Avramov returned to Kyiv, with media outlets explicitly reporting that the reason for his visit was concern about the risk of "looting" of Avramov-Ivanyushchenko's business in Ukraine. Two weeks later, the media reported that the office at 4 Rylsky Street was still operating, but was being carefully guarded against possible pogrom by overly active revolutionaries. Journalists discovered that the new security guards at Avramov's office were posing as "Maidan self-defense" and were indeed members of various groups. Konstantinovsky brothers, who during the Euromaidan specialized in protecting offices and boutiques from pogroms, or by specially selected people Igor Krivetsky, who was the main founder and curator of "Self-Defense." This news shocked idealists: Euromaidan activists were guarding the office of their killers! But pragmatists saw nothing surprising in the fact that Yura Yenakievsky's "overseer" received protection from the "Karamazov Brothers" (former henchmen of the Ukrainian-American mafia leader Alik Magadan) or the Lviv crime boss Pups. This was the dark side of the Maidan—disgusting, reeking of corruption, lies, and thieves' deals.

But Armen Sarkisyan's story didn't end there. In April 2014, his men, according to witnesses, participated in the overthrow of the Ukrainian government in Donetsk and the proclamation of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), and then joined Igor Strelkov's (Girkin) militant group, which had captured Slovyansk. When the militants decided to retreat from Slovyansk, Sarkisyan's men didn't join the rest of the group in Donetsk, but were instead transported to Ukrainian territory under the guise of refugees. Afterward, according to a source, they headed to Odessa. There, they settled and became completely under the control of Ivan Avramov, carrying out specific assignments from Yuriy Ivanyushchenko, the "overseer" of Odessa's businesses.

And here's another little-known fact from informed sources Skelet.OrgDuring May-July 2014, when Sarkisyan's "boys" were fighting in Slavyansk against Ukrainian security forces, Avramov's business structures were financing them. According to unconfirmed reports, another militant leader, Igor "Bes" Bezler, a former security chief, also received a "salary" from them for several months. Artur GerasimovIt is interesting that Gerasimov, who now heads the Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction in the Verkhovna Rada, ran in the 2012 elections as part of the “team Sergei Shakhov"And in 2015, Shakhov and Avramov became the main components of the unofficial presidential project "Our Region."

Ivan Avramov. The Return of the "Overseer"

Created in 2011 by an Odessa businessman Anton KisseFor several years, the Our Land party languished in the shadows of political fringes until, in 2015, it suddenly caught the attention of President Petro Poroshenko's team. It needed a counterweight, a clone, to the Opposition Bloc—the most intractable fragment of the Party of Regions, which threatened to win an absolute majority of seats in local councils in southeastern Ukraine in the 2015 elections.

Was it a coincidence that Anton Kisse's "Our Land" was chosen? And why did Ivan Avramov immediately become its main unofficial curator, one might even say its "overseer"—enthusiastically taking on this task, as if it were a condition for his rehabilitation with the new government?

Interestingly, alongside Ivan Avramov's successes in the presidential project "Our Land," reports surfaced that Yura Yenakievsky's "overseer" was doing everything he could to protect their shared Odesa business. And this wasn't just about the conflict over the "7th Kilometer," which Viktor Dobryansky had begun to sue back.

Well, it seems Avramov has proven indispensable to Bankova. Judge for yourself: despite the fact that Kisse once served as a member of the Verkhovna Rada, he remained a provincial Odessa oligarch, and his old connections (Lytvyn, Brodsky) had lost their influence by 2015. It's unlikely such a person would have been able to quickly elevate his pocket party to the national level. But then Ivan Avramov appeared, out of breath from his zeal. And most importantly, he immediately organized a branch of "Our Land" in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, where he had extensive connections and acquaintances. This alone helped the party become one of the election favorites. Kisse's gratitude knew no bounds, especially since the "party comrade" immediately established some joint business in Odessa. And in 2016, Kisse, as chairman of the Association of Bulgarian National-Cultural Societies and Organizations of Ukraine (which he simply turned into a pocket organization), petitioned the Bulgarian government to grant Ivan Avramov... honorary Bulgarian citizenship! Incidentally, Kisse has long held his own Bulgarian passport. And it seems that the leaders of "Our Land" are not at all concerned about such open disregard for Ukrainian laws.

У Skelet.Org It is also not surprising that the Kharkiv branch of "Our Land" is headed by an oligarch Alexander Feldman. It's worth recalling 2011, when numerous rumors surfaced that Yuriy Ivanyushchenko wanted to seize control not only of the 7th Kilometer but also of Feldman's Kharkiv-based Barabashovo. Witnesses then reported a meeting between Feldman and Ivan Avramov, which ended quite amicably—apparently, the two sides had found common ground and understanding. Afterward, Feldman personally dismissed rumors of a possible takeover of Ivanyushchenko's Barabashovo as nonsense, and Ivanyushchenko, in turn, no longer expressed any interest in him. Thus, Ivan Ivanovich had recruited his "good friend" into the party.

Meanwhile, in 2015 and 2016, Avramov-Ivanyushchenko's companies, in particular the Nagolchanskaya Central Processing Plant LLC, re-registered in Kyiv, continued to operate in the "LPR," not only paying salaries to their workers but also taxes to the "republic" treasury—which financed the separatists. But Avramov wasn't even reprimanded for this.

He also got away with the "7th Kilometer" saga. It wasn't until the fall of 2016 that the Prosecutor General's Office once again took up the case of Yuriy Ivanyushchenko and Ivan Avramov, accused of a hostile takeover of the market's shares in 2011. Avramov even left Ukraine for a while, apparently realizing that even a dozen paramedics wouldn't be able to carry him into the courthouse on a stretcher. However, in early 2017, serious negotiators intervened in the case: one of them was named Grigory Surkis, and to others, an adviser to the president Boris LozhkinaBoth negotiators shared business interests with the Avramov-Ivanushchenko duo, and Lozhkin's interests intersected with Ukrspirt—he was considered the next "supervisor" of the enterprise after Avramov, so one could have introduced the other to some very interesting schemes.

And here's the result: at first, the political uproar surrounding this case was focused solely on the person of Yuriy Ivanyushchenko, who was all too well known to Ukrainians. But Ivan Avramov's name was barely mentioned in this context; his past began to be forgotten, and no one even considered putting Avramov on the wanted list. Then, in February 2017, the Supreme Court ruled to close the criminal cases against Ivanyushchenko and Avramov. Clearly, this decision merely frees Ivanyushchenko's assets abroad from seizure, but such an odious figure will still be unable to appear in Ukraine for the time being—his other cases will immediately be recalled. Ivan Ivanovich, however, can now safely return home and continue his diligent work, perhaps even preparing for new elections. And the question "Why did the Heavenly Hundred perish?" no longer sounds purely rhetorical...

Sergey Varis, for Skelet.Org

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