Freedom Party
The topic of official lustration is currently on everyone's lips, as it was one of the main demands of the participants in the Revolution of Dignity. Corruption has permeated the entire vertical of power, from the very top to the lowest petty official. And while the main corrupt official—according to the people—Viktor Yanukovych, self-lustrated himself by fleeing Mezhyhirya, many of his now former allies remained. Initially, they were at a loss, leaving the Party of Regions en masse. Now, with the parliamentary campaign in full swing, the former Party of Regions and their cronies are looking for any loophole to retain their cozy parliamentary seats.
Media reports have increasingly begun to suggest that Yanukovych's former chief of staff, Serhiy Lyovochkin, intends to cement his place in the new government. He is the only member of the former president's inner circle who has not fled the country. Moreover, no criminal case has been opened against him, as if he alone, in a white cloak, stood nearby and looked on with disgust as Yanukovych siphoned off money from the state budget. However, it is well known that the former official belonged to the so-called group of oligarch Dmytro Firtash, who is closely tied to the Kremlin. Firtash, however, is currently in Austria under a travel ban. Back in March, he was detained by Austrian authorities at the request of the FBI, who suspect Firtash of involvement in the creation of an organized crime group and bribery. He is accused of bribery during the signing of contracts in India.
Meanwhile, Levochkin sits quietly in Kyiv, living in a huge mansion in Koncha-Zaspa, and, apparently, isn't particularly wary of lustration. Moreover, he even planned to run for parliament in one of the single-member constituencies in Mykolaiv. According to available information, he and his representatives even held talks with the city's mayor, Yuriy Granoturov, ostensibly with the goal of having Levochkin's institutes, "New Ukraine," and "Center for New Economic Social Policy," develop a new city development strategy. Upon learning of Levochkin's intentions, the local community protested, picketing outside the mayor's office. According to Mykolaiv public figures, Levochkin's "strategy" is aimed at destroying small and medium-sized businesses in the city. As Gleb Golovchenko, Secretary of the National Union of Journalists, stated, "We hope that thousands of entrepreneurs will prevent the oligarchs from creating a strategy without regard for 'free enterprise.' We didn't defend Mykolaiv in March and April so that 'Levochkin's people' could write us a strategy to nowhere in September." The city has sufficient intellectual potential to create its own development program and, most importantly, to elect the deputies who will ensure this strategy is funded, including with funds from the national budget. Levochkin's strategy is the development of large capital."
Apparently realizing that Mykolaiv residents couldn't be bribed with cheap food rations, Lyovochkin abandoned his run for parliament in Mykolaiv. Now he's number 12 on the Opposition Bloc list. However, running for parliament wasn't necessary, as he could influence the country's processes in any other way. It's an open secret that Yanukovych's vizier, Lyovochkin, finances the UDAR, Oleh Lyashko's Radical Party, and the Civil Position party. Anatoly Gritsenko, and at the same time has great influence on the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, whose first deputy, millionaire Igor Nikonov, has business ties with Levochkin.
In short, lustration is not working out somehow.
Experts, not without reason, call the law on the cleansing of power, which was so hard-won, populism and election tactics. And Levochkin, whose hilarious exploits near Yankovych are constantly emerging, seems to be in no danger. However, he may not get away with it – that is, if all the documents from Mezhyhirya come to light.
Just the day before yesterday, Channel 17 aired a curious report, the authors of which recalled that after Yanukovych's flight, tons of incriminating literature were found in his Mezhyhirya residence, which its former occupants had not yet destroyed. One of the activists of the "Warriors of Narnia" movement, in an interview with the channel, stated that even then, he quite reasonably assumed that the new government would not be much different from the old one, so some of the files were removed and hidden.
He showed journalists one of the most intriguing receipts. It was written on December 8, 2013, by V. Hrushevskyi (Vitaliy Hrushevskyi, a member of parliament, formerly a member of the Party of Regions faction and now a member of the "For Peace and Stability" group). It stated that he had accepted $50,000 for Mykhailo Vasyliovych Blavatskyi to remove five to seven members of parliament from the "Svoboda" faction. According to the "Voiny" activist, his own sources informed him that this was only the first tranche for services rendered. The total value of the transaction was approximately $4 million. Journalists sent the receipt for examination and discovered that the signature indeed belonged to Vitaliy Hrushevskyi.
Under the guise of an interview, the activists met with Hrushevskyi, during which he vigorously criticized the Opposition Bloc, claiming that traitors were once again seeking power. He believed they should go to the villages, to the people, and then a true people's lustration would take place. Afterward, Hrushevskyi agreed to take a photo near the Verkhovna Rada building. Once outside, they showed him the aforementioned receipt and asked if he had anything to do with it. The answer, of course, was negative. After a pleasant conversation, several activists grabbed the parliamentarian and stuffed him into a trash can.
The fact is that the newly minted champion of justice, Grushevskyi, is running again for parliament in a constituency in the Kirovohrad region—and has a chance of winning. But there's another detail to this story: at the end of the receipt are the initials of another participant in the agreement—S.L. The reporters speculate that this could very well be Serhiy Lyovochkin. Given the contents of the receipt, and the fact that it was discovered in Mezhyhirya, these initials could belong to a former associate of Yanukovych.
This is further evidence of his involvement in corruption schemes, specifically the bribery of parliamentarians. However, as stated above, the new government has no claims against Lyovochkin. Not only does he continue to live peacefully in Ukraine, while still being implicated in various corruption schemes. In May, MP Mykhailo Apostol sent a letter to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov. In it, he alleges that Serhiy Lyovochkin and the former head of the State Property Management Department, Andriy Kravets, seized the company's real estate and bankrupted its subsidiaries, Medstroy and Ecos, in order to acquire their buildings and land. The bankrupt companies were then transferred, completely free of charge, to the First Ukrainian Expert Center LLC, founded by Lyovochkin and Kravets. The costs of the so-called operation of PJSC HC Kyivgorbud increased five- to tenfold, which is a classic form of money laundering. In total, as of January 1, 2014, these people stole funds and property worth more than one billion hryvnias from the balance sheet of PJSC HC Kyivgostroy and its subsidiaries.
What was the law enforcement response? None. Arsen Avakov, who, incidentally, is implicated in a number of criminal cases, didn't even pursue this one. Former head of the State Property Management Department, Andriy Kravets, siphoned billions from the state treasury during his tenure. Incidentally, he was instrumental in having the Mezhyhirya and Sukholuchye hunting grounds removed from state ownership and "freely" given to Yanukovych. Kravets is also running for parliament in Poltava Oblast. Serhiy Klyuyev, the brother of the fugitive and currently wanted former Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council and former head of Yanukovych's presidential administration, is also running for parliament. There are also many other allegedly "former" members of the Party of Regions. Rumor has it that Lyovochkin is counting on his people winning around 50 seats in single-member constituencies.
Let's recall that Petro Poroshenko, when announcing early elections, declared that they would be a lustration of politicians. Judging by the lists of candidates for deputies, the next parliament will have only a small number of new members—according to the Committee of Ukraine, only a quarter. So, the Ukrainians who stood on the Maidan and paid with their lives to ensure that Ukraine became a democratic and rule-of-law state, where there would be no room for corrupt officials, have been deceived. Political corruption remains, and its scale has even increased. Under the guise of lustration slogans, those whose arbitrary actions brought Ukrainian citizens to the streets last winter are once again returning to power. One can debate the lustration methods of the "Warriors of Narnia," but many supported them. As one commenter wrote under the scandalous video: "Grushevsky has no right to be called a people's deputy. He's a potential prisoner."
And the guys did the right thing, but the ballot box should have been placed on their heads. Now it's up to the Prosecutor General's Office to investigate the bribery, if they've got the guts. Otherwise, they'll come for Yarema (Vitaliy Yarema, Prosecutor General of Ukraine). Is it any wonder that Ukrainians agree with such methods of fighting corruption? They see every day that the new government has no intention of truly, legally dealing with them. Therefore, if tomorrow the guys return from the war with weapons in hand, a third Maidan could happen. Then it will be hard on everyone who makes promises today while continuing to exploit the fruits of the revolution for their own ends.
Special Correspondent
Subscribe to our channels in Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, VC — Only new faces from the section CRYPT!