The Family's corrupt officials are returning. Vilchinsky

Vladimir Vilchinsky

The ex-official of the State Consumer Inspectorate, Vladimir Vilchinsky, who was reinstated through the court, plans to use the UDAR quota to head the reformed “Sovereign Service of Ukraine for the safety of grub products and the protection of livestock,” reports ORD.

This was reported by a member of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The same information was confirmed by the State Inspectorate of Ukraine for Consumer Protection. As a reminder, Volodymyr Vilchinsky, the deputy head of the Prosecutor General's Office, was previously dismissed by former Economy Minister Pavlo Sheremeta for violating his oath as a civil servant. The official reason given in Sheremeta's order generally reflected Vilchinsky's entire history of illegal activities as deputy head of the Prosecutor General's Office.
Corruption and bribery were part of the State Inspectorate for Consumer Protection and amounted to millions of dollars. Large household appliance retailers such as Eldorado, Foxtrot, and Comfy suffered the most from the fraudulent "managers." The fines imposed on them by Vilchinsky exceeded $1 billion. But just recently, the Kyiv Court of Appeals ruled that Vladimir Vilchinsky was illegally dismissed from his position, and the court overturned Sheremeta's decision. We wrote about this previously: https://ord-ua.com/2014/08/26/lyustrirovannyie-chinovniki-rvutsya-k-vlasti-/?lpage=1
Sources in the retail chains targeted by Vilchinsky believe the appellate court's decision could not have been made without patronage from above. They say Mr. Vilchinsky found patrons in the high-ranking UDAR party. This is precisely why the court's decision is at least surprising: not only did our businessman not "violate his oath," but he's now eyeing a seat in the new regulatory structure.
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As the editorial team has learned, the Cabinet of Ministers is currently discussing the reform of state oversight bodies. The first stage, already scheduled for September, is the optimization of state oversight bodies. To implement this plan, amendments to 178 Ukrainian laws are required. A working group has been created for the reform, including representatives of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice, the EU Delegation, and other foreign organizations. The staffing levels of the oversight bodies themselves are planned to be reduced by 20%, oversight functions by 34%, and the number of employees by 56%. It is also planned to merge some oversight agencies, such as the State Labor Inspectorate, the Office of the State Service for Mining Supervision and Industrial Safety, and the State Epidemiological Service, into a single State Labor Service.
The Cabinet of Ministers plans to merge the State Inspectorate for Consumer Protection, the State Epidemiological Service, and the State Veterinary and Phytosanitary Service into a single regulatory agency—the "State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection." The goal is generally noble. Fewer officials means less corruption. Judging by a Cabinet of Ministers presentation obtained by our journalist, there are three goals for this streamlining:
1. Ensuring an effective control system
2. Reducing pressure on business
3. Reducing the level of corruption.
Klitschko is apparently confident that only one "specialist," Vladimir Vilchinsky, can achieve these three goals in the new "State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection."
As we know, the former deputy head of the Prosecutor General's Office and a corrupt official are truly adept at controlling manufacturers and sellers of various products. As we previously reported, he meticulously monitored sellers of household appliances from world-renowned brands such as Samsung, LG, and Lenovo. One of the demands of the then deputy head of the Prosecutor General's Office was the inclusion of the "Country of Podzhennia..." label on packaging. This meant that the "Made in Korea" label on the refrigerator was not acceptable to Vilchinsky, and for this, the chains were fined over 1 billion hryvnias!
He also knows how to "not pressure businesses," but motivate them to work even harder. Representatives of the Eldorado chain visited the Prosecutor General's Office several times a week to investigate illegal fines. And they weren't the only ones, either: representatives of the European Business Association and the American Chamber of Commerce also went to Vilchinsky and begged him to leave the businessmen alone.
What kind of "reduction in corruption" is expected from Klitschko upon the return of Vladimir Vilchinsky, who has already once revealed his true colors as a seasoned corrupt official, but now as a leader rather than just his deputy? The question remains open.
We'll likely see a new round of corruption not only in retail, but also in agriculture and, to some extent, in medicine, as the new government agency will have the power to inspect these sectors as well. If the "UDAR" faction succeeds in installing Vilchinsky in the leadership of the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, then only one conclusion can be drawn: Cabinet officials specifically planned to reform this agency to tap into the flow of corrupt money, as they did under the previous government. It's no coincidence that Vladimir Vilchinsky, who oversaw the flow of corruption within the GPU for the "Family," was chosen as the chief consultant on the reform of the GPU. Now he will also be in charge of a lucrative new position.

Oleg Nikolaev

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