While Arbuzov, Kurchenko, and a number of their accomplices are forced to flee Ukrainian justice outside of Ukraine, gradually losing their ill-gotten gains, some of the Yanukovych Family's "shadow cashiers" manage to remain in Kyiv with impunity and even enter high-level law enforcement offices without hesitation. However, any impunity eventually comes to an end—and there's already a knock on the door of one of the most active participants in criminal financial schemes of the last decade, Finexbank owner Serhiy Ossergeev, reports... ORD
Against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, many issues that had previously stirred public interest have naturally faded into the background, including the investigation into the Yanukovych family's notorious schemes. Even the recent seizure of the assets of Serhiy Kurchenko's VETEK company failed to generate much excitement among Ukrainians, although until recently, the impunity of Viktor Fedorovich's financial "brigadiers" was one of the main grievances of post-Maidan Ukraine against the new government. However, as it turns out, the investigation is moving forward, and new companies and characters are constantly emerging in the case.
As the Ministry of Internal Affairs press service recently reported, investigators from the capital's headquarters, "as part of an investigation into fictitious entrepreneurship, conducted searches at four branches of the public joint-stock company Finexbank in Kyiv, during which documents were seized proving the financial institution's involvement in the illegal activities of a private enterprise."
What is Finexbank? For those familiar with the name of this financial institution, it has been firmly associated since Yanukovych's second term as prime minister with the "common fund" of Viktor Yanukovych and his team. The first public mention of this bank in connection with fraud and money laundering dates back to the fall of 2007 – and this information was published by the then-influential newspaper Kommersant Ukraine, citing data from the Prosecutor General's Office.
Ukrbusinessbank, mentioned alongside Finex, in case anyone has forgotten, is the very same company whose chairman of the board from 2003 to 2010 was a certain Serhiy Gennadyevich Arbuzov. The future deputy prime minister was hired by Arbuzov's predecessor as the Yanukovych family banker, Pavlo Borulko. The same Borulko who, together with the fugitive former MP Shepelev is involved in cases involving high-profile contract killings of the last decade, money laundering and bank refinancing scams (more about it: Pavel Borulko: A Forgotten Legend of Banking Fraud).
Nevertheless, the surge in prosecutorial activity that occurred in the final days of the 2007 re-election campaign never resulted in any actual criminal proceedings. It would have been surprising, given that, according to publications in the opposition press at the time, it was under the wing of Prosecutor General Oleksandr Medvedko that the shadow financial system operated. It was headed by the aforementioned Pavel Borulko, who, by a fortunate coincidence, also happened to be the husband of the Prosecutor General's niece. His responsibilities included "general management, coordination, and control of cash flows, as well as maintaining ties with the NBU's banking protection racket." However, the modest Finexbank also received a high-stakes role in the scheme.
"Sergey Ossergeev, owner of Finexbank OJSC, is directly responsible for financial matters and oversight of cash flows. Maintaining close contact with Yuriy Vandin, Nikolay Alipov, Kyiv Deputy Prosecutor Vadym Goran, and other law enforcement officials, he addresses practical issues, ensuring the smooth and secure operation of currency conversion centers, as well as the transfer of currency across the border to Russia, Latvia, and other countries near and far," media reported in 2008.
Confirmation of the rumors and press reports came from an unexpected source: in 2011, the SBU suddenly launched an investigation into the activities of the "conversion kings" Borulko and Shepelev. It wasn't that the Yanukovych family suddenly felt ashamed of their previous activities—it was simply that Valeriy Khoroshkovsky, then head of the SBU, seized the opportunity to undermine Arbuzov, who was consolidating his power, and attack his entourage before leaving office. However, an arrest warrant for Borulko was issued (Shepelev was protected by his parliamentary mandate), and he was saved from trouble by fleeing to Belarus. Neighbors of Yanukovych's former advisor were arrested, but for some reason they refused to extradite him to Ukraine; some say they even secretly released him. After losing his mandate (a figure useful to any government, he was twice elected on the BYuT list, but with the rise of Yanukovych, he switched to the Party of Regions faction), Shepelev also went on the run and was eventually arrested in Hungary. In March of this year, after the overthrow of the Yanukovych-Arbuzov clan, Hungarian authorities extradited the fugitive to Ukraine. However, even in the country of the victorious Maidan, the swindler had plenty of friends. On July 6, accused of murder and embezzlement, he and his escort quietly escaped from the prison wing of the Kyiv Emergency Hospital.
The inconspicuous Ossergeev fortunately managed to avoid all these misadventures of his associates. This was not only because his close friendship with the son of the new Prosecutor General, Artem Pshonka, allowed him to have little fear of prosecution, but also because the younger Pshonka had already fully integrated himself into new, even more advanced and brazen family carve-up schemes. According to law enforcement circles, Ossergeev was even listed among the occupants of that very same Kyiv office of Sasha the Dentist at 35 Gonchar Street, where Maidan activists discovered the Family's money laundering and tribute collection center on February 23. Furthermore, documents found in the office reveal a key position held by another friend, fellow countryman, and associate of Ossergeev, a well-known shadow "converter." Sergei ShakhovHis close friendship with the notorious Mykola Chinchin, known for fabricating criminal cases against the Maidan protesters and making bizarre statements while head of the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, also speaks volumes about the status of Finex's owner.
It's clear that with such cover, there was no need to fear law enforcement. Even with the fall of the Yanukovych regime, the owner of Finexbank felt quite confident, as evidenced by his numerous visits to the offices of high-ranking officials of the Prosecutor General's Office in recent months. However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs' searches of the OsSergievsky bank more than clearly hinted: it's quite possible that friendship and business ties with the "prince of conversion" could soon become not so much a source of pride and a means of enrichment for Ukrainian businessmen, but rather aggravating circumstances. Or at least grounds for questioning.
OsSergeev himself, who is also the head of the Kyiv Cycling Federation, should probably remember the story of the once-all-powerful Shepelev and Borulko, ask his friends where Arbuzov and Kurchenko are hiding now, and focus on the important principle of cyclists: "Pedals up before they give you a break." However, judging by the searches at Finexbank, it's not a given that those pedals will get going in time.
Sergey Petrovsky
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