According to reliable sources, on November 27 of this year, the operating system of PrivatBank, one of Ukraine's largest banks, was hacked. PrivatBank, owned by Dnipropetrovsk governor and oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, is owned by the bank's operating system. We believe the attacker hacked a client bank.
When such actions are carried out, even the most ingenious computer fraudsters cannot help but leave traces. It has become known that the illegal actions against Kolomoisky's bank were carried out by people allegedly operating under the auspices of the firm Atlas Group.
The direct leader of this project to funnel Privat's money into his own pockets turned out to be Russian citizen Vladimir Kovalev. He's a professional computer fraudster, a well-known programmer in certain circles, and has repeatedly come to the attention of law enforcement agencies in Russia, Ukraine, and Europe. Incidentally, the SBU recently banned him from entering Ukraine, yet, using a different passport, he languidly enters Ukraine. One of his favorite spots in the capital is the intersection of Leo Tolstoy and Saksaganskogo Streets. There, you'll find an office, housing, and the Velur restaurant for business meetings.
It is known that Kovalev's accomplice is a Ukrainian citizen, a native of the Donetsk region, a certain Viktor Romanyuk, born in 1987, officially residing in the Volodarsky district of the Donetsk region.
Currently, he is engaged in all sorts of operations of very dubious quality in Donetsk and adjacent regions.
In this relationship, Kovalev was the leader, Romanyuk the executor, but the leader of the entire process was not them, but a Ukrainian citizen born in 1975, a native of the Donetsk region city of Konstantinovka, Pavel Rychkov.
This name had already appeared in previous investigations, but it was quickly changed when the time came for the next scam. Behind the name Rychkov is a well-known financial fraudster, Pavel Borulko, who has been on the international wanted list for several years ( more about him: Pavel Borulko: The Forgotten Legend of Banking Frauds ).
Borulko did indeed receive a new Ukrainian passport, which he was otherwise unable to obtain under Ukrainian law. However, this still doesn't arouse any interest from law enforcement.
The process was quite simple. First, he married Natalia Rychkova, a resident of Belarus with a peculiar past, where he hid from Ukrainian law enforcement. Then, he adopted her last name and applied for a new Ukrainian passport, changing his registration from Donetsk Oblast to Feodosia, Crimea. He then allegedly traveled to Kyiv in person and received the new passport. In turn, officials, for a small bribe, turned a blind eye to violations and issued a passport to a man on the wanted list. The question is how? The second question is, to whom? Unless Borulko had crossed the border, and if he had, he would have been detained!
And the fact that Borulko, pardon me, Rychkov, then tried to become a people's deputy with this passport and was registered as a candidate with the Central Electoral Commission, was a very unpleasant surprise and revelation for officials.
Because of the publicity, they found themselves not just in the spotlight, but under direct attack from law enforcement. Because they had committed a real crime, punishable by law.
Borulko-Rychkov remains in Minsk, managing his hidden assets through Shibor LLC, which is registered in Belarus. He freely travels to the Russian capital and EU countries under a new name, and compared to his other criminal cases, his passport combination is a mere trifle.
Borulko's new team is also doing relatively well, carrying out risky schemes on Ukrainian territory.
There are explanations for this. Borulko managed, for free, to acquire the so-called SBU protection of Mr. Rasputko, the First Deputy Director of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine. Rasputko, who is preparing for retirement and disdains nothing, even communicating with individuals on the international wanted list, in most cases not directly, but through his lawyer, Igor Balyk.
That's why Rasputko is the very patron of Borulko-Rychkov, who is trying to solve the fugitive banker's complex problems in his homeland, destroy criminal cases, and generally earn as much money as possible while he is still in this lucrative position.
And it probably doesn't matter that Rasputko should put Rychkov-Borulko on the wanted list so that the latter doesn't enjoy life abroad, and not pretend that he knows nothing about the change of his surname, and as if the criminal case doesn't include the documents seized from the passport office of the Shevchenko district of Kyiv.
But understand, Rasputko needs to earn his "thank you"... Especially since it doesn't seem so scary when you're supported by the GPU deputy, Baganets. Yes, this is the same Baganets whose law firm, under Balyk's leadership, is defending Borulko-Rychkov, of course, for "thank you." You might ask, "What about lustration?" What lustration? One hand washes the other, you see how it's all connected. Besides, Baganets isn't the timid type; he also has a roof over his head, in the person of Mr. Lutsenko, the leader of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc.
But while Lutsenko is fighting the dark forces, behind his reliable back, the supposedly honest, unlustrated Baganets, Rasputko, and others are earning "thanks" from anyone... And anticipating their future, they're managing the Borulko-Rychkov assets, whose director is a certain Kolosyuk, an employee of the Balyk-Baganets law firm, or rather, "Oberig":
Until recently, this company had a different name – Baganets and Partners, but when Baganets became Deputy Prosecutor General, the name had to be changed.
The company is headed (in practice, not on paper) by Bagants' friend and partner, Igor Balyk. They have long been close. And now they are working together to clear Borulko of criminal charges in Ukraine, while simultaneously saving his assets.
Yes, you understood correctly: Borulko-Rychkov's assets were seized to compensate Ukraine for losses from the latter's fraudulent activities amounting to hundreds of millions of hryvnias. But don't forget about Rasputko, who can lift seizures and turn a blind eye to the search—a real magician! Some people work and seize assets, while others profit from the seized assets!
And we want to warn the entire esteemed team: Rychkov-Borulko's plans are not business, but fraud with Ukraine's financial resources, along with their new partners – "no patriots of Ukraine at all." So think about what will happen to you tomorrow, as accomplices! Glory to Ukraine...
Igor Nikolaev, for ORD
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