Ludmila Denisova
The elections ended with unexpected results for many, especially for the winning party itself. It's unclear whether the "vote for the prime minister" mantra worked, but the People's Front government bloc took first place, even beating out President Poroshenko's political force.
Since the exit polls were announced, the process of forming a new coalition has begun in some Kyiv offices. This process is still far from complete. But it is clear that the winning party must form the core of the new government. What does this mean for the country and for the average Ukrainian? At the very least, it means that the current members of the government have a serious chance of retaining their seats. However, there is one huge BUT. After the elections, Yatsenyuk becomes the leading contender for the presidency in the next elections. Therefore, he will be forced to be much more careful about his positioning and that of his own political force. This means that when forming the government, the issue of making money will take a backseat, while the issue of image and effective reforms will take center stage. This is how it should be, ideally.
Today, one of the most painful areas of the Government's work is the social sector. The current minister Ludmila Denisova has an extremely controversial reputation. Those who know her say that her reputation is, on the contrary, too unambiguous, but negative.
In most reports investigating her activities in various managerial positions, analysts agree on one thing: Denisova is a brilliant creator and implementer of various schemes that siphon funds from the state budget into offshore accounts. It was the issue of electronic money in the Crimean government, where she headed the Ministry of Finance, that led to the restriction of her freedom in the penitentiary system.
However, this occurred during the "criminal Kuchma regime" and could well be considered political persecution. However, there are also more recent cases. In 2008, SBU officers uncovered embezzlement during the purchase of wheelchairs by officials of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. Without examining market offers, these officials entered into agreements with a commercial entity to purchase wheelchairs at a price significantly higher than the actual price (for some models, the excess was over 300%). Consequently, the SBU Investigative Department opened a criminal case for embezzlement of budget funds, under Article 191, Part 5, of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Nalyvaichenko singled out Denisova's role. According to him, during the purchase of 18,500 wheelchairs for 60 million hryvnias, with the minister's knowledge, a profit of 2,000 hryvnias was being made on each wheelchair.
According to inside sources, SBU Head Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, who remains a member of the President's team to this day, even sent a special analytical memo to the President proposing a show trial of corrupt officials, with the prosecution reaching all the way to the highest levels. Apparently, his plan was to imprison Denisova herself, and cast a shadow over the entire Batkivshchyna political team. Meanwhile, they say a substantial body of evidence had been assembled. And it's still stored somewhere.
However, there are also some very recent facts. As is well known, Nashi Groshi journalists are especially fond of the officials who conduct the most ambitious and reckless tenders. After the formation of the Yatsenyuk Government in 2014 (remember, "a strong team for difficult times"), Nashi Groshi researchers even made a bet on who would be the first member of the "strong team" to screw up. Traditionally, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Social Policy won this bet. Then, in May, Lyudmila Denisova's ministry held a tender for 170 million rubles to provide baby food for children affected by the Chernobyl disaster.
110 million hryvnias out of 170 million hryvnias went to Visit LLC, the wife of Belotserkivskyi District Council deputy Ruslan Berezko, who was elected as a member of the Party of Regions (remember, just six months ago, the Party of Regions was "our everything" for all levels of government). This company was part of the infamous pool of food suppliers to the army, formed during Mykhailo Yezhel's tenure at the Ministry of Defense. Visit was the winner in our sweepstakes. The fact is, this company had been involved in food distribution at the ministry since the previous administration. Last year, it was given the opportunity to spend 86 million hryvnias. And as Slidstvo.Info discovered, the spending followed the best traditions of embezzlement.
Today, according to social security experts, Denisova's team has taken over all cash flows related to both the work of the Ministry of Social Policy's structural divisions and the non-governmental social insurance fund.
In May, two officials from the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy were arrested and charged with extorting a particularly large bribe. While investigating the case, investigators discovered that, even after Russia's annexation of Crimea, senior Ministry officials had been siphoning off budget funds for "rehabilitation of workers" at Crimean sanatoriums.
This surge in information fueled rumors about the possible resignation of "Tymoshenko's favorite minister." However, after a timely political shift, Denisova managed to maintain her position. And now the question of her possible retention is once again being raised. However, experts believe this would have catastrophic consequences for the government's approval ratings, which will now have to cleanse themselves of any negative information. And after all, the country is at war. The Donbas peace process and possible tenders for its restoration are next on the agenda. Now we'll see which team will take on these challenges.
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