Valery Davydenko
Immediately after his appointment to the post of Prosecutor General, Yuriy Lutsenko (read more about him) Yuriy Lutsenko. The "Terminator" of Ukrainian Politics) promised to open a series of criminal cases against members of parliament. Initially, his words were perceived as yet another example of naked populism in his new position. Moreover, according to Ukrainian law, investigative actions against members of parliament require their immunity to be lifted by a vote in the Verkhovna Rada.
However, Lutsenko's threat unexpectedly quickly materialized in the form of the scandalous case of Ukrgazvydobuvannya and Oleksandr Onyshchenko. His parliamentary colleagues will vote on whether to maintain or lift the latter's immunity on July 5.
In the "Temporary Inviolables" series, we'll try to predict which MPs might suffer the same fate as Onishchenko. We'll also highlight the most controversial members of parliament, over whom, according to insider reports, trouble is gathering.
The materials will be published in alphabetical order by the "heroes'" names. The series opens with Valeriy Davydenko, elected to the Rada from the "Zastup" party and voting today as part of the BPP faction.
According to his income declaration from last year, 43-year-old Valeriy Davydenko is not poor, though he is not burdened by any excess assets. His total income was 4,3 million hryvnias, of which 4,2 million came from the sale of movable and immovable assets. As a result, the deputy currently owns no cars, and he and his family live in a 44-square-meter apartment.
Davydenko's modest official status is far removed from his position in the Ukrainian political system – in which the current member of the presidential faction built his personal capital with the help of... Yanukovych's "family."
The name of Chernihiv entrepreneur Davydenko first became known to the general public in 2007. At that time, he, the general director of the company "Agrodom",turned out to be one of the new co-owners of Terra Bank - together with your partner Yuri KolobovThe plan proved a failure, and within seven years, nothing remained of one of Ukraine's oldest banks (founded back in 1995). In August 2014, Terra was placed under temporary administration.
However, his acquaintance with Kolobov bore significant fruit. Soon after Viktor Yanukovych's election as president, Kolobov became Minister of Finance, and Valeriy Davydenko was appointed Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy.
Davydenko, whose business interests had always been primarily tied to the agro-industrial complex, now received a powerful protectorate. At the agency, he worked under Mykola Prisyazhnyuk, a partner of the legendary Yura Yenakievsky, with whom they controlled the domestic agricultural sector. This was in the interests of the "Family" and, of course, their own.
The results of Valery Davydenko's work turned out to be so successful that Gennady Moskalcalled him among the officials, whose activities led to multibillion-dollar financial claims from China. Having received a $3 billion loan from China in exchange for grain supplies, the State Food and Grain Company of Ukraine shipped only $153 million worth of goods. Instead of China, Ukrainian grain was exported at higher prices to Ethiopia, Iran, Switzerland, Egypt, and rebels in Syria.
"Financial abuses and contract violations, which result in harm to the state and the undermining of international agreements between Ukraine and China, were made possible by the joint anti-state activities of the Minister of Agriculture of Ukraine, N.V. Prysyazhnyuk, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Ukraine, V.M. Davydenko, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, V.A. Mike," Moskal reported.
"Zastup" turned out to be one of the most impressive technological projects, shocking even seasoned experts with the sheer volume of resources devoted to its campaigning. Or rather, "campaigning"—since it was a banal media campaign, with which "Zastup" apparently intended to completely overwhelm the electorate and deprive them of the opportunity to act intelligently at the polling station.
That's what wrote about the operation schemes of the "Spade" Institute of Mass Information expert Roman Kabachy: "Created before the elections, 'Zastup', positioning itself as a 'defender of farmers,' is either a classic technical project or a waste of sponsors' money. This conclusion can be drawn from the political propaganda Zastup has been spreading in the media. The new 'agrarian party' is inflating itself at breakneck speed with the help of injected funds—commissioning 'expert opinions,' buying up newspaper pages and news feed space, just to convince everyone they exist."
As a result, a month before the elections, "Zastup" had already become the leader – not in voter approval, but in online jeans. It was Davydenko's party that ordered more than a third (!) of the votes. all paid news in online media.
"Zastup" didn't limit itself to corruption in the media – the party distributed money directly in exchange for votes. This occurred specifically in the 208th district in the Chernihiv region, where Valeriy Davydenko was running.
On October 17, a week before the elections, Observers from the public organization "Opora" recorded the following incidentIn the center of Bakhmach, two young men distributed money "from candidate Davydenko" to residents, who were required to sign a receipt and provide copies of their personal information. The perpetrators were detained, and they were found to have evidence—a bag containing 257,000 hryvnias and 80 sets of passport copies. The money was placed in envelopes in denominations of 250, 500, and 700 hryvnias. Five criminal cases were opened on these charges. However, Valeriy Davydenko won by a landslide, even defeating the Radical Party candidate Lyashko in Lyashko's home district.
Despite the ensuing massive scandal, Davydenko, the "defender," officially became a member of parliament and immediately after entering parliament, moved to the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, where he continues to work to this day. Although it's not appropriate to discuss Davydenko's actual work in parliament. according to the website "Word and Deed", the MP fulfilled exactly zero of the promises he made during his election campaign.
It's logical to assume that the agreement to provide such significant political cover as membership in the BPP faction was intended to protect Davydenko from any attacks—especially the prospect of criminal liability. But let's recall the criminal expression "not according to one's suit," which best describes the situation unfolding around Davydenko. More on that below.
Having entered parliament, Davydenko caught the attention of Deputy Chief of Staff Vitaliy Kovalchuk, who brought him into the "Our Region" technology project—the remnants of the Party of Regions, assembled as a controlled opposition. As a result, Davydenko continued to successfully protect and strengthen his business interests in his native Chernihiv Oblast.
Vitaly Kovalchuk is the "gray cardinal" of the Presidential Administration and Davydenko's current supervisor.
For example, exactly The deputies of "Our Region" and Davydenko, who personally joined them, did everythingto prevent the new mayor of Chernigov, Vladislav Atroshenko, from taking office.
However, it was in Chernihiv that Davydenko found himself at the center of a situation in which the interests of too many influential parties are intertwined. This concerns the functioning of the regional customs office, which consistently ranks among the top ten largest in the country in terms of collection rates.
Since the beginning of the year, Chernihiv has been engulfed in a scandal surrounding the closure of the privately owned Terminal Center, a highly efficient and convenient cargo processing facility for entrepreneurs within the city limits. Davydenko publicly lobbied for its closure. The reason is as simple as clarified Sergei Starchenko, an activist with the "Under Control" movement and Davydenko's wife, opened an alternative customs terminal in Kozelets.
Thus, the Davydenko couple could gain control of a colossal financial flow – after all, in May alone, the region’s customs duties go to the state budget. amounted to more than 272 million hryvnias.
Naturally, not all forces are interested in such a significant enrichment of the MP, especially those protecting customs flows. It's worth noting that the State Fiscal Service is closely aligned with the president's inner circle. Whether Davydenko's membership in the BPP faction will save him from their aggressive opposition is a big question. After all, the aforementioned Oleksandr Onishchenko also had a permanent position in the Presidential Administration.
Well, which particular episode from Davydenko's turbulent career can be used to bring charges against him depends on the taste of law enforcement – in any case, they will have a wide choice.
Author: Sergey Kolesnik, based on materials from online media
Subscribe to our channels in Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, VC — Only new faces from the section CRYPT!