Nikolai Povoroznik: Koreiko from the Kyiv City State Administration, or a modest operator of financial schemes. PART 1
He sat in the Kyiv City State Administration Alexandra Omelchenko and at Leonid Chernovetsky, held leadership positions there before the Maidan under Alexander Popov, and after the Maidan under Vladimir Bondarenko, and was then appointed deputy Vitali KlitschkoNikolai Povoroznik's "indestructibility" is the envy of many Moscow administration officials. SKELET-info reveals his secret, and who really lies behind the mask of an impeccable, irreplaceable specialist.
Povoroznyk hid in the shadows of the Kyiv City State Administration for a long time, and it was only in 2016 that he first became embroiled in a minor scandal, which he, however, easily hushed up. Then, journalists noticed a discrepancy between his declared income and expenses. At issue was the Hublot Big Bang 365.SX.1170.LR 38 watch he wore in a recent photo, which, according to catalogs, costs between $6700 and $8400. Not the most expensive watch worn by Ukrainian "servants of the people," but still too luxurious for an official living on his salary alone—which is precisely what Mykola Povoroznyk consistently states in his declarations. His income for 2015, for example, amounted to 222 hryvnias in salary (on which he also paid taxes) and 57 hryvnias in interest from a bank deposit. That is, this watch costs as much as Povoroznik’s entire annual income – and he’s not some teenager who would spend all his money on an expensive “trinket.”
A gift from his wife? But according to her declarations, his wife, Valentina Vladimirovna Povoroznik, earned only 36 hryvnias in 2015, and even less in 2016, just 27. Moreover, these amounts are listed as salary (almost minimum), even though Valentina Povoroznik is a co-owner of two companies: LESTA-A LLC (EDRPOU 35755480) and Electronic Settlement Center LLC (EDRPOU 36589578). The former is engaged in non-ferrous metal trading, while the latter handles cash payments related to Ukrposhta. Therefore, it's unlikely these companies are unprofitable and generate no income for their owners. But Povoroznik prefers to play it poor in her declarations. So much so that in 2016, he even begged his boss, Klitschko, for financial assistance from the city budget equal to his monthly salary, to "resolve social and domestic issues." He clearly liked this, and in 2017, he received assistance twice more: in August (for health care) and December (for household needs).
Fellow villagers and fellow soldiers
Nikolai Yuryevich Povoroznik was born on April 10, 1972, in the village of Svyatets, Teofipol district, Khmelnytskyi region. After eighth grade, he entered the Lviv Suvorov Military School (now the State Lyceum of Military Physical Training named after the Heroes of Kruty), and then the Kyiv Military Institute of Management and Communications, in the "Automated Control Systems" department, from which he graduated in 1995 with a degree in electronic engineering. Yes, the electronic payment company registered to his wife immediately comes to mind!
After graduating from military academy, Mykola Yuryevich served in the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the summer of 1995 to October 2001, at a military unit in Gostomel, where he rose to the rank of captain. He then retired, but unlike many former military personnel, he went not into business, security, or the police, but into government. He immediately landed a job at the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA), as the former Kyiv Executive Committee has been known since the 90s. And not just any job, but as the chief specialist in the department for entrepreneurship. In 2003, Povoroznik became deputy head of the licensing department of the Main Department for Regulatory Policy and Entrepreneurship of the KCSA, and he became its head in 2006.
This wasn't just a lucrative job; it was a highly privileged one, because the fate of Kyiv's entire business community was effectively in Povoroznik's hands. Without the licenses he issued, companies couldn't start operating, expand, or build new facilities. Consequently, obtaining these licenses quickly and without hassles required paying extra—a corrupt practice that had spread throughout Ukraine. According to sources, Povoroznik also made good use of the benefits. SKELET-info, For a license costing 255 hryvnias, he allegedly charged an additional $5,000! These same sources claim that Povoroznik was covered by a certain godfather or former colleague working for the capital's Organized Crime Department.
However, such an "enterprising" official, even one with a godfather in the Organized Crime Control Department, would have been quickly "devoured" by his colleagues and superiors at the Kyiv City State Administration—if he had worked alone rather than as part of a team. Povoroznik, on the other hand, outlasted many at the Kyiv City State Administration; half a dozen mayors of the capital city changed under his tenure! Besides, it wasn't his godfather in the Organized Crime Control Department who appointed him to these lucrative positions! But then, who? To unravel this mystery, we'll use Nikolai Povoroznik's declarations, which reveal the LLCs he owns, and then his associates.
Povoroznik, while a government official, wasn't formally involved in business, registering family businesses in his wife's name. However, he is a co-founder of the "Nobody But Us" Charitable Foundation (EDRPOU 36923977). Even its name (the motto of the Soviet Airborne Forces) makes it clear that the foundation has ties to the military. Indeed, it was created under the All-Ukrainian public organization "Nobody But Us" (EDRPOU 36281439), which began as an association of veterans of Afghan wars and other local conflicts. It later expanded to include anyone who wore or still wears epaulettes, and in recent years, ATO veterans. Mykola Povoroznik didn't participate in any conflict, but he is interested in the money in this organization—after all, he is a co-founder of a foundation he created that provides charitable assistance and volunteer work. And, as Ukrainian media reports indicate, resourceful individuals have "volunteered" millions of dollars for themselves. So here too, the humble official Povoroznik is “sitting on money,” just like some kind of Koreiko!
So, another co-founder of the "Nobody But Us" foundation is Viktor Aleksandrovich Bilych, a very well-known figure among Kyiv residents. Together with Mikhail Golitsa, Nikolai Negrich и Vyacheslavov Nepopom He is known as a member of the so-called "construction clan" within the Kyiv City State Administration. It's called "construction" because this group of close associates formed around the construction business, entered Kyiv's government under the mayor-constructionist Oleksandr Omelchenko, and continues to control Kyiv's largest construction companies, Zhitloinvestbud-UKB, Kyivmiskbud, Fundament, and others.
Viktor Bilych
A look at Viktor Bilych's biography reveals that he was born on March 13, 1964, in... the village of Svyatets in the Teofipol district of the Khmelnytskyi region. This makes him a fellow villager of Mykola Povoroznik! Moreover, some sources claim that the wives of Povoroznik and Bilych are practically sisters, practically blood relatives. Although this is unlikely, as they have different patronymics. His wife, Natalia Mykolaivna Bilych, now works, thanks to the efforts of her husband and fellow villager Povoroznik, as the head of the Kyiv City State Administration's Human Resources Department. She also owns City-Prime LLC (EDRPOU 40945001), and she's not the least bit embarrassed by it.
Viktor Bilych, too, was once practically a military man—he trained as an aeronautical engineer and worked for several years at the Kyiv Antonov Plant, where he met Nepop on the issue of the MZhK, and also became friends with Omelchenko on the same topic. In 1994, Bilych became deputy head of the Kyiv State Property Fund, and from 2000 to 2006, he headed the Main Directorate for Entrepreneurship of the Kyiv City State Administration. Yes, that's right: it was Viktor Bilych who hired Mykola Povoroznik to manage him in 2001, and it was he who promoted him up the career ladder. It should be added: if the information about Povoroznik's "earnings" from issuing licenses is accurate, then he shared his profits primarily with Bilych. But, let us emphasize, Bilych himself is only one member of the “construction mafia” in the Kyiv City State Administration, which grew there under Omelchenko and still maintains its position to this day.
Under Chernovetsky, Bilych left to work for Zhitloinvestbud, but Povoroznyk remained at the Kyiv City State Administration. In December of that year, he became head of the Main Directorate for Regulatory Policy and Entrepreneurship—and, according to sources, the "trading" in permits and licenses expanded even further. In 2012, Povoroznyk became deputy head of the Main Directorate for Industrial, Scientific, Technical, and Innovation Policy at the Kyiv City State Administration, simultaneously heading the department for issuing permits. In 2013, he became deputy head of the Department of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development at the Kyiv City State Administration (and continued to head the department for issuing permits). A few months later, he became deputy head, and then director, of the Department of Economy and Investments at the Kyiv City State Administration. It was in this position that he survived the second Maidan.
And so, in January 2016, Povoroznik was appointed deputy chairman of the Kyiv City State Administration, tasked with coordinating the departments of economics and investment, budget and finance, tax policy and banking, and tender procurement. Moreover, this position was specially created for him by Vitali Klitschko. You must admit, it's surprising that under Omelchenko, Chernovetsky, Popov, and Klitschko, the dashing communications captain was given positions where the money just sticks to his fingers. Corruption is rampant, yet Povoroznik portrays himself as an honest, selfless man living on his salary. Truly, like Koreiko in "Hercules"!
Since December 2017, Mykola Povoroznyk has become the capital's first deputy mayor, meaning he now effectively runs Kyiv when Klitschko is busy or traveling. Naturally, the appointment of deputy chairmen of the Kyiv City State Administration is done in consultation with the Cabinet of Ministers, where Mykola Povoroznyk has been a regular since February 2015. And it appears he has patrons there, too.
Sergey Varis, for Skelet.Org
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