New Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov. Source: facebook.com/alex.reznikoff
The new Defense Minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, appointed on November 4, has long been entrenched in the highest echelons of power. Previously, he worked on Yushchenko's team and then served as deputy to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. He joined Zelenskyy's team thanks to his connections with the head of the presidential administration, Andriy Yermak, writes Oleksiy Romanov on the website. Country.
"Strana" has already briefly covered what is officially known about Zelenskyy's new ministers. Now we'll take a closer look at the "skeletons in the closet" the new defense minister is hiding.
British offshore companies of the Deputy Prime Minister
Prior to his appointment as Minister of Defense, Oleksiy Yuryevich Reznikov served as Deputy Prime Minister for Occupied Territories from March 4, 2020. While serving as Deputy Prime Minister, in May 2020, Oleksiy Reznikov twice declared the purchase of shares in the offshore company Life Earth LLC, registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). He paid 133 hryvnias each for two shares, representing 33% of the company's authorized capital.
Deputy Prime Minister Reznikov's British offshore companies
Source: public.nazk.gov.ua
Source: public.nazk.gov.ua
The shares in the British offshore company's authorized capital were purchased from two individuals: Andrey Miroshnichenko and Vladimir Vaschenko. They are the founders of the travel company "Ves Svet."
Oleksiy Reznikov has owned another third of the offshore company Life Earth since its registration in 2011. During his time as a shareholder in the British offshore company, he served as a member of parliament and secretary of the Kyiv City Council, as deputy mayor to Vitali Klitschko, and even as deputy prime minister. Then, as deputy prime minister, he bought out his co-founders' shares and became the full owner of the company.
Life Earth, the offshore company acquired by Alexey Reznikov in 2020, had, in turn, owned 100% of the shares of Flings Advisors, an offshore company also registered in the BVI, since September 2019.
Thus, by acquiring Life Earth shares, Alexey Reznikov became the full owner of two offshore companies at once—Life Earth itself, and, through it, Flings Advisors. He reflected this fact in his 2020 income tax return:
Source: public.nazk.gov.ua
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of several small islands in the northeastern Caribbean Sea.
This is a popular offshore jurisdiction. The advantage of BVI companies is that the authorities do not disclose the names of owners and directors without a court order. There are no taxes on the income of companies and their owners in the BVI. Simply pay a fee upon registration and then an annual fee of between $350 and $1000.
The islands have a population of less than 31. However, over 400 active companies are registered there, representing approximately 40% of the world's offshore companies. They hold assets worldwide worth approximately $1,5 trillion.
The Panama Papers investigation revealed that every second company found in the files of Mossack Fonseca, the law firm at the center of the scandal, was registered in the BVI:
The Panama Papers investigation revealed that every second one was registered in the British Virgin Islands.
Source: icij.org
The problem is that global media recently published a massive new leak of documents about the owners of offshore companies, dubbed the Pandora Papers. This leak sparked a scandal involving Volodymyr Zelenskyy's offshore companies.
Journalists have uncovered evidence that before his election as president, Zelenskyy and his associates from Kvartal actively used offshore companies. The journalists were able to partially confirm reports that offshore companies affiliated with Zelenskyy's circle received $40 million from companies linked to oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky.
Also, through a network of offshore companies linked to Zelensky, two of his associates, Sergei Shefir and Andrei Yakovlev, became the owners of luxury real estate in London worth millions of dollars.
Thus, the new Defense Minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, has gone much further than his boss in his offshore operations. While Volodymyr Zelenskyy formally renounced his offshore assets after being elected president, Oleksiy Reznikov, on the contrary, began acquiring offshore assets while already serving as Deputy Prime Minister.
It remains to be seen why the new minister needs offshore companies. It seems the new Defense Minister has no intention of abandoning his British offshore companies.
Photo: facebook.com / alex.reznikoff
A million dollars for my daughter
Another financial transaction by the new minister attracted the attention of Strana. This involved a $1,100,000 loan to Anastasia Shteyngauz, Alexei Reznikov's daughter from his first marriage. This loan was first disclosed in his 2019 asset declaration:
A loan of $1,100,000 to Anastasia Steinhaus
However, the information then changed: in his 2020 declaration, Alexey Reznikov indicated that he issued the loan not in 2019, but on March 6, 2020, two days after his appointment as Deputy Prime Minister:
In his 2020 declaration, Alexey Reznikov indicated that he issued the loan not in 2019, but on March 6, 2020.
This discrepancy could mean the loan was issued twice. But then the question arises about the source of the funds. According to his own asset declaration, as of the end of 2019, Oleksiy Reznikov had only $435 and just under UAH 250 in bank accounts. And his salary at the Asters law firm in 2020, before he became deputy prime minister, was less than UAH 10 million. This is insufficient to cover the $1,1 million loan Reznikov allegedly gave to his daughter on March 6, 2020.
Anastasia Steinhaus (Reznikova). Source: facebook.com/anastasiya.reznikova
Anastasia Shteyngauz has been the Managing Director of ICTV since May 2019. Prior to that, she held various positions at the same channel for over 10 years.
Interestingly, in August 2020, Reznikov married Yulia Zoriy, a morning show host on the same ICTV channel, after a three-year relationship. The minister's new wife is the same age as his daughter.
Alexey Reznikov with his new wife, Yulia Zoriy. Source: facebook.com /alex.reznikoff
The scandalous son-in-law, a developer
Almost nothing is known about the new Defense Minister's daughter's husband. However, Strana has discovered that his name is Dmitry Shteyngauz and that he owns a development corporation that is carrying out a large-scale construction project in Brovary, near Kyiv.
Anastasia Shteyngauz got married in 2013. Alexey Reznikov himself announced this on his Facebook page.
Her husband, Dmitry Shteingauz, states on his Facebook page that he is the CEO of the construction company 2C Construction Synergy. The last available post on his social media page dates back to 2012:
Source: facebook.com/dmitry.shteyngauz
2C Construction Synergy is known for building the L-Kvartal residential complex in Kyiv. It's located in the Shuliavka district, at the intersection of Vasylenko Street and V. Havela Boulevard (formerly Lepse). The complex consists of four 25-story residential buildings and one office building:
Source: krysha.ua
Another, more ambitious (and controversial) project by Dmitry Shteingauz is the "Scandia" residential complex in Brovary, near Kyiv. A plot of land totaling over 80 hectares has been allocated for development.
The complex is planned to consist of 65 buildings with their own infrastructure. The buildings are being built in stages. The first building in the complex was commissioned at the end of 2018. Three buildings are currently operational.
Information about Dmitry Shteingauz's involvement in this development first appeared in 2016 in the online publication "Tribuna-Brovary." Journalists published a report from a meeting of the Brovary City Council's land commission, which revealed that Dmitry Shteingauz was one of the two beneficiaries of the development. The development was then being carried out through Prosperitatis LLC:
Source: brovary.net.ua
The land allocation, project development, and the start of construction were plagued by conflicts and scandals. At the time, Oleksiy Reznikov, the father-in-law of the construction beneficiary, was serving as deputy mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko.
For example, one investor forum is filled with numerous messages claiming the developer is failing to fulfill its obligations and constantly failing to complete the buildings on time. In May 2018, one apartment buyer with the nickname "Evil Investor" reported that his contract was signed on behalf of the developer by "some D.A. Shteyngauz":
Source: forum.domik.ua
At the end of 2017, Dmitry Shteyngauz ceased to be the beneficiary of Prosperitatis LLC. The business involved in the construction of the Scandia residential complex was restructured.
Around the same time, the Freya investment fund became the project's parent company, with the new defense minister's son-in-law becoming head of the supervisory board and owner of 100% of the shares.
The Freya investment fund then became the 100% owner of Aquaservice LLC. This LLC, in turn, owns 100% of Goodfor-Living LLC, the current main developer of the Scandia residential complex.
Apartment sales are currently underway on behalf of the latter company. Its founder, Aquaservice LLC, according to the decision of the Brovary City Council Executive Committee dated June 23, 2021, provides water and sewerage services to three buildings in the Scandia residential complex that have been commissioned:
Source: brovary-rada.gov.ua
Thus, Dmitry Shteingauz, Alexey Reznikov's son-in-law, now supplements his business of building apartment buildings in Brovary with a business of servicing existing buildings.
Dmitry Shteyngauz. Photo: indposhiv.ua
Recidivist and drug addict Alexei Reznikov
Oleksiy Reznikov's final asset declaration for 2020 suddenly included an apartment the new Defense Minister has owned since 2002, but for some reason hadn't previously declared. The apartment in question is a 72,9-square-meter Kyiv apartment, of which the official owns one-third. The remaining two-thirds belong to Konstantin Yuryevich Reznikov. Judging by his full name, he is the new Defense Minister's brother:
There is no publicly available information about Alexey Reznikov's brother, Konstantin. However, Strana has discovered that a man with that name is a repeat offender with multiple convictions.
Konstantin Reznikov received his first sentence for drug possession in 2008 under Article 309, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Konstantin Reznikov was then convicted twice under Article 289, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for car theft. The first conviction under this article occurred in 2011, and the second in 2014, when Konstantin Reznikov stole a car from a Kyiv parking lot after breaking a window and attempting to sell it. These facts are cited in the verdict of the Darnitsky District Court of Kyiv, which sentenced the offender to 6,5 years:
Source: reyestr.court.gov.ua
Konstantin Reznikov did not serve his full sentence, being released in December 2019. In April 2020, he was caught again, this time for driving under the influence of drugs, for which the court fined him 10 hryvnias.
However, at the moment there is no precise information that the convicted Konstantin Reznikov and the brother of the new Minister of Defense are one and the same person.
From Yushchenko to Zelensky via Klitschko
Oleksiy Reznikov's political star rose in 2004. At the time, he was the lawyer for future President Viktor Yushchenko. Following the second round of the presidential election, in which Viktor Yanukovych was declared the winner, Yushchenko filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court demanding a recount. The first "Orange Maidan" protests were in full swing at the time, with protesters demanding that Yushchenko's victory be recognized.
The Supreme Court judges then made a legally controversial decision, annulling the results of the second round of elections and ordering a rerun (the so-called "third round"), which declared Viktor Yushchenko the winner. Yushchenko's interests were represented by, among other lawyers, Oleksiy Reznikov.
Then, in 2008, Oleksiy Reznikov won a seat on the Kyiv City Council, running on the ticket of Mykola Katerynchuk's bloc, a Yushchenko ally from the "Orange" Maidan. Reznikov's parliamentary career didn't go well: immediately after his election, almost the entire Katerynchuk bloc faction defected to Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi. In protest, Oleksiy Reznikov stopped attending Kyiv City Council meetings.
In the late 2000s, media outlets accused Reznikov's firm, Magisters, of practically monopolizing legal services to Naftogaz Ukrainy without the required tender procedures. In 2009, the firm handled Naftogaz's gas case against RosUkrEnergo, which was lost. Ultimately, the Stockholm Arbitration Court ordered Naftogaz to return 11 billion cubic meters of gas to RosUkrEnergo.
In the 2014 elections, Oleksiy Reznikov was again elected to the Kyiv City Council, where he became the city council secretary and deputy mayor to Vitali Klitschko. Reznikov served as Klitschko's deputy until September 2018.
Vitali Klitschko and Alexey Reznikov. Photo: facebook.com/alex.reznikoff
In 2019, thanks to his acquaintance with Andriy Yermak, the head of the Presidential Office, Reznikov joined the Servant of the People party. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Oleksiy Reznikov as Ukraine's representative to the Trilateral Contact Group for the peaceful settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine. He later became the first deputy head of the Ukrainian delegation. As a member of the TCG, Reznikov stated that the Minsk agreements needed to be revised.
On March 4, 2020, the Verkhovna Rada voted to appoint Oleksiy Reznikov as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed to the National Security and Defense Council.
"Oncological tumor of Donbass"
Alexei Reznikov has achieved no results in reintegrating the uncontrolled territories. On the contrary, he has fueled discord with his harsh statements.
For example, in November 2020, on Channel 5, owned by Petro Poroshenko, Oleksiy Reznikov compared Donbas to a "cancer tumor" and called it "mentally sick territories." This was reported by Strana.
In an interview with Yanina Sokolova, Reznikov stated the following: "The main thing for us is not to take it back like a cancerous tumor we don't know what to do with. But we understand we have two options. These are diseased areas, including mentally. The options are complete resection, amputation, or treatment. I'm in favor of therapy and complete restoration of our body."
Alexey Reznikov during an interview with Yanina Sokolova. Screenshot from the video.
Back then, the passage about the "mentally ill" territories of Donbas sounded as if the Ukrainian government hadn't changed and Petro Poroshenko was president. Recall that under the previous president, statements about the "genetic" abnormality of the residents of southeastern Ukraine were made at the ministerial level. For example, Minister of Culture Yevhen Nyshchuk spoke of this.
It's worth noting that the epithet Reznikov used is usually applied to mentally ill individuals. Apparently, the official considers the residents of the uncontrolled territories, whom he intends to reintegrate, to be mentally ill.
The minister's statement sparked an outraged reaction on social media. The Ukrainian delegation to the TCG later stated that this statement was Reznikov's personal position.
How Alexey Reznikov tried to leave Kyiv residents without district councils
Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories Reznikov lent his daughter over $1 million.
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