"Chocolate" Prosecutor Oleg Zhuchenko: Criminal Roofer, Drug Lord, and Protector of One-Armed Bandits. PART 1
Oleh Zhuchenko rose through the ranks from an investigator in the Vinnytsia District Prosecutor's Office to the head of the Vinnytsia Oblast District Prosecutor's Office. His rapid career advancement was facilitated by his friendship with Volodymyr Groysman and Oleksiy Poroshenko, as well as his father's connections as a prosecutor.
Today, thanks to his connections and Vinnytsia roots, Oleh Zhuchenko feels at home in Odessa. Even prominent crime bosses pay tribute to the lawman, as no one wants to deal with the "chocolate" prosecutor.
From student to general
Oleg Dem'yanovich Zhuchenko was born on January 20, 1986, in the urban-type settlement of Litin, Vinnytsia Oblast. He graduated from the Odesa National Law Academy in 2007. While still a student, he worked as an investigator in the Leninsky District Prosecutor's Office of Vinnytsia. Two years after graduating, he was promoted to senior investigator.
In 2010, Zhuchenko received another promotion – the position of deputy prosecutor of the Starogorodsky district of Vinnytsia, a position he held for less than two years.
In 2012, our hero moved to the regional prosecutor's office, where he was appointed prosecutor in the department for overseeing law enforcement by internal affairs agencies during investigations and pre-trial investigations at the Vinnytsia Regional Prosecutor's Office. Just a few months later, he was promoted to senior prosecutor.
Two years later, in 2014, Oleh Zhuchenko became head of the Litynsky District Prosecutor's Office in the Vinnytsia Oblast. He worked there for barely a year. And in September 2015, he took the position of Deputy Prosecutor of the Odesa Oblast. Before Oleh Zhuchenko had time to properly arrange his things in his new office, he was promoted again, and with a transfer. In December 2015, he became First Deputy Prosecutor of the Odesa Oblast.
In the summer of 2016, after Viktor Shokin removed David Sakvarelidze from his post as Odessa regional prosecutor, his place was taken by Nikolai Stoyanov.
But after mass protests by local activists and a personal appeal from Petro Poroshenko, Stoyanov was removed. His position was taken by Oleh Zhuchenko. Yuriy Lutsenko personally came to Odesa to introduce the new lawmaker , even cutting short his visit to Brussels to do so. And that speaks volumes…
Not a day without scandal
Oleg Zhuchenko's arrival in his new position was marked by scandal. The regional prosecutor began his tenure with a personnel purge, forcing the entire regional prosecutor's office staff to resign.
The purge of the old cadres was entirely justified; Zhuchenko needed to free up space for his "Vinnytsia" clan. And as soon as his fellow prosecutors converged on Odessa and occupied cozy offices in the regional prosecutor's office, Oleg Demyanovich felt like a true Don Corleone.
Oleg Zhuchenko began by putting pressure on businesses. Prosecutors began extorting local entrepreneurs, slapping them with exorbitant taxes. The scheme was simple: prosecutors would inspect and pressure a businessman, then offer protection and a monthly tax. Everyone, small traders and bigwigs alike, paid the prosecutor, knowing that if they didn't pay today, their stall or store would be closed tomorrow. Even Vladimir Galanternik , a well-known businessman in criminal circles , and Vasily Mozgalsky, director of the 7th Kilometer market, personally contributed to Zhuchenko's payments.
This method of making money for the prosecutor is regularly discussed on social media. But neither the Prosecutor General's Office nor the Presidential Administration seem to notice.
"Today, Zhuchenko religiously fulfills his duties. He receives monthly payments from Lampochka (Galanternik), Mozgalsky (7th km industrial market), and other major businessmen, from security forces (the Main Directorate of the National Police, the tax inspectorate, the police, the Security Service of Ukraine), from subordinate prosecutors for 'sweet' cases, and has even gone so far as to accept money from drug lords, gangsters (Khalid), and others. He's a dirty man, and no one will help him. The people know everything," writes a user named "Abu."
But Zhuchenko doesn't just make money from raids. He also closes criminal cases for hefty, whispered "thank you" payments and delays high-profile investigations.
We will cite only a few facts as examples, since listing them all would be a waste of paper, since thanks to his patrons, Zhuchenko is practically invulnerable.
So, let's begin... In March 2015, S. Melnychuk, an employee of the Malinovsky District Prosecutor's Office in Odessa, was murdered. According to investigators, the murder was disguised as a suicide. Investigators charged the owner of the apartment from which the prosecutor fell with the crime.
Oleg Zhuchenko oversaw the investigation. As Skelet.Org has learned, the murder suspect paid a considerable sum to remain free pending trial. And, naturally, after being released from pretrial detention, he fled.
In 2015, with the assistance of Oleg Zhuchenko, the Odessa Regional Prosecutor's Office failed to investigate a large-scale scam involving regional council officials who sold off significant city assets at sham auctions.
The "Marazli Dacha" on French Boulevard, the premises of the old resort on Limba Island on the Danube, and the "pile field" behind the Sports Palace on Shevchenko Avenue were sold at a reduced price. Police, led by the prosecutor's office, opened a criminal investigation, but since then, no official from the Odesa Regional Council has been notified of the charges.
The prosecutor's office named Vladislav Balaban, director of the firm "Gerodot," who purchased the "Dacha Marazli," as the only defendant in the case. The case was even brought to court, but Balaban was miraculously acquitted. Ultimately, the seizure of all illegally acquired plots was lifted. Afterward, development began on the plots.
Another story concerns Oleg Zhuchenko's involvement in the scrapping of 18 workboats belonging to the state-owned enterprise "CherAzMorPut." Briefly, the enterprise subleased 18 ships to fictitious shell companies, after which the subleasers abruptly declared bankruptcy and decided to sell the ships for scrap. While the investigation into the shell companies was underway, Oleg Zhuchenko personally lifted the seizure of the ships, thereby allowing them to be scrapped. They could then have returned to state ownership and continued to sail and generate profits for the state. But can the interests of the state compete with the financial interests of the prosecutor?
Moving on... In 2016, Serhiy Kalinin, prosecutor of the Odessa Local Prosecutor's Office No. 1, even exposed his boss. He was actively extorting money from his acquaintances for "resolving" certain legal issues. Since they didn't fall for the extortion, Kalinin threatened them with problems with his boss, Zhuchenko. After this, the story became public knowledge. But this time, too, no one reprimanded the regional lawyer.
Here's another interesting point. It's known that the unofficial "master" of Odessa, Volodymyr Galanternik, in addition to other extortions, pays Odesa Oblast Prosecutor Oleh Zhuchenko $200 a month in "unofficial salaries."
The regional prosecutor receives these funds for providing information on the most high-profile cases and carrying out the businessman's orders. The crime boss and the regional prosecutor have been spotted conversing at the Babel Fish restaurant on more than one occasion.
Our hero has established a practice of protecting criminal cases on a regular basis. It has reached the point where Oleg Zhuchenko openly demonstrates his stance of virtue toward obvious criminals, thereby confirming his bias.
As an example, let us recall how the regional prosecutor commented on the high-profile case of the rape of a 14-year-old schoolgirl by four boys, which occurred near Odessa, in Kryzhanivka.
"These are just children. The objective circumstances need to be established. The girl herself later stated that she wanted to stay and even live with one of them. There's no point in blindly taking these same children into custody," the prosecutor stated.
All four defendants in the case are free a year later, and the case has stalled thanks to the prosecutor's office.
For example, in 2017, unknown individuals seized 2000 square meters of the Odessa military airfield by simply moving the parking lot overnight. Oleg Zhuchenko, in turn, simply threw up his hands in public, as if to say, "What can you do? Life is hard."
Following the example of their boss, employees of the Odessa prosecutor's office are openly violating Article 214 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Thus, an activist personally contacted Oleg Zhuchenko with a question, asking on what basis the prosecutor's office had entered the incident into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations (URDPI) even before the investigation and without a court decision. In essence, the prosecutors had thus accused a citizen of a crime without trial or investigation. Unfortunately, Oleg Zhuchenko was also unable to answer this question.
Valeria Romanova, for Skelet.Org
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