The failed attempt to search the office of Kyiv Regional Council (KRC) head Anna Starikova has sparked a flurry of rumors and gossip. KV contacted the individuals involved in the land scandal in the Vyshgorod district, which was the primary cause of the high-profile raid by law enforcement. They turned out to be Kyiv businessman and restaurateur Ihor Tynny and KRC legal department head Oleksandr Kolodiy, who is allegedly interfering with Tynny's waste management business in the Kyiv region.
As KV previously reported, on April 15, officers from the Kyiv Regional Prosecutor's Office and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) attempted to search the office of Kyiv Regional Council Chairperson Anna Starikova.
During the altercation outside the office door, it became clear that law enforcement officers had come not to the speaker of the regional council, but to the head of the legal department of the KOS, Alexander Kolodiy, suspected of land fraud.
The press service of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) assures that a search did indeed take place. Moreover, security officials are certain that paper shredding equipment was operating outside the office the entire time they were waiting for permission to enter. So, unfortunately, they were unable to find any evidence of the SBU's involvement.
Meanwhile, those close to KOS head Anna Starikova reacted to the incident with irony. They claimed the security forces mistook the noise of an imaginary shredder for a coffee maker, and instead of seizing documents, they looked in the refrigerator.
Politics and Fraud
As KV has learned, the current head of the KOS legal department, Oleksandr Kolodiy, has been in trouble with the law since the end of last year – in the winter of 2015, Kyiv businessman Igor Tynny filed a lawsuit against him.
The dispute between them arose over the land of the former "Zeleny Bor" recreation center of the Ukrainian SSR Ministry of Agriculture, which Igor Tynny had purchased but never completed the land records. The land dispute centered on a beach on which Tynny's property was not located. The beach was "divided" into parcels that had previously been purchased and leased.
Recreation center "Green Forest" in the village of Novosyolki, Vyshgorod district
Oleksandr Kolodiy asserts that the millionaire Tynnyi's old land "grievances" have become merely a pretext for law enforcement agencies serving the interests of the Batkivshchyna All-Ukrainian Union's political opponents. Furthermore, the lawyer makes no secret of the fact that, in his position at KOS, he is interfering with Tynnyi's waste management business in the Kyiv region.
In turn, Igor Tynny states that he has no claims against the regional council, its leadership, or the party organization, and that his accusations of land fraud concern a specific person who allegedly stole his land.
It's hard to carry, it's a shame to throw it away
As Igor Tynny noted to KV, this land dispute is a typical case of fraud, which has only recently acquired political overtones. He met Oleksandr Kolodiy before he entered politics.
Igor Tynny
Ihor Tynny: "After Friday's events, my fellow MPs, who were asked to protect the regional council from law enforcement abuses, immediately began asking me what I had against the All-Ukrainian Union "Batkivshchyna." But I have no complaints whatsoever against the regional council, its leadership, or the party.
My company's lawsuit concerns one person—the head of the regional council's legal department, Alexander Kolodiy, whom my lawyers hired three years ago as a diligent and promising specialist.
Back in 2007, my friend and I bought an entire property complex here called "Zeleny Bor," spread over about 15 hectares. We wanted to build a cottage community here. Five years ago, my friend died in a car accident. He was primarily involved in property acquisitions and land leases. The real estate market collapsed, and I was left alone with this foolish investment. I wasted millions that could have been invested much more wisely.
We fenced in the base, but only started formalizing the land acquisition three years ago. About a year and a half ago, one of my lawyers, Ivan, brought in a talented and promising young man named Alexander Kolodiy. He was supposed to handle the land acquisition. Another figure in the current criminal case, Vladimir Zhornovoy, who owns land next to the base, also appeared with Kolodiy. We met once at my restaurant, Prague. Zhornovoy wanted to buy the beach adjacent to the Desna Bay. I disagreed. What would I do with the rest of the base if I sold the beach? We exchanged contact information, and that was the end of our communication.
Another six months passed, and my lawyers accidentally discovered that a piece of land—almost the entire beach—had already been stolen from us. It was already registered to other people. One of the six 8-square-meter plots of supposedly "no man's land" was registered to me (apparently to keep me quiet), and five more plots were registered to some relatives and proxies. They later resold these plots to Vladimir Zhornov.
That's when I first started asking questions about this Kolodiy, but I never met him again. My lawyers did. He offered to pay me back in cash, though I can only guess at the exact amount (investigators said it was between $100 and $200). He'd say in private conversations, "I really needed the money; I was raising money for the elections." (You can find information online that this man ran for the Kyiv Regional Council in the Vyshgorod district for the Batkivshchyna All-Ukrainian Union.) He'd said he'd been forced to allocate the land to other people. He'd probably deny it, but I trust my employees.
After this whole situation hit the media, I myself inquired why law enforcement had gone to the office of the head of the regional council. They explained to me that Oleksandr Kolodiy, as her assistant, was sitting in some small room accessible only through the head's office. This may not be true—I wasn't there. But the Batkivshchyna regional leadership assured me that they were not involved in the actions of their party member. This is obvious, since when all this began, Kolodiy was not yet a government official and was not a member of the Batkivshchyna party.
Regarding the searches, I don't understand the involvement of the Security Service in this case. This is a routine criminal investigation into fraud, which is why my lawyers contacted the Vyshgorod police (that is, the crime scene). The prosecutor's office has the right to conduct searches and seize documents. But how the SBU got involved, I have no idea. They shouldn't have anything to do with my case.
Sudden trials
Alexander Kolodiy claims he hasn't worked with Tynny for a long time. Moreover, he believes the businessman is trying to eliminate him as an undesirable official who is interfering with his business.
Alexander Kolodiy
Oleksandr Kolodiy: "My work with Igor Tynny's company began back in 2013 and ended over a year ago. I attribute the current complaints against me to my work in the Kyiv Regional Council. Specifically, regarding the closure of Landfill No. 5 in Pidhirtsi. Kyivspetstrans, a private joint-stock company, transports waste there."
I know that the capital of this enterprise was partially bought out by Cypriot companies that own firms in which the ultimate beneficiary is citizen Igor Tynny.
He knows perfectly well that I'm doing this: attending regional council committees and communicating with the head of the village council. Tynny has an assistant in the person of Irina Zarubinskaya, a former employee of the Prosecutor General's Office, who is undoubtedly using her official connections to put pressure on me. Specifically, by passing on information through various sources that they will "get me" by any means necessary, as someone who is causing them problems.
Solid waste landfill in the village of Podgortsy, Obukhovsky district
I was involved in the disputed land case when I was working pro bono for the head of the Vyshgorod District State Administration, Alexander Prikhodko. It erupted into scandal at the end of last year. I was accused of creating an entire criminal group.
The backstory to the scandal is this: Tynny's company had previously applied to the District State Administration to register the land. Things never went beyond talk. As far as I know, the land belonging to his base remains unregistered.
Tynny's lawyer, Ivan, gave me a package of documents for land registration. The documents were then submitted to the land management agency. (I don't have any rights to register the land. That requires a license, a surveyor's certificate, etc.)
Vladimir Zhornovoy, a resident of a neighboring cooperative, after purchasing plots outside the base, expressed a desire to buy a beach plot directly from Tynny. Tynny responded that he was only willing to sell the entire base; he wasn't interested in just one plot.
Six months later, I learned that Tynny had claims against me, although my cooperation with them had ended when the lawyer, Ivan, took away the state deed for the right to permanent use of the land on which their property was located.
The company is demanding the return of something I had nothing to do with. In turn, I demanded to see a government deed proving that the disputed plots actually belonged to someone. After all, these lands are reserve lands of the Novoselkovsky Village Council. Moreover, the title deed that Tynny's company had obtained was also based on reserve lands. Tynny's company had no permanent use rights to the plots.
I couldn't manipulate all this because the people who purchased the plots went to the village council and received permission to develop a project. After that, a land allotment plan was developed, which was approved by the district architect and the head of the land resources department. Then it was again approved by the village council. If this land had belonged to anyone, the land department wouldn't have given any approval. For plots outside the database, the Vyshgorod District State Administration refused them because they didn't have developed urban planning documentation. As a lawyer, I can say that these are ordinary civil legal relations. If someone believes the land is theirs, they can go to court to overturn the state acts. Moreover, a public cadastral map has been in effect since 2014, and anyone can review the details of this case.
Regarding the events that took place last Friday, I'd like to add that a search was also conducted at my home. A neighbor called me and said that law enforcement had allegedly called the Ministry of Emergency Situations—they were planning to break down the door. I arrived home after the search had already taken place. The scene was horrific: broken sinks, toppled cabinets, and so on.
I contacted the Bar Council after this incident, since a search of my place as a lawyer (my status as a lawyer is retained upon transfer to civil service) can only be conducted with the authorization of the regional prosecutor or the Deputy Prosecutor General. The authorization in the Pechersky Court came from a regular investigator. He had no authority to do so. Furthermore, a search of the workplace, if authorized, is only conducted in the presence of Bar Council representatives."
KyivVlast will continue to monitor developments surrounding the waste and sand mining industry in the Kyiv region, as well as the future of the Vyshgorod disputes.
Additionally, on April 20, the Kyiv Regional Council will hold an extraordinary third session, during which deputies plan to hear information from the Kyiv Regional Prosecutor regarding the reasons for the search of the office of KOS Head Anna Starikova. This will be covered in our future reports.
Photo taken from open sources
Oksana Melnyk, KyivVlast
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