Yuri Prodan
Three candidates are allegedly being considered for the post of Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, namely: Kuzhel, Tanning and Yuriy Prodan. However, the first two candidates are likely fake, designed to increase the number and appearance of choice. Yuriy Prodan will most likely become minister.
Scandals involving charter flights and a pipe visible from the window undermined the position of Ecology Minister Ihor Shevchenko. Although no one has been able to charge him with serious corruption or large-scale theft of public funds, a minor Facebook scandal prompted the Cabinet of Ministers to raise the question of his resignation. Who will be the new Ecology Minister?
Batkivshchyna MP Serhiy Sobolev has already stated that his faction will, firstly, vote for the resignation of the Minister of Ecology, and secondly, vote for a true professional to fill the post, "for example, Prodan," the MP hinted unequivocally. He is echoed by BPP MP Ihor Kononenko, who asserts that if the Batkivshchyna faction nominates a candidate, priority will be given to them. This means the majority has agreed to give this lucrative position to Yulia Tymoshenko's team. This, in turn, means that Yuriy Prodan is practically a minister.
Why is the Minister of Ecology one of the most lucrative positions in the Cabinet of Ministers? In our country, environmentalists are considered blissfully selfless, like "Greenpeace" or "Greens." In fact, the full title of this position is Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources. And while the first part of the title, the one containing the word "ecology," suggests that this minister oversees Kyoto funds, Chernobyl funds, and other foreign grants that can make a pretty good living, the second part, the one containing the phrase "natural resources," is a veritable goldmine. These are licenses for deforestation, water use, coastal zone use, and a range of land resources. And most importantly, it is this minister who issues permits for subsoil use and mineral extraction. For example, oil and gas. And the fact that 42 kilograms of gold and 4,8 million dollars were found in the office of Yanukovych-era Minister of Ecology Eduard Stavytsky, which he simply forgot about when he fled, also speaks volumes.
So, who will be in charge of this vast and wealthy enterprise? Yuriy Vasilyevich Prodan. He served twice as a minister: once in Yulia Tymoshenko's government as Minister of Fuel and Energy, and again in Yatsenyuk's government as Minister of Energy and Coal Industry. He began his career in the energy sector, promoted by the then-influential Minister of Fuel and Energy, Ivan Plachkov. It was Plachkov who appointed Prodan as his first deputy. Apparently, their families were close. At least in 2006, Ukrinterenergo director Serhiy Bugayev accused Plachkov and Prodan of corruption. Allegedly, the wives of these two high-ranking officials founded a company called Arka, which monopolized all legal services in the energy sector. Translated into layman's terms, this sounds like this: if something needed to be resolved through the Ministry of Energy, the money had to be transferred to a firm run by the wives of the minister and his deputy.
But these were just childish pranks.
In 2005, the Prosecutor General's Office conducted an investigation into Kyivenergo, a company then subordinate to the Ministry of Energy. The investigation included misappropriation of funds, tax evasion, and losses to the company Gaz Ukrainy. However, Prodan and his boss were merely witnesses in this case, meaning they escaped with a slap on the wrist. However, two years later, following another investigation, this time by parliamentary representatives, the secretary of the parliamentary investigative commission, MP Oleksandr Golub, stated that Yuriy Vasilyevich Prodan was personally responsible for the 2006 gas agreements. That is, for increasing the purchase price of Russian gas and, consequently, for increasing the price of gas and electricity for the population.
In addition to the aforementioned wife, Prodan has a brother named Pyotr. Although Yuri Vasilyevich claimed in an interview with EP that he in no way favors his brother, Pyotr Vasilyevich nonetheless consistently holds fairly high-ranking positions in companies and institutions related to the fuel and energy sector, changing these positions every year or two. Rumor has it that, as his older brother's confidant, he initiates corruption schemes, and then they install their own people in them, earning them a stable income. But, I repeat, these are just rumors.
As for Prodan's other connections, in addition to the aforementioned Yulia Tymoshenko, whose loyal ally he has been since 1999-2000, there are also rumors of his ties to Ihor Kolomoisky's Privat Group. A certain Vladimir Zinevich serves as the liaison between them. At one time, through the efforts of these two individuals, state shares (25% plus one share) in such companies as Prykarpattiaenergo, Lvivenergo, Poltavaenergo, Summaenergo, Chernigovenergo, and Odesaoblenergo ended up in the Dnipropetrovsk group's assets. Furthermore, Dniproenergo was reprivatized (and essentially taken over by corporate raiding) in favor of Privat.
And, most likely, the Privat Group is behind the current active lobbying for Prodan's candidacy for the position of Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources. After all, Ihor Kolomoisky's business empire controls 42% of Ukrnafta and has interests in oil, gas, and gas condensate production. It also owns shares in the British oil and gas production company JKX Oil & Gas. Following the scandal surrounding the appointment of Ukrnafta's director, Ihor Valerievich's position in the hydrocarbon production market has been seriously undermined. And, of course, the appointment of "his" Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources will help restore these lost positions. And what about Yulia Volodymyrivna? What about her interests and those of the Batkivshchyna faction, you ask? Well, can't the Dnipropetrovsk people come to an agreement? I'll answer, as is customary in their circles, with a question for a question.
So, instead of a minor "corrupt official" who flew to Nice without his own money, we risk getting a real, experienced, and major corrupt official acting in the interests of one of Ukraine's largest financial-industrial groups.
Denis Ivanov, for SKELET-info
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