Ruslan Tsyplakov: Will "Tsypa" have enough money to avoid becoming a roasted rooster?
Ruslan Tsyplakov is a unique figure in the "family of feathered" businessmen. After all, seemingly an ordinary Yanukovych stooge, "Tsypa" managed to amass a multi-million dollar fortune, flee abroad, and even under the new government, continue to milk Ukraine. Therefore, there's no doubt that Tsypa has patrons among the current ruling elite. So, who in Petro Poroshenko's team has taken the Donetsk "chick" under their wing? Skelet.Org will investigate…
Ruslan Tsyplakov. A chick in the "Family" nest.
Ruslan Petrovich Tsyplakov was born in Donetsk in 1975 to a family of engineers. He graduated from Donetsk National University (Master's degree in Human Resources Management and Labor Economics). In the UK, he completed training in Human Resources Management and Financial Management at the Institute of Professional Financial Managers (IPFM).
Since 1997, Tsyplakov has been the founder of several companies in the non-ferrous metals trade, involved in export and import. In 2003, he became Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the PJSC CB Pivdenkombank group, and in 2004, he assumed management of the holding company Donbassinvestgroup CJSC (since renamed METAL UNION CJSC).
Before Viktor Yanukovych became president, Ukraine didn't know Ruslan Tsyplakov, but 2010 helped the little-known Donetsk native skyrocket to fame. Tsyplakov is a Donetsk businessman and a friend of the officially deceased Yanukovych Jr., and that says it all.
Viktor Yanukovych Jr. and Ruslan Tsyplakov
Ukrainians most often associate Ruslan Tsyplakov's name with Ukrplastinvest LLC, which he once managed, as well as the aforementioned Pivdenkombank. And many have no idea what else this Donetsk "chick" was up to.
"I started my career in some pretty interesting times: some people back then managed to make millions several times a year, go bankrupt, make a profit again, lose it all again, and then get back on their feet again. At first, our metal trading company was quite small; there were dozens, maybe hundreds, of similar companies in the country. But one day, I managed to sign a contract with a major German company for a fairly large sum of money and take the business to a new level. Then, work began on a whole new level. I fully understood the meaning of the word 'responsibility.' It's not just creating a product and expecting profit; it's making mistakes and guarantees that must be made and then held accountable for them ," Tsyplakov modestly described the beginning of his career in the turbulent 90s in 2012.
Already in 2008, Tsyplakov could afford a fancy Rolls-Royce (the cost in 2008 was around $700 thousand).
Tsyplakov's Rolls-Royce
At the same time, the businessman's security team was driving a Range Rover with Donetsk license plates:
Ruslan Tsyplakov's security
The businessman insists that he acquired his wealth solely through personal labor. However, it's long been known that the elder Yanukovych was involved. After all, Tsyplakov owes his wealth to his "family." The businessman's enrichment occurred solely because he was a pawn in a larger game, helping to move Ukrainian companies' assets abroad. Naturally, they shared with him. For example, until 2011, Pivdenkombank was classified as a "small" bank, essentially a "pocket bank" for a group of business partners from Donetsk. In less than a year, under Tsyplakov's leadership, thanks to Yanukovych's team, the bank rose to 9th place among the top 21 mid-sized banks (there were 21 other banks in the top). During this time, its authorized capital grew to UAH 300 million. By 2013, Pivdenkombank had become 36th among the 176 largest banks in Ukraine.
Donetsk's "Tsypa" has an enviable business acumen, as even in exile (more on that later), he continues to make money in Ukraine and around the country. For example, in 2015, a new grocery chain opened in Kyiv. The company "Legion 2015" opened two discount stores under the "Pchelka-Market" brand. Tsyplakov is one of the co-founders.
Little by little, the chicken…
Under Yanukovych, the previously inconspicuous businessman Tsyplakov regularly found himself at the center of the most high-profile scandals. Naturally, all of these scandals were related to financial fraud. This is because "Tsypa" was assigned the dirtiest work, which, incidentally, he carried out conscientiously.
Thus, in February 2013, Tsyplakov, in cahoots with the president's son, received almost 2,5 billion hryvnias from Ukrtransgaz. The businessmen's fortune was fueled by successful tenders won by Ukrtransgaz's Donetsk-controlled companies Turbolinks, Ukrturboremont, Turbotrade, Trade Group Style LLC, and Prominvestavtomatika.
The bulk of the money was laundered through Trade Group Style LLC. Notably, when registering the company, its founder provided a phone number that belonged to the Donetsk branch of Pivdenkombank. After this scheme surfaced in the media, Tsyplakov and his accomplices began buying up publications from journalists, at any price.
It is also known that in January 2013, Tsyplakov and his "family" attempted to seize Naftogazvydobuvannya PJSC, which was then owned by Verkhovna Rada members Nestor Shufrych and Mykola Rudkovsky . Incidentally, Shufrych's shares had previously belonged to Petro Poroshenko . However, after the scandal involving Viktor Medvedchuk and the Surkis brothers, Poroshenko was kicked out of this business.
But let's return to Tsyplakov. On the eve of the corporate raid, unknown individuals kidnapped the company's nominal co-owner, its director, Oleg Seminsky. The businessman was ultimately never found. It is believed he was killed by Tsyplakov's men on orders from the "family."
Literally immediately after the incident, Batkivshchyna MP Oleksandr Bryhynets stated that Shufrych, right at a Cabinet meeting, accused Energy Minister Eduard Stavytskyi of illegally suspending Naftogazvydobuvannya's license and extorting a 30% stake in the company for its renewal.
Immediately after these events, the company providing security for the enterprise abruptly changed. Tsyplakov's people from the security agency Skat-PKB LLC entered Naftogazvydobuvannya. Yakov Proskurnya was immediately appointed chairman of the board. His wife was a member of the board of METAL-UNION at the time.
As soon as the enterprise came under Tsyplakov's control, the Kyiv District Administrative Court overturned the ban on gas production, suspending the order of the State Service of Geology and Subsoil dated November 22, 2012, No. 565, and freeing the Donetsk businessman's hands.
But Tsyplakov's happiness didn't last long. He initially clashed with the company's co-owner, Rudkovsky, and when his attempt to force him out of the business failed completely, a bigger fish stepped in – 25% of the assets went to Rinat Akhmetov.
Another high-profile scandal involving "Tsypa" is worth mentioning. It is known that Tsyplakov was caught beating an associate of Pastor Sunday Adelaja. This occurred in 2007. Two unknown assailants broke into his office in the Kyivskyi district of Donetsk and beat Pastor Innocent Ezuma unconscious. Just three days later, the unknown assailants attacked the Nigerian a second time. Right in the hospital, they beat him with steel bars and even shot him with an automatic weapon. The unfortunate man was saved by Titan security service. Incidentally, despite the two attacks on the Nigerian, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor's Office refused to open a criminal case.
Ezuma, for his part, claimed that he was attacked by his former partner, Igor Derevlev, and his accomplice, Ruslan Tsyplakov. The dispute stemmed from the company "FSO Nigerian Limited," co-founded by a Donetsk resident and a Nigerian citizen.
After the company began generating a decent profit, Derevlev decided to add Tsyplakov as a shareholder. "Tsypa," in turn, demanded that he be appointed director and Euzuma removed. Since physical pressure failed, Tsyplakov decided to fight for the shares through the courts, but the case was unsuccessful.
Incidentally, when not engaged in financial scams, Tsyplakov often raced for Ferrari Team Ukraine, whose honorary president was Viktor Yanukovych Jr. The two were co-owners of the team. Furthermore, since 2010, Tsyplakov has been a co-founder of the Donetsk Region Motorcycle Federation, and since December 2011, he and Viktor Yanukovych have been members of the Presidium of the Ukrainian Automobile Federation.
Ruslan Tsyplakov is a racer
In 2014, when Yanukovych's flight was already a matter of time, evidence of Tsyplakov's involvement in the Maidan protests began to surface. A Ukrainian news site reported that Ruslan Tsyplakov was involved in distributing weapons to the titushki (illegal proletariat). According to the source, the mass shootings of Ukrainian activists were scheduled to begin on February 21, but resulted in "minor" casualties—the "gun" didn't fire in the end. The Prosecutor General's Office even listed Tsyplakov as a suspect in the Maidan shootings... but nothing has changed... Makhnitsky (information about it: Oleg Makhnitsky: Is there a limit to the shamelessness of the former "Maidan prosecutor"?), Shokin, Lutsenko.... No one could, or rather, no one wanted to, pluck "Tsypa".
But at the beginning of this year, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine finally became active around the Donetsk businessman. The investigation into the billions of hryvnias siphoned from Pivdenkombank, which was led by Ruslan Tsyplakov, began to gain momentum. In January, the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv, at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office, authorized the seizure of documents from several Ukrainian banks. The entire affair was intended to identify those responsible for driving the financial institutions into bankruptcy. Tsyplakov is among these individuals. The Prosecutor General's Office is confident that "Tsypa" is guilty of embezzling funds from the accounts of PJSC CB Pivdenkombank between 2011 and 2014. Incidentally, the amount that went missing was no small amount—more than 3,3 billion hryvnias. Tsyplakov used a rather simple scheme: shell companies and offshore companies. Thus, PJSC CB Pivdenkombank provided enormous loans to shell companies. The bulk of these loans were issued on the eve of Yanukovych's flight. Interestingly, at the same time, the NBU issued a stabilization loan of 180 million hryvnia to Pivdenkombank, which was immediately siphoned off by shell companies and companies with dubious reputations. Among them were Donetsk companies such as Splav Finance and Spektr-Energo-Don. Furthermore, at the end of March 2014, the company Novigator N received a loan of 163 million hryvnias, with Yuzhkombank acting as the borrower's guarantor. Yuzhkombank, which allegedly held deposits of the company's owner, Vladislav Tkachenko, a resident of a Donetsk dormitory, allegedly held the funds. All 163 million hryvnias were ultimately siphoned off through Yanukovych's family bank, Radical Bank. There are at least a dozen similar examples. The same pattern was used throughout.
Let's be honest, Tsyplakov has defrauded more than one Ukrainian bank. For example, in 2014, the National Bank of Ukraine decided to permanently liquidate Avtokrazbank (AKB Bank). The bank was declared insolvent. Have you already guessed who controlled it? Tsyplakov, of course.
Ruslan Tsyplakov. Fried "chicken"
Naturally, when things got tough in 2014, "Tsypa" fled Ukraine to avoid singing his feathers. This happened after media reports surfaced of his alleged arrest by law enforcement on suspicion of participating in the shooting of Maidan protesters. Initially, Tsyplakov denied his arrest and later disappeared from the media spotlight. However, according to Skelet.Org (90% probability), Tsyplakov was arrested but managed to buy his way out of Ukraine. According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Tsyplakov is hiding in Russia. Skelet.Org has other information, but more on that later.
Tsyplakov was also convicted of embezzling hundreds of millions of hryvnias from Ukrtransgaz. The embezzlement was carried out by entities close to the Donetsk businessman. Incidentally, the Prosecutor General's Office has been investigating this case for over two years, though, as usual, to no avail. "As a result of the influence of senior government officials and their entourage, during 2010-2014, the heads of the DC PJSC Ukrtransgaz of the NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine, together with the heads of Prominvestavtomatika LLC, Turbotrade LLC, Turbolinks LLC, Yunas Group LLC, Trade Group Style LLC, Aqua Modern LLC, Style-Torg LLC, Europrom 2012 LLC, Irtek LLC, and Ispirit LTD LLC, committed theft of public funds by organizing the procurement of goods, works, and services from the aforementioned enterprises controlled by the DC PJSC Ukrtransgaz of the NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine at significantly inflated prices," the Prosecutor General's Office noted.
Criminal proceedings were opened back in April 2014. The case file states that the thefts were committed "by organizing the procurement of goods, works, and services from controlled enterprises at significantly inflated prices, thereby causing losses to the state." In total, approximately 650 million hryvnias were stolen.
The investigation indicates that the suspects include Ukrtransgaz officials who acted on behalf of certain contractor companies associated with Tsyplakov. All of these companies were registered to front men, students, low-income individuals, and homeless people. But, remarkably, the contractors managed to rob Ukraine twice. Under the new government, they secured court decisions to recover hundreds of millions of hryvnias from Ukrtransgaz.
Another scandal erupted around the name "Tsypa" in 2014, amid the "Donbas revolution." At the time, Tsyplakov was allegedly related to the notorious Donetsk separatist Sergei Tsyplakov, who styled himself the deputy "people's governor of the Donetsk region."
However, according to Skelet.Org , there is no connection between the leader of the nationalist organization Russian National Unity (RNU) and "Tsypa." While Ruslan Tsyplakov does have a brother, Sergei, he was never Pavel Gubarev's "deputy people's governor."
Nevertheless, a very interesting detail remains in Tsyplakov's biography. In 2014, during the "Russian Spring," Ruslan Tsyplakov sold his Terra Bank. The deal cost tens of millions of dollars. The buyer was financier Sergei Klimenko. However, on the eve of the sale, SBU and Ministry of Internal Affairs officers searched two regional branches of another of Tsyplakov's banks, Pivdenkombank. Several million hryvnias in illegal cash were allegedly seized. Media outlets linked this event to suspicions that Tsyplakov was financing the "Russian invasion."
And yet, despite all of the above, even today Tsyplakov continues to make money in Ukraine. Although he hastily withdrew as a shareholder in his holding company, companies continue to bring in cash for "Tsypa" unhindered. Business circles claim that he's not without substantial kickbacks.
Where did the runaway "Tsypa" make his nest?
We've already noted that, according to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Tsyplakov is hiding in Russia, specifically Moscow. However , Skelet.Org managed to obtain different information. The Donetsk businessman established a family home in Geneva. In 2014, he moved into the residence with his wife and two sons.
Tsyplakov's eldest son, Vladislav, is an active user of social media, although he often tries to hide behind various nicknames.
Judging by the boy's photos, he, like his father, is passionate about expensive cars and auto racing. And, naturally, he's not broke.
The Donetsk businessman's youngest son, Alexander, is still in school. He's less active on social media. Nevertheless, both sons have highlighted their fugitive father.
Specifically, the couple listed their place of residence in their profiles as Geneva. Meanwhile, their eldest son, Vladislav, posted a photo of his car with Swiss license plates. The first photo dates back to 2013.
From this we can conclude that Ruslan Tsyplakov has another “airfield” in the homeland of Mikheil Saakashvili.
"Russian Spring" in the Tsyplakov family
We managed to get another interesting fact by studying the social media profile of Ruslan Tsyplakov's niece, Yana Tsyplakova (Kolosova by marriage).
It is noteworthy that the girl lives in Donetsk with her husband Vitaly Kolosov.
And judging by the photo, the couple are active participants in the “Russian Spring”.
Incidentally, Vita Kolosova makes her living by making jewelry and selling it not in the "DPR" but in Ukraine. Meanwhile, her father, Sergey Tsyplakov, continues to de facto manage his brother's businesses in Ukraine.
Well, that's basically the whole story of the Donetsk "chicken," Ruslan Tsyplakov. The most interesting part is that even with a change of power, "Tsypa" manages to remain in the care of a certain influential hen and continue to drain the assets of Ukrainian businesses through the "family's" schemes.
Valeria Romanova, for Skelet.Org
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