Are you familiar with the feeling of déjà vu? You know for sure and remember that it's happened before... You heard that intonation, that voice... and the meaning of what you heard wasn't all that different... That's what happened to me when I encountered one of the current "Top" officials of the Security Service of Ukraine, Volodymyr Rybachuk. Who among us hasn't had to deal with people who "make things happen"?
Those who have access to any "office," those who, for a "big buck," will oversee the appointment of the "Right Person" to a "fat job"; those who will help, again not for free, "let go" of your competitors, and if they "pay off," then there's a high probability that you will be the one caught in their "millstones"... Don't blame me... NOTHING PERSONAL - JUST BUSINESS.
So, forgive me, I got off topic - imagine my surprise when, after running into Vladimir, I unexpectedly "returned" to 2012:
We're all familiar with the pompous, ostentatious building at 35 Gonchara Street. The spacious lobby of the Office, where I was invited, was just as impressive. Massive furniture, a pleasant aroma…
I think it's no secret that under Yanukovych, Ukraine had two Prosecutor General's Offices: the official one and the shadow one. The former was led by Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka, the latter by his son, Artem. The parallel Prosecutor General's Office, led by Artem Pshonka and staffed by around 20 lawyers, generated astronomical income for its organizers and those close to the Family.
According to Igor Shcherbina, head of the Main Investigative Department of the Prosecutor General's Office, these people earned up to 5-7 billion dollars in three years.
Artem Pshonka sent his assistants—employees of the shadowy "Office"—to negotiate with representatives and business owners, including former and current SBU officers Davydov, Matkovsky, and Rybachuk.
Yes, yes! The same Vladimir Rybachuk, who currently holds the position of Deputy Head of the Main Anti-Corruption Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine! Doesn't this fact offend you?!
But let's return to the time of the Family Reign – it was through Vladimir Rybachuk's mediation that the shadow Prosecutor's Office made key decisions regarding personnel appointments within the prosecutorial system, "raids" on businessmen, and the initiation and termination of necessary criminal cases.
It's impossible to ignore Vladimir's favorite scheme for making money off the "Family" entrepreneurs, which he actively "implements":
At first, the owner of a company they liked was offered prosecutorial protection for money, and if the businessman agreed, he was left alone. Otherwise, the business was confiscated through prosecutorial inspections.
Among the victims was the Nikopol Poultry Farm, whose operations were blocked by numerous prosecutorial inspections in 2013. Afterward, the factory's management was offered a $1 million settlement to alleviate the headache. As soon as the money was paid, the inspections ceased, and the criminal cases were closed.
And as you understand, there were many such stories.
Vladimir Rybachuk had an interesting, “creative”, “intellectual”, slightly “foul-smelling”, but overall very, very good, profitable and, most importantly, promising job.
Guided by the current Law of Ukraine "On the Cleansing of Power" and common sense, such a "start" should have become the "finish" for Volodymyr Rybachuk back in 2014, immediately after the end of the Yanukovych era.
No way! Despite all of the above, Volodymyr Rybachuk managed to secure a leadership position in the SBU and is now responsible for combating corruption in the courts.
Apparently, "out of habit," Vladimir, for appropriate financial compensation, organized oversight of candidates' preparation of the qualification exam (for the position of judge and during the transfer of judges) through the leadership of the High Qualification Commission of Judges and its authorized representatives, and also provides assistance in the matter of passing the exams successfully.
Through trusted persons, naturally, for a very significant sum of remuneration, Vladimir continues to successfully resolve issues in the courts regarding the adoption of “correct” judicial decisions.
Time passes, people die, power changes... and with our last strength we dream that if we endure just a little longer, Ukraine will become a prosperous European state.
But the aforementioned situation, where such "fishermen" managed not only to avoid legal responsibility for their direct involvement in the "Family Business," but also to "infiltrate" the current government, clearly demonstrates the double standards of government cleansing and the obvious selectivity in the fight against corruption.
Do you feel the "stink" again?! How does this isolated "disease" named Vladimir Rybachuk continue to spread the "metastases" of corruption into our lives?!
Got it? This is Déjà Vu.
(to be continued)
Igor Nemansky, for ORD
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