Serhiy Pashinsky: Thief, Raider, Fraudster, and MP

Sergey Pashinsky

On December 18, it was announced that MP Serhiy Pashinskyy has become the subject of yet another criminal investigation. According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, Pashinskyy, along with his "girlfriend" Tetyana Chornovol, his colleagues from the People's Front faction Pavlo Dzyublyk and Vadym Kryvenko, and the current Minister of Justice, Pavlo Petrenko, are accused of "attempted crime" and "illegal seizure of enterprise property committed through abuse of office." This is not the first time these "figures" have come under increased scrutiny from law enforcement agencies and the media. However, the most intriguing character among them is Serhiy Pashinskyy, who has been variously referred to in the media as Yulia Tymoshenko's "grey cardinal," Oleksandr Turchynov's "ally," and Andriy Portnov's "friend" ( more about him in the article "Andriy Portnov: A Raider Story "). Until now he has managed to escape the "heavy hand" of justice, will he succeed this time?

"Half-official, half-businessman"

Serhiy Pashinsky was born in October 1966 in the Rivne region. He received his higher education at the Gorky Kyiv Pedagogical Institute (MP Dragomanov National Pedagogical University). His official biography states that after graduating, he worked for about nine years "in various commercial structures," but sources also report that he was a "malicious" reseller and businessman with criminal ties. During the collapse of the USSR, Pashinsky worked at Bank Ukraina, where he engaged in a variety of fraudulent schemes, issuing loans to his own companies, as well as to companies with rather dubious reputations and often criminal ties.

Serhiy Pashinsky has an uncanny ability: he can infiltrate the management of any company and bring it down (after first stealing most of its idle assets). In 1999, he was appointed deputy chairman of Sberbank of Ukraine (according to media reports, this appointment was initiated by Viktor Medvedchuk and Igor Bakai ). However, less than a year into Pashinsky's tenure at the bank, approximately $4 million, intended for compensation payments to Ukrainians over 80, suddenly disappeared. The prosecutor's office charged Pashinsky with these thefts and arrested him in 2002. He didn't serve long—he says he was helped by "powerful" patrons (rumor has it that Igor Bakai personally "decided the matter" of his release). As a reminder, we wrote about Igor Bakai's connections to other criminal schemes in the following articles: Igor Nikonov. Kyiv's "shadow mayor," Lyovochkin's man who resigned, and Vitali Klitschko. The dark past of the "looking to tomorrow."

Sergey Pashinsky

While working at Sberbank, Pashinsky was involved in another unpleasant episode that characterizes him as a "dishonest" individual. A heavy drinker and carouser, Sergei Pashinsky often got drunk at work (in the bank's boardroom). One such evening, while relaxing with women of the oldest profession (according to media reports, there was an orgy), he went to the bank's central vault and demanded that the security guards give him money (apparently to continue the "party" or simply to impress his "girlfriends"). He was never punished for this incident, as he was arrested in connection with the embezzlement case described above.

He first ran for the Verkhovna Rada in 2002 as part of the "Against All" bloc, though his candidacy was withdrawn shortly before the vote. The waves of the Orange Revolution propelled him to the post of personal adviser to Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko (he held the position for almost six months, from February to August 2005). Having curried favor with Yulia Tymoshenko and her patrons, he was appointed CEO of the state-owned company Ukrrezerv in August 2005. After his arrival, the company was accused of "shadowy machinations" by everyone from ordinary members of parliament to the Prosecutor General's Office and the President. This is precisely why he was unable to continue stealing in this position for long; he was forced to resign as head of Ukrrezerv.

Serhiy Pashinsky first became a People's Deputy as a member of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT) in May 2006. From that time until today, he has served as a permanent member of parliament, with only the names of the political parties he represented changing: BYuT in the 5th and 6th convocations, Batkivshchyna in the 7th convocation, and People's Front in the 8th convocation. In the Rada, Pashinsky focused on issues related to the fuel and energy complex, nuclear policy and safety, and strategic development of the fuel and energy sector.

While serving as a member of parliament, Pashinsky met then-journalist Tatyana Chornovol. Rumor has it that he didn't just "meet" her; she became his lover. Chornovol was registered with a psychiatric hospital. Yet, her facial expressions closely matched Pashinsky's. Perhaps they found each other?

Is Sergei Pashinsky having an affair with scandal-monger Tatyana Chornovol?

Unlucky raider

In 2007, Serhiy Pashinsky attempted to seize the Kharkiv Turboatom plant through corporate raiding. According to media reports, Pashinsky's actions were related to lobbying for the interests of Konstantin Grigorishin, a Russian oligarch with business interests in Ukraine. The main defendants in the case were Volodymyr Petrenko, a member of the State Commission on Securities and the Stock Market and secretary of the Interdepartmental Commission of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on Combating Illegal Acquisitions and Takeovers of Enterprises (headed by Deputy Prime Minister Mykola Azarov), and Valentyna Semenyuk, a member of the Socialist Party and head of the State Property Fund. Both of them personally visited the site when the conflict arose. They also supported Viktor Subbotn, who was being ousted as Turboatom's CEO.

His second attempt at a corporate takeover involved Ukrtatnafta. Serhiy Pashinsky, along with 50 "young men of strong build," attempted to seize the Kremenchuk Oil Refinery. They failed for one simple reason: the refinery was guarded by several units of internal troops that day, and Fuel and Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan was at the refinery that day.

FUCK from Pashinsky
July 16, 2016 in the Verkhovna Rada

In 2010, the Zhitomirski Lasoshchi confectionery factory, known throughout Ukraine, changed hands. This wouldn't have been surprising, had it not been for the fact that the factory's previous owners had no desire to leave the business; they were simply forced into it. Specifically, according to Yuriy Leshchinsky, owner of Delta Capital, which previously owned Zhitomirski Lasoshchi, the factory was seized from them by then-members of parliament from the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, Serhiy Pashinsky and Andriy Portnov. In November 2010, during a shareholders' meeting, control of the factory was transferred to one of its former top managers, Ihor Boyko. This occurred essentially because armed security guards prevented some of the factory's owners from attending the meeting where its fate was being decided. The security guards' main argument for denying them entry was the claim that they were "guarding the reception office of Deputy Pashinsky" and knew nothing about the shareholders' meeting. Pashinsky's involvement in the seizure of the Zhitomirski Lasoshchi factory is also indicated by his connection with another organizer of the "redistribution of property rights," Oleksiy Temnenko. He worked with Temnenko at Ukrrezerv in 2005-2006, where, as we recall, he carried out numerous shady schemes.

Removal of the "mysterious" rifle from the Maidan

During the active phase of the Euromaidan, Serhiy Pashinsky became involved in a rather strange incident. With his assistance, a sniper rifle was smuggled out of the Maidan. It was found in the trunk of a car belonging to Yuriy Sabolta, a close associate of Interior Minister Arsen Avakov ( read more about him in the article " Arsen Avakov: The Criminal Past of the Interior Minister "). For more details, see the story: "The Mystery of Serhiy Pashinsky's Sniper Rifle Has Its Roots in Arsen Avakov."

Essentially, this video proves Pashinsky and Avakov's involvement in the Maidan shooting, as the Interior Ministry employee "rescued" by Pashinsky and who smuggled evidence from the Maidan is directly connected to Avakov. It's worth noting that during the revolution, the Avakov-Turchynov-Pashinsky alliance worked like a charm. They created chaos, feigned frenetic activity, and, of course, reaped the benefits. Turchynov became Ukraine's first acting president and later head of the National Security and Defense Council. Avakov became Minister of Internal Affairs, and Pashinsky was appointed acting head of the Presidential Administration. There was talk that he was supposed to become Deputy Prime Minister, but internal conflicts prevented that from happening.

Journalists have discovered Sergei Pashinsky's mansion, valued at $20 million:

Serhiy Pashinsky is a significant figure in Ukrainian politics, and the current attempt to "dump" him could signal the beginning of a new power shift within political circles. The outcome of these new charges remains unclear, as Serhiy Volodymyrovych is adept at getting away with anything. Meanwhile, while the National Anti-Corruption Bureau is digging into him, the media is accusing him of an affair with Tetyana Chornovol , and is rumored to be lobbying for his son's interests, facilitating his appointment to senior positions in state-owned companies, he continues to quietly pursue his "political" and "bureaucratic" machinations.

Dmitry Samofalov, for SKELET-info

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