Last week, Ihor Lutsenko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada's Anti-Corruption Committee, stated that the Ministry of Infrastructure is one of the most corrupt agencies.
Andrey Pivovarsky
Well, it's not exactly breaking news.
Moreover, until the investigative bodies settle the matter, the debate over which Ukrainian ministries can truly claim the corruption Oscar remains contentious.
But without a doubt, the Ministry of Infrastructure is one of the leaders.
Nor is another statement by a deputy that the Minister of Infrastructure, Andriy Pivovarsky, is “most likely corrupt.”
But since, given persistent leaks from the Cabinet of Ministers and the Presidential Administration, Mr. Pivovarsky's tenure in the ministerial chair is short-lived, we should be far more concerned not with his resignation, but with how the purge of this organized crime group will proceed.
Another contender for the corruption Oscar is in the "Best Corrupt Official in Supporting Role" category, which includes one of the most iconic sectors of the domestic economy: Ukrzaliznytsia.
So while parliamentary attention is focused on the top figures in domestic corruption, let's turn their attention not only to the cake, but also to the cherries.
Moreover, in this case we are talking not so much about corruption, but first and foremost about the security of our state, which is de facto in a state of war with Russia.
And, I think, there is no need to explain the importance and strategic role of railways in wartime.
Just as there's a need to explain the need for special clearances to access classified information (including, say, mobilization plans) that the SBU issues to UZ management. That is, a rigorous background check, without which no senior official can begin working on the railway. Logically, this should be doubly rigorous during wartime.
However, it appears that the management of UZ holds a different opinion.
Meet the head of the Human Resources Department of Ukrzaliznytsia. those. the chief personnel officer of the UZ is Irina Ivanovna Mikhalchenko.
She was dismissed in 2012 from a similar position at the Southwestern Railway for systematic violation of her duties, including failing to monitor the hiring of two men previously convicted of robbery as conductors at the Kyiv-Passenger station. As a result, they soon killed and threw a young woman off the Kyiv-Lviv train.
However, despite the dismissal record in her work record, Ms. Mikhalchenko promoted herself in 2014. She became the head of the HR Department for the entire Ukrzaliznytsia, which was then headed by Borys Ostapyuk.
He was dismissed, as a reminder, from his position after being accused of corruption.
Ms. Mikhalchenko retained her position even after Ostapyuk's seat was taken by Maksym Blank, who, not entirely legally, appointed himself acting head of UZ.
Despite the fact that eight million hryvnias and a million dollars in cash were discovered during a search of Mr. Blank's home in the fall of 2014, Blank himself voluntarily surrendered eight bags of marijuana to SBU officers, which he claimed to have kept for his own use.
In late 2014, the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal case against Ms. Mikhalchenko for document forgery. This allowed Irina Ivanovna to illegally acquire ownership of a three-room apartment.
In July 2015, Mr. Blank, repeatedly accused of corruption that resulted in multi-million dollar losses for the state, was dismissed from his post. However, the dismissal was somewhat lenient, with his leadership position at UZ retained.
But Ms. Mikhalchenko wasn't affected by the latest management change. She was passed, like a baton, to the new acting head of UZ, Alexander Zavgorodniy. He began his tenure in the railway's number one seat with... that's right—accusations of corruption.
This UZ is some kind of cursed place.
But let's get back to the cherry on top. As mentioned above, all senior management at UZ cannot begin work without permission from the SBU. This permission is renewed annually.
So, according to a source at UZ, who, given the chaos going on within the administration, insisted that his name not be made public, it became known just a few days ago that Ms. Mikhalchenko had been denied access.
The cause is unknown. Perhaps it's the three trials currently underway in Kyiv, in which Irina Ivanovna is a defendant. Perhaps it's more personnel shenanigans, perhaps commercializing personnel decisions, something UZ is afraid to discuss publicly? Or, say, commercializing the process of receiving the "Honorary Railwayman" title?
But these are more questions for the investigative authorities.
Of far greater importance in this situation is paragraph 2 of Article 40 of the Labor Code. According to this paragraph, anyone denied access to state secrets is subject to dismissal.
But, as we know, in Ukraine they love to bend rules and laws. Especially when large sums of money are involved.
Besides Ms. Mikhalchenko, UZ has another HR specialist. More precisely, the Director of Corporate Governance and Personnel Motivation. Or, as it's properly called in the new nomenclature classification, an HR specialist. From the English "HR," meaning "Human Resources." These HR specialists are responsible for developing employee incentive plans (bonuses, incentives, and benefits packages), as well as for staff training and professional development.
So, the main HR manager at UZ is called Oksana Yurievna Marina.
During her eight months at UZ, Oksana Yuryevna distinguished herself, among other things, by introducing competitions. For example, from January 19th to February 2nd, a competition was held to fill the vacant position of Head of the Corporate IT Department. And from July 2nd to 20th, a competition was held to fill the position of Head of the Locomotive Facilities Department. However, despite these competitions having long since concluded, the results have still not been announced. The reason is unknown. But UZ whispers that commercialization was also involved here.
The same malicious tongues also claim that it was Ms. Marina who suggested to Mr. Zavgorodniy a fresh idea to circumvent Article 40, Clause 2, of the Labor Code and keep Ms. Mikhalchenko employed. This fresh approach echoes the famous song from the film "The Diamond Arm" about Mondays, which should be abolished.
As far as the UZ is concerned, the trick is to remove Ms. Mikhalchenko's position from the list of positions for which SBU clearance is required.
This means that the head of the entire HR department of a nearly 400,000-strong team in an industry on which the successful conduct of the ATO largely depends can work without SBU clearance.
You get the subtlety: if Mr. Zavgorodniy implements this know-how, anyone off the street will be able to gain direct access to state secrets. They will no longer have to undergo any SBU background checks.
And should we be surprised if a leak of information is suddenly discovered, for example, about who is personally responsible for what in the UZ system related to military transport?
As has happened repeatedly, when “interested parties” leaked lists of Ukrainian military personnel stationed in the ATO zone to the FSB.
How do you, Mr. Gritsak, as the head of the SBU, like this prospect?
And you, gentlemen deputies?
Incidentally, President Poroshenko recently explained in an interview with the First National Television Channel why the EU and the US did not provide Ukraine with lethal weapons in 2014. Among several reasons, according to the head of state, he cited the opinion of our Western partners that the Ukrainian army was infiltrated by Russian agents at the time.
Unfortunately, there's no doubt that not all Russian agents have been exposed to date. This means they continue to be targeted by the most important structures within Ukraine's defense command, including the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Incidentally, Mr. Gritsak and the members of the Anti-Corruption Committee, not long ago the Cabinet of Ministers, through the mouth of then-Minister Pivovarsky, cheerfully reported that an assessment of UZ's assets had been completed in anticipation of corporatization. However, experts believe the amount announced by the minister was at least tenfold underestimated.
And since, as we know, it is easier to prevent a disease than to treat it, perhaps it makes sense to limit ourselves to simple surgical intervention in order to avoid grueling chemotherapy with a questionable outcome?
And removing a position from the classified list... Should evoke a storm of positive emotions in a normal professional intelligence officer.
Because working with an entity that has access to classified information, but is not responsible for anything, is a pleasure.
So there are questions here not only for the deputies who are involved in corruption, but also for the head of the SBU, Mr. Gritsak.
Tatyana Katoychenko, PIK
Subscribe to our channels in Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, VC — Only new faces from the section CRYPT!