Igor Shvaika
The Svoboda Party rose to Ukraine's political prominence with remarkable speed, only to fall back into marginality just as quickly. Today, Ukrainians laughingly recall Farion, a member of this anti-communist movement, with her communist past; Benyuk, who was pelted with tomatoes at his own creative event; and other silly stories about "national-conscious" freaks. However, their amusement is not shared by law enforcement. They claim that during their short careers at the helm of the state, many Svoboda members managed to make a good living. Ihor Shvaika is a case in point. The Pechersky District Court has charged him with violating Article 386 of the Criminal Code, that is, receiving an unlawful benefit. The motorcycle in question is a 2013 Harley-Davidson FLH, valued at 250 hryvnias. And this is not the first scandal involving the head of the Kharkiv branch of the All-Ukrainian Union "Svoboda", who became Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food on the wave of Euromaidan.
Но обо всем по порядку.
Bad family man
In general, most Svoboda members aren't known for their high moral standards. Irina Farion, for example, lies and denies her membership in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to the bitter end. Igor Miroshnichenko, who started an ugly brawl in the office of the director of UT-1, and Svyatoslav Khanenko, who posed nude, are also worth mentioning. But even among his fellow party members, Igor Shvaika stands out. The Kharkiv Svoboda member has four wives and five children. In 2013, he became embroiled in a kidnapping scandal, kidnapping his son Taras and daughter Sofia from his ex-wife (his third wife). After a protracted scandal, a siege of the apartment where Shvaika lived with his fourth wife, and the involvement of journalists, the children were returned. But then his third wife, Olga Shvaika, gave an interview in which she said that Igor Alexandrovich did not pay alimony to her, and, in addition, for eight years he had not paid alimony to his second wife, Olga Zubkova, who is raising his daughter Anna.
For more information on the kidnapping scandal, watch the video:
Raider
In April 2009, the first corporate raiding scandal involving Kharkivvodstroy OJSC, in which Shvaika was implicated, occurred. This involved the seizure of motor depots in Bezlyudovka and Krasnograd in the Kharkiv region. Igor Aleksandrovich participated in these seizures, holding two positions: as head of the Kharkiv Svoboda party and as head of the Zeus law firm. Shvaika and his associates then transferred the shares of these companies to shell companies in New Zealand and installed their own security guards at the motor depots. He attempted to seize the Kharkiv Prosvita party using the same corporate raiding method. To this end, Igor Shvaika convened a reporting and election conference where he was announced chairman of the Kharkiv branch of this educational society. It didn't work. This organization, unlike Svoboda, proved to be too authoritative and serious. The Prosvita audit commission deemed this conference a gross violation of its charter. In addition, Igor Aleksandrovich, along with Elena Reshitko, is linked to the attempted seizure of the Kharkiv coke plant and the Thermolife enterprise; about 300 Kharkiv residents took to the streets to protest against this.
Working with voters
In Shvaika's native Lutuhyne, he was known as a good, intelligent boy, almost an excellent student, as a child. But recently he visited there to meet with fellow countrymen, and that also sparked a scandal. When Igor Oleksandrovich began talking about the Ukrainian language and nationalism, residents of his "small homeland" tried to ask a few questions, let's say, on economic issues. Shvaika told them to shut up, and the Svoboda members accompanying him began behaving provocatively and even (sounds silly, but true) started shaming voters. Well, the voters dispersed. Many are still shocked by what happened to the "gold medalist." Even more amusing is the story of his parliamentary reception office. This reception office was opened in Kharkiv in communal apartment #12, on Pushkinsky Entrance. The apartment, as we've already mentioned, is communal, meaning the toilet, kitchen, and hallway are common areas. But Shvaika took these spaces from the residents. He built partitions and posted security guards from the same Svoboda members. For a while, this allowed apartment residents to enter their homes through the window. They were forced to sue him, which they won.
Minister of Agriculture
Shvaika's appointment to this position surprised everyone, as he had never had any connection to agriculture. It's said that at his very first meeting with representatives of the agricultural sector, Igor Aleksandrovich stated, or rather, transparently hinted, that he believed corruption in the sector of the national economy entrusted to him amounted to 20%. The representatives of the agricultural sector nodded knowingly in response. But these were just rumors. In reality, this minister didn't achieve anything remarkable in his post. He continued to engage in corporate raiding. For example, in July 2014, already as minister, he personally led a group of men in camouflage to "squeeze" the Kharkiv Champagne Factory. The minister, however, had no contact with the industry. Under his leadership, food prices skyrocketed, and farmers periodically staged demonstrations. Less than a year later, Shvaika was removed from his post and replaced by Alexey Pavlenko. Already in the final days of his term, Igor Oleksandrovich became involved in a very "unpleasant" affair related to the State Grain Corporation of Ukraine. His advisors attempted to embezzle $15 million with the help of the Ukrainian National Stevedoring Company, owned by former Party of Regions member Yuriy Kruk. And if Shvaika wasn't actively involved, he was certainly complicit.
Harley Davidson
And here we return to the beginning of our article. It was precisely around the time that money was being siphoned off from the State Grain Corporation of Ukraine that Igor Aleksandrovich acquired a motorcycle. A Harley Davidson. Shvaika himself said that friends gave him the motorcycle. And apparently he wasn't lying—his friends did give him the motorcycle. But what did he give them in return? Apparently, it was access to the money that went into Kruk's accounts. Now a criminal case has been opened against Kruk, and details of Igor Aleksandrovich's involvement in this case have apparently surfaced. The Pechersk Court has already granted an investigator from the Prosecutor General's Office access to all documents from the Ministry of Agricultural Policy during Shvaika's time, and, as we previously reported, a criminal case has been opened against him. And, in all likelihood, we will soon learn the answer to the question of how the former minister is involved. In the meantime... let him ride.
Denis Ivanov, for SKELET-info
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