Oleg Makhnitsky
Former Prosecutor General Oleg Makhnitsky Once again in the spotlight. This time, the former official, who during his four months in the top job made only grandiose statements while quietly trading positions and paying off criminal cases, apparently had a falling out with Ihor Kolomoisky, the owner of the Privat Group and governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region.
One of Kolomoisky's deputies, Svyatoslav Oleynik, posted some curious information on his Facebook page. He claimed that Oleh Makhnitsky, who took over as Prosecutor General, earned $300 million in just three months.
"Personally, I consider this figure absolutely realistic. I know this system well and can confidently say that the prosecutor's office was and is the most corrupt agency. The entire level of corruption in the country is determined by the level of venality of the prosecutor general. Pshonka installed gold switches in his house, Makhnitsky, they say, bought a Hyatt (a luxury hotel). Yachts, cars, luxury homes – that's the essence of their work," Oleynik wrote on social media.
He also noted that Makhnitsky's protégés are still serving as prosecutors. Specifically, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, the prosecutor's office is held by Makhnitsky's protégé, Roman Fedyk. According to Oleynik, Fedyk "makes money from drug dealers, and the depth of his cynicism lies in the fact that he mentions the 'Heavenly Hundred' at every opportunity and goes to church every Sunday. But at the same time, he doesn't hesitate to take money from converters and anyone else who feels like it."
The level of cynicism of those who came to power after Yanukovych's overthrow is truly astounding, especially Oleh Makhnitsky. Taking advantage of the widespread euphoria and the trust of those who stood on the winter Maidan and paid with their lives to ensure Ukraine became a democratic state where the words "law" and "freedom" were not empty words, the new government was dominated by crooks and thieves. Hiding behind slogans about fighting corruption and promises to conduct lustrations among officials, the new government began to squeeze everything they could out of the state for their own enrichment.
Makhnitsky, who shouted louder than anyone else on the Maidan that the criminals would be found and punished, turned out to be no better than his predecessors. In fact, he was worse. He lied to Ukrainians, telling them at numerous press conferences how he was fighting Yanukovych and his co., even though not a single high-profile criminal case had ever reached trial. Ukrainian citizens still don't know the truth about what happened on the Maidan from February 18-21, or who gave the orders to the Berkut and the snipers.
Meanwhile, Oleh Makhnitsky closed criminal cases involving members of the former government, apparently for a considerable fee. Specifically, he collapsed the case of the so-called "Boyko rigs"—drilling rigs that a company controlled by oligarch Dmytro Firtash sold at an inflated price to the state-owned Chornomornaftogaz. The profit amounted to approximately $300 million. The Prosecutor General's Office found Valeriy Yasyuk, the former head of Chornomornaftogaz, not guilty. The Prosecutor General's Office also brought no charges against Firtash or his associates: former head of the Yanukovych presidential administration Serhiy Lyovochkin and former Vice President Yuriy Boyko, who oversaw the deal.
The former Prosecutor General even went so far as to write a letter to the Austrian authorities, asking them to lift the freeze on Andriy Klyuyev's accounts. The former Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council bears direct responsibility for the dispersal of the student Euromaidan protests; he is wanted, and criminal cases for money laundering and abuse of power have been opened against him in Austria. But Makhnitsky was apparently "very much requested" by those close to Klyuyev to facilitate the lifting of the freeze on the accounts of the official, whose outrages, among other things, brought Ukrainians into the streets. For a fee, of course.
Moreover, upon assuming the post of Prosecutor General, Makhnitsky carried out a kind of "lustration," firing a number of subordinates in order to subsequently "sell" high-ranking and highly lucrative positions. Rumor has it that the regional prosecutor's office was worth around three million dollars.
In four months, Oleg Makhnitsky earned enough to purchase an expensive home in London. One realtor reported that Makhnitsky had requested a mansion in a quiet, respectable area of the British capital. The agents found a suitable duplex apartment in Belgravia (Westminster, southwest of Buckingham Palace), one of London's most fashionable areas. They also found a three-story house on Burton Mews for the client—a four-bedroom house with a fireplace and a private garden—for €5,657,000. Makhnitsky also purchased an apartment for his daughter, Maryana, in a residential area located between two prestigious London boroughs, Chelsea and Fulham, for €1.5 million.
Therefore, Svyatoslav Oleynik's statements are not, in essence, a sensation. The question is, why did Ihor Kolomoisky and his people suddenly start publicly attacking Oleh Makhnitsky, with whom they had recently enjoyed a very good relationship? There was even talk that after leaving his post as Prosecutor General, Makhnitsky might head the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office. Not to fight crime, but to cover up Governor Kolomoisky's machinations.
Oleynik's claim that Makhnitsky's protégé Roman Fedyk is making money from drug dealers is obviously true. But why did Oleynik announce this only now? It seems likely that he and Kolomoisky had long known, but that suited them. If Fedyk hadn't caught the eye of Privat's owner, he would have been treated the way the head of the State Land Committee, Serhiy Rudyk, had been treated several months earlier when he came to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to represent his protégé, Vadym Chuvpylo. Kolomoisky's men effectively kidnapped Rudyk, dressed him in a military uniform, and sent him to the ATO zone. Fedyk would have been sent to fight too if he had done anything contrary to the wishes of the boss of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. But apparently, for the time being, everything was going perfectly fine.
As the publication has learned, some kind of "misunderstanding" did indeed arise between Kolomoisky and Makhnitsky, which is what led to the former Prosecutor General being torpedoed. The cunning Makhnitsky, who amassed his initial fortune through bank loan fraud, simply swindled his former sponsor, Igor Kolomoisky. Igor Valerievich, who is known for swindling everyone and everything himself, is not one to forgive such things. Therefore, he will exact harsh revenge on Makhnitsky. New facts about Oleg Makhnitsky's turbulent activities will likely emerge soon.
For now, Kolomoisky is only hinting that hard times lie ahead for his former ally. Rumors are already circulating that he hired the hooligans who pelted Makhnitsky with cakes during his press conference on Wednesday.
True, Makhnitsky, being no fool, has set his sights on London, where his family is already located. So, he's unlikely to suffer too much. The problem isn't that one accomplice decided to get rid of the other, but that both of them embody the current government. Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies aren't lifting a finger to hold them accountable. On the contrary, they have carte blanche to rob the state and the Ukrainians who helped them ascend to power.
Special correspondent
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