Stepan Derivolkov: A Veteran of the Customs Mafia. Part 1
After the outbreak of full-scale war, Ukraine's western customs became the main gateway for imports, dramatically increasing in importance. A serious struggle for control immediately erupted between corrupt clans and groups seeking to install their own people there. These "personnel issues" are resolved through intermediaries and "overseers," who are former high-ranking customs officials who still retain significant connections and influence there... So, Stepan Derivolkov.
One of them is Stepan Derivolkov, who served as Deputy Chairman of the State Customs Service of Ukraine from 2009 to 2013, and as Deputy Minister of Revenue and Duties from April 2013 to March 2014. Journalists have dubbed him "a customs officer with significant experience as a corrupt official," and the story behind this nickname is quite curious. Derivolkov not only hysterically deletes all incriminating media materials about him, but also regularly commissioned publications about himself. laudatory publications, which unctuously extolled his "intelligence, honesty, professionalism, and significant leadership experience." However, in reality, Derivolkov was known as one of the most corrupt and scandalous heads of Ukrainian customs during the Yushchenko-Tymoshenko and Yanukovych-Azarov eras, who, according to media reports, was detained twice by the SBU. And he remains a sought-after "fixer" and corruption lobbyist.
Stepan Derivolkov: Secrets of His Biography
Stepan Dmitrievich Derivolkov was born on May 16, 1968, in Izmail. Judging by Derivolkov's good knowledge of Bulgarian and, according to sources, Skelet.OrgHe also holds a Bulgarian passport. It's possible his parents belong to the Bulgarian diaspora concentrated in the Odessa region. Nothing else is known about his family, and journalists haven't looked into it, nor into Derivolkov's early years—after all, he only gained his notorious "fame" in adulthood. This was a significant omission, as digging into his distant past reveals several intriguing details. For example, Stepan Derivolkov never served in the army—even though in the 80s, military recruitment offices often rounded up even the most lame. Apparently, he had a serious illness or some other compelling reason to receive a "white ticket"! But Derivolkov always avoided this topic.
Derivolkov's biography also states that he graduated from the Odessa Measurement College (now the State Academy of Technical Regulation and Quality) in February 1987, which also raises questions, as Soviet technical schools typically graduated in May or July. It seems that young Styopa Derivolkov, for some reason, simply didn't complete his studies. Afterwards, in April of that year, he moved to Dubno, near Moscow, where he found work as an instrumentation and automation fitter at the Tensor instrument factory. A couple of months later, he became an adjuster, and from February 1988, he also worked as a part-time packer—apparently seeking to earn more.
But apparently disillusioned with the level of honest earnings, in January 1989, Stepan Derivolkov returned to his native Izyum, where he found a job as an inspector at the Izmail Customs Office. It's worth emphasizing: this young man with a technical school education in instrumentation and control, deemed unfit for service even in a construction battalion, suddenly landed a job as a customs officer—even then considered a highly privileged position (not so much for the money, but for the access it provided to imported goods). Derivolkov clearly owed this incredible stroke of luck to some relative or patron—though he always kept quiet about this, too. Another curious detail: in a number of commissioned articles extolling Derivolkov's supposed virtues, at his request, it was claimed that he only joined the customs office in 1995. Why was this lie necessary, and what did they intend to conceal? This question remains unanswered, but we see that Derivolkov's early biography is still quite interesting and holds many secrets!
The rise of a customs officer's career
So, according to his work record, Stepan Derivolkov worked from January 1989 to March 1991 as an inspector, and then as a senior inspector at the Izmail Customs Office until April 1997. During its reorganization, Derivolkov was then promoted to senior inspector at the Danube Customs Office (comprising the Izmail, Bolgrad, Kiliya, and other customs posts). It's fair to say that his career progressed little during this time. Meanwhile, the country was rapidly changing, and a good life required more and more money! However, according to sources, Skelet.OrgDerivolkov compensated for the limited powers of a simple inspector with his connections and ability to negotiate with the right people.
And so, in the fall of 1997, these connections bore fruit: Derivolkov transferred to the Bolgrad customs post as chief inspector, and three months later was appointed acting head of the Tabaki checkpoint department. In July 1998, he became the full-fledged head of that department, holding that position until his promotion in 2003. Simultaneously, Derivolkov served for several months (from 1999 to 2000) as deputy head of the Bolgrad customs post. There, he engaged in such vigorous corruption that Ukrainian media outlets remembered about this even after many years:
"His entire history, from inspector to bribe-taking minister, is one of smuggling, corruption, abuse, theft, and plundering the state. In Izmail, they'll say he had it all figured out while he was a simple commander of the Bolgrad post (not Chop). If he and his minions are left in place, the Maidan won't be worth a dime."
Another interesting detail: since the position of chief required higher education, and Stepan Derivolkov only had a technical school education under his belt, he decided to complete his university education by correspondence. However, for some reason, he chose not law or economics, which would have been appropriate for his profession as a customs officer, but the Odessa Polytechnic, where he received a degree in control systems and automation in 2002. In other words, Derivolkov remained a "KIP" specialist—and the purpose of such a higher education for a customs officer is completely unclear! But, apparently, it was much easier (and cheaper) for Derivolkov to continue his KIP education than to master law or economics.
In November 2003, the career of customs officer Derivolkov received a new powerful start: he was appointed first deputy head of the Danube Customs Office, and in August 2004, he headed it. ReportedDerivolkov reportedly paid $100 to the State Customs Service for this promotion. He easily recouped these expenses by collecting a "tax" from fuel and tobacco retailers.
Also, his rise was directly related to the odious Igor Kaletnik, who headed the Black Sea Regional Customs Office—which includes the Danube Customs Office—from October 2003 to February 2005. Kaletnik himself received his position thanks to his father, who previously headed the Vinnytsia Regional State Administration and had close ties to Leonid Kuchma. To Viktor Medvedchuk, who placed his people in charge of the customs office.
Igor Kaletnik. The story of Ukraine's chief customs officer and his smuggler friends.
So, we have the fact that Medvedchuk appointed Kaletnik to head the Black Sea regional customs office, and Kaletnik, in turn, appointed Derivolkov to head the Danube regional customs office. Naturally, he didn't choose Derivolkov for his "professional qualities." After all, why would Kaletnik, who had been masterminding corruption schemes at customs, need an honest leader there? No, he appointed Derivolkov because Derivolkov convinced him of his usefulness. And he then backed this up with his actions—so diligently, in fact, that he became one of Kaletnik's closest accomplices! Thus, Derivolkov acquired the image of "Kalenik's man," which he still hasn't shaken.
Stepan Derivolkov. The Communist Party's Purse
Derivolkov and Kaletnik's customs fraud reached such a scale that the latter, immediately after the first Maidan, was forced to urgently return from Odessa to Kyiv, where he managed to secure the position of head of the Department for Combating Customs Violations. In other words, the fox was put to guard the henhouse! However, by that time, a major scandal had unfolded within the leadership of the State Customs Service of Ukraine. fierce struggle Between its director, Volodymyr Skomarovsky (a Petro Poroshenko associate), and his first deputy, Mykola Salagor (then a Yulia Tymoshenko associate). Kaletnik was temporarily forced out of the State Customs Service (he spent several months as a judge in the Desnyansky District Court), but he was reinstated in April 2006 and once again "fought" corruption in the customs service until November 2007, when he wisely hid from justice in the Verkhovna Rada.
Incidentally, Kaletnik received a great deal of help in those elections from Derivolkov, who, through his connections at customs and in the Bulgarian diaspora, organized votes for the communists in Izmail. This was because, firstly, Kaletnik himself was a member of the Communist Party of Ukraine, and secondly, Derivolkov joined the Communist Party after him. Yes, he's very reluctant to mention it today, but Stepan Dmitrievich had previously been a communist! Not an ideological one, though, just a member on paper, during Kaletnik's tenure.
Therefore, the subsequent political storms did not upset Derivolkov's position: he once again confirmed his ability to negotiate with the right people, regardless of their party affiliation or corrupt clans. Interestingly, from September 2005 to December 2007, the State Customs Service was headed by the scandalous Alexander Egorov, who also had a knack for finding common ground with one ruling political force after another. Under him, Derivolkov became acting deputy head of the Belgorod-Dnistrovsk customs office in January 2006 (after the split of the Black Sea customs office in late 2005), retaining the position under the next head of the GTS. Valeria Khoroshkovsky, whose customs schemes were legendary.
Mikhail Shpolyansky, Skelet.Org
CONTINUED: Stepan Derivolkov: A Veteran of the Customs Mafia. Part 2
Subscribe to our channels in Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, VC — Only new faces from the section CRYPT!