Artem Sytnik
Just three years ago, no one knew Artem Sytnyk, an inconspicuous prosecutor from the Kirovohrad region ( more about him in the article "ARTEM SYTNYK: THE RICH LIFE OF THE CHIEF ANTI-CORRUPTIONIST "). He became known to the public after a selection committee selected him for the top anti-corruption position in Ukraine – Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), a position subsequently approved by President Petro Poroshenko. The media portrayed him as a young, promising, and ambitious prosecutor with unlimited powers and promises to combat corruption in the country. However, history has repeatedly proven that corruption in Ukraine cannot be overcome, it can only be led. Little-known facts about the biography of the chief anti-corruptionist reveal a very different Artem Sytnyk – a cynical, money-grubbing careerist who rose through criminal protection and whitewashing of odious figures.
The Gongadze case, the release of the deputy-murderer Lozinsky, and friendship with the criminal underworld – the "scandals of Artem Sytnyk's youth"
After graduating from the Kharkiv Law Academy in the 2000s, Artem Sytnyk held various positions in the Leninsky District Prosecutor's Office of the former Kirovohrad. In 2008, he was unexpectedly appointed head of the investigative department of the Kyiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office. There are various theories about who and why facilitated the 25-year-old specialist's rapid career advancement. But what's important is that it was from this point on that Sytnyk began to be involved in high-profile criminal cases and had contacts with important people.
Sytnyk's then-boss, Volodymyr Babenko, immediately took charge of a number of high-profile criminal investigations conducted by the Kyiv Regional Prosecutor's Office. These included the murder of renowned journalist Georgiy Gongadze, whose body Volodymyr Babenko was later accused of stealing from the Tarashcha morgue. This also included the illegal release from prison of former MP Viktor Lozinsky, who was suspected of premeditated murder and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Incidentally, it was for this very incident that the criminal proceedings against regional prosecutor Babenko were later suspended and he was placed on the wanted list. And guess who became the official lawyer for the scandalous prosecutor Babenko? That's right – his loyal colleague, Artem Sytnyk.
During his time at the Kyiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office, the current top anti-corruption official repeatedly cleared criminals. The most high-profile case was that of Oleksandr Kapitonov, the head of the Kapitoshki organized crime group, who had close ties to BYuT member Bohdan Hubsky. With direct connections to officials at the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, Artem Sytnyk earned a reputation among those born in the 90s as a man who "got things done."
When the chips were down and a critical mass of incriminating evidence against Sytnyk had accumulated, he decided not to push his luck and resigned from the regional prosecutor's office in 2011, allegedly due to disagreement with the new Kyiv regional leadership. In other words, Artem Sytnyk did serve for over a year under the Yanukovych-Pshonka regime. But things apparently didn't work out after that, because people no less experienced in protection rackets and kickbacks than Sytnyk came to power.
A new stage in Sytnik's career: partnership in the firm of Kernes's father-in-law
Artem Sytnyk didn't remain unemployed for long – after his release from the regional prosecutor's office and until his appointment to NABU, his place of employment was listed as the association "Legal Guarantees." The firm's founder, back in the 90s, was Yuriy Gaysinsky, a former First Deputy Prosecutor General and prosecutor of Kyiv City and the Kyiv Region from 2000 to 2007. He is a close friend of President Kuchma's right-hand man, Oleksandr Volkov, and Viktor Medvedchuk ( read about him in Viktor Medvedchuk: Putin's Godfather Protecting Russia's Interests in Ukraine ). Gaysinsky's daughter, Oksana, is known to be married to the notorious mayor of Kharkiv, Gennady Kernes ( read more about him in Gennady Kernes: Dark Pages of the Kharkiv Mayor's Past ).
"Love Friends" That Artem Sytnyk Prefers Not to Talk About
Collaboration with Kernes's father-in-law quickly paid dividends – Gaysinsky appointed Artem Sytnyk as managing partner of Legal Guarantees, with a 20% ownership stake. The young prosecutor's skill at burying criminal cases and his knowledge of various legal schemes made Sytnyk an indispensable business partner for Gaysinsky, who had also defended such crime bosses as Sergei Stashchenko ("Stas"), Timur Savlokhov ("Savlokh"), Igor Tkachenko ("Cherep"), and Vyacheslav Pesetsky ("Fashist").
Working at NABU is a rapid evolution from pauper to elite
It's clear that Artem Sytnyk doesn't mention the dark spots in his professional career, either in his official biography or in private conversations with journalists. However, after his appointment as Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, his membership in the "young team" drew closer attention from the highest levels of government. Specifically, Vitaliy Kupriy, MP and Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legislative Support for Law Enforcement ( more about him in the article " V. Kupriy. Kolomoisky's Shavka Received an Order to Eliminate Poroshenko "), publicly stated that the NABU director was concealing incriminating facts about his biography. Here's a direct quote: "Sytnyk deceived the selection committee by omitting certain biographical details that would have prevented him from being elected to this position." At one time, he was a lawyer for enemies of the Ukrainian people – investigator Grabik, who imprisoned Yulia Tymoshenko, then he was a lawyer for the former prosecutor of the Kyiv region, who illegally released the murderer Lozinsky,” the MP said in a media interview.
From the very beginning, the upper echelons of power were convinced that Bankova was well aware of Sytnyk's "sins" and deliberately turned a blind eye to them when appointing him head of the NABU. The rationale was to keep the tame anti-corruption chief under control with compromising evidence that could be revived at any convenient time.
For his part, Artem Sytnyk is well aware that at any moment he could transform from a champion of VIP corruption into a defendant in criminal cases. Therefore, he doesn't waste his working time investigating corruption (in the year since NABU's operation, not a single corrupt official has been arrested – Author), but instead actively works to improve his financial situation.
In 2014, Sytnyk declared a paltry annual income of 23,5 hryvnias. The NABU head also owned a small apartment in Brovary and a modest Hyundai Elantra. Fighting corruption at NABU proved quite lucrative for him. Just a year later, the "salary" section of his declaration showed a completely different figure – almost one million hryvnias. Sytnyk's average monthly salary is 76 hryvnias, plus bonuses, travel allowances, and seniority bonuses. By comparison, a Ukrainian teacher earns 3600-4300 hryvnias, a doctor 4200-5100 hryvnias, and those serving in the ATO zone, risking their lives daily, earn 7-10 hryvnias.
That's why an ordinary teacher or doctor in Ukraine can't afford the kind of gift Artem Sytnyk gave during the New Year holidays—the head of the anti-corruption agency treated himself to a brand new luxury car.
The car was purchased by Artem Sytnik on January 21, 2017.
In January, the official purchased a 2017 KIA Sportage for 802,560 hryvnias. As a reminder, this constitutes almost all of Sytnyk's declared income for 2015. Ukrainian citizens might never have learned of Artem Sytnyk's expensive purchase if not for the electronic declaration law, which requires reporting all purchases worth more than 50 minimum wages to the NACP within 10 days.
Someone will surely wonder: how will Sytnyk's family survive if they spent almost their entire annual income on a luxury car? Don't worry, Sytnyk's salary is growing every month: if in the first months of 2016 he was already earning around 100,000 hryvnias, by the end of the year it was 124,123 hryvnias. But everyone understands that salary is far from the main source of income for an anti-corruption fighter. Especially if you play a key role in this system.
SKELET-info
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, Facebook , Twitter , VK - Only new faces from the SKLEP section!