Young and precocious—that's how one could briefly describe the former head of the State Property Management Department, Andriy Kravets. Little known to the general public, this official wielded considerable influence over former President Viktor Yanukovych. He was often referred to as the former president's caretaker and storekeeper, closely associated with the head of the presidential administration, Serhiy Lyovochkin. In 2011, he ranked 38th in the "200 Most Influential Ukrainians" ranking, compiled annually by Focus magazine.
His biography exemplifies how one can make a meteoric rise by being in the right place at the right time. Kravets's list of successful "deals," or rather, machinations involving the state budget, is extensive. Despite this, he remained in Ukraine after his former patron fled and plans to return to big-time politics. Andriy Kravets is running for parliament in a single-member constituency in the city of Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast.
The former official was born in 1973 and, at the age of 22, became the commercial director of the private enterprise "Firma Nata" (Kremenchuk). At 25, he took the position of director of LLC "TFK "Duna" in Kremenchuk. Then, Andriy Kravets began to move closer to the capital of Ukraine, and from 2003 to 2004, he served as deputy general director for general and social issues at LLC "Brovary House-Building Plant "Mercury." From 2004 to August 2006, he served as general director of LLC "Construction Company "Ukrstroyinvest" and, concurrently, as general director of LLC "Zoryany Cinema Center." The same "Zoryany" that served as the headquarters of the Party of Regions for many years.
His career in government and politics began in 2006. Kravets was appointed deputy minister in Anatoliy Tolstoukhov's Cabinet of Ministers. In the snap parliamentary elections of 2007, he became a member of parliament on the Party of Regions list. In 2010, at the age of 37, his moment of glory arrived: Viktor Yanukovych, among the first documents after winning the presidential election, signed a decree appointing Andriy Kravets head of the State Administration of Affairs. This agency supports the activities of the head of state, parliament, government, and other government bodies, and oversees the management of dozens of state-owned enterprises and organizations. Journalists dubbed this lucrative and profitable position for officials the DUSya (Derzhavne Upravlennia Pravami).
So what merits did Yanukovych honor with one of his first decrees, appointing Kravets? It turns out that the newly appointed head of the State Security Service acted just in time and, through fraud, rendered valuable services to the Party of Regions and Viktor Fedorovich personally. Naturally, he didn't leave himself out in the cold.
Andriy Kravets's career took off with the privatization of the Zoryaniy movie theater in 2006. While working for the firm of the well-known Party of Regions member Eduard Prutnik, Kravets proposed and implemented a plan for the cheap and efficient privatization of a movie theater in central Kyiv. Specifically, Zoryaniy was transferred from state to private ownership using the following scheme: the staff created a limited liability company, with Andriy Kravets as its director. The LLC then leased the movie theater's property and later purchased it at an extremely low price.
At the same time, then-President Viktor Yushchenko (Viktor Yanukovych was Prime Minister) allocated Kravets two rooms in state dacha No. 9 in the Pushcha-Voditsa state dacha complex. The future head of the State Administration of Affairs, of course, didn't live in the old building; he simply demolished it and began building a massive mansion, simultaneously adding part of the forest to his estate. After construction was completed, he registered his villa as private property without making any payments to the state budget. However, the State Administration of Affairs doesn't have a land use deed for Pushcha-Voditsa, so by law, no new homes can be built there, only renovations of existing ones. However, this law apparently doesn't apply to useful and essential people. Incidentally, the maintenance of the Koncha-Zaspa and Pushcha-Voditsa state residences costs Ukrainian taxpayers nearly 50 million hryvnias annually. Moreover, Yushchenko not only generously allocated rooms to Kravets, but also granted him the right to pay only 30% of the utility bills. This means the rest is probably still being subsidized from the state treasury.
Andriy Kravets's main achievement, after which he was apparently given free rein, was the successful 2007 alienation of the Mezhyhirya state residence, which became Viktor Fedorovich's private estate. With Kravets's assistance, Yanukovych also acquired the hunting grounds in the Dnipro-Teteiv forestry and game management area, known as Sukholuchye. It was for this that Yanukovych generously rewarded Kravets by appointing him head of the State Security Service.
After Kravets took up the aforementioned position, he really went into overdrive, alienating state property and “winning” tenders for restoration and other work, ensuring, first and foremost, the comfort and coziness of Viktor Yanukovych and his family, and at the same time, himself.
About a year ago, journalist and public figure Tatyana Chornovil conducted a special investigation, and the secret was revealed. Specifically, Kravets overhauled state-owned dachas in Crimea and furnished them with luxury items (many of which were sourced from Italian workshops). Two helipads were also built there. The head of the State Department of Management of Ukraine (DUS) blamed the cost of servicing the president's personal helicopters on the state budget.
Andriy Kravets, using taxpayers' money, set up a massage parlor for Yanukovych at a Crimean dacha costing 600,000 hryvnias. Various lamps, cabinets, heated chairs, and two massage tables were purchased, including a marble massage table that cost the same as a car. The table's surface is heated to the required temperature, regulated by an electronic system. The table has a built-in shower for rinsing off cosmetics and cleaning the work surface, as well as a water drainage system.
As head of the State Security Service, Andriy Kravets provided Yanukovych with a fleet of new armored Mercedes, which Ukrainians could see with their own eyes in Mezhyhirya after the former president's flight.
Andriy Kravets himself was actively engaged in self-enrichment using state funds. The most high-profile incident involved the seizure of the Gostiny Dvor shopping center in Podil, with the intent of demolishing it and constructing a shopping mall in its place.
Initially, Azarov's Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution removing Gostyny Dvor from the list of architectural monuments of Ukraine. In April 2012, the Kyiv City Council granted a land management development permit to PJSC Ukrrestavratsiya (a company actually owned by Kravets) for the reconstruction of 4 Kontraktova Square into a shopping and office center with guest parking.
Public protests led nowhere; the roof of Gostyny Dvor was deliberately set on fire so that Ukrrestavratsiya could continue its operations undisturbed. Construction began. Only the winter events and Yanukovych's flight saved this famous historical site. Recently, the Kyiv City Council returned Gostyny Dvor to city ownership.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg of Andriy Kravets's abuse of power. In 2011, the State Administration of Ukraine (DUS) used state budget funds to purchase taxi services for the Pushcha-Voditsa complex. It cost taxpayers a mere 830 hryvnias. Even though everyone knows that Pushcha is home to very wealthy people with expensive cars, the state apparently provided them with taxis so they could save on gas and maintenance for their luxury cars. Furthermore, the budget allocates over 15 million hryvnias annually for the maintenance of the state-owned dacha complex, which has long since become private property. This amount covers security guards, gardeners, cleaners, and other services. It seems likely that Andriy Kravets also took advantage of these publicly funded services.
The publication "Nashi Groshi" conducted its own investigation and uncovered many interesting facts about the government official's frenetic activities. For example, Ukrrestavratsiya was awarded a contract worth UAH 8,630,000 to renovate the porch of St. Andrew's Church, and in 2011, it won a tender worth UAH 12 million for its reconstruction.
The company holds a long-standing contract for the renovation of the Mariinsky Palace, valued at 450 million hryvnias. In the same year, 2011, Ukrrestavratsiya's subsidiary, the Kyiv Interregional Special Scientific Restoration Design and Production Department, won a tender for the renovation of the facades and interior of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, valued at 3,400,000 hryvnias. Prior to this, various Ukrrestavratsiya subsidiaries had received contracts for the renovation of St. Sophia Cathedral worth at least 4 million hryvnias.
Ukrrestavratsiya received contracts worth UAH 47,070,000 for the renovation of the Taras Shevchenko Museum in Kaniv.
In August 2010, the Kyiv Interregional Specialized Scientific Restoration Project and Production Department was awarded a contract worth UAH 949 to museify the remains of the foundations of the Church of the Tithes.
Virtually the entire historic center of Kyiv has been taken over by Andriy Kravets. But the head of the State Property Management Department's (DUS) interests weren't limited to this. With the help of the same Ukrrestavratsiya, he was involved in the sale of liquid housing in Kyiv.
Here are some of its objects:
Residential building #7 in the Poznyaki-2 residential complex. A six-section residential building with 22-24 floors and playgrounds for children and recreation.
Residential building #5 in the 6th microdistrict of the Osokorki-Severnye residential complex. This luxury, highly comfortable 25-story building features integrated swimming pools, gyms, a winter garden, and multi-level parking.
Boryspilska St., 12-V. Office and retail space, as well as 3-, 4-, and 5-room apartments, are available for sale or rent.
Russkaya street, 45-B, Darnitsky district.
Yaroslavsky Lane, 7/9, Pechersky District.
st. Boryspilskaya, 6 Darnitsky district.
st. Kaunasskaya, 2-A in the Dnieper district.
He, together with Serhiy Levochkin, was involved in the alienation of Kyivmiskbud's property and nearly drove the major construction company to bankruptcy. According to media reports, Serhiy Levochkin and the former head of the State Property Management Department, Andriy Kravets, "teamed up" back in 2012 and began actively removing real estate from the company's ownership. They seized property in highly profitable locations. The former head of Yanukovych's administration and his accomplices bankrupted the Medstroy and Ecos subsidiaries in order to acquire their buildings and land. The bankrupt companies were then transferred, absolutely free of charge (!), for operation to First Ukrainian Expert Center LLC, founded by Levochkin and Kravets. Meanwhile, the so-called operating costs of PJSC HC Kyivmiskbud increased five- to tenfold, a classic form of money laundering.
In total, as of January 1, 2014, these people withdrew (or simply stole) funds and property worth more than one billion hryvnias from the balance sheet of PJSC HC Kyivgostroy and its subsidiaries.
Kyivmiskbud is currently missing deadlines for many projects, leaving many families at risk of homelessness. In July, the media reported on a scandal surrounding the building at 28-32 Radunska Street (Troyeshchyna). Many clients made full prepayments, but construction remains stalled. KGS is not saying where the money went. It has emerged that the general contractor, KGS, is failing to pay the contractors, a fact confirmed by the workers themselves: they haven't been paid for two to three months. This is not the only such project.
But despite this track record, Andriy Kravets is boldly going into battle: he's running for parliament. Remarkably, law enforcement agencies have not opened a criminal investigation into Kravets's monstrous schemes. The new government has limited itself to statements about the need to investigate the legality of the Mezhyhirya expropriation. The Prosecutor General's Office, headed by Oleh Makhnitsky, who had only made grandiose statements while in office but had never brought a single case to court, promised to look into the matter. And that's where the matter died.
Why is the new government so blind? Perhaps it's because Serhiy Lyovochkin, along with Andriy Kravets, received a pardon from Petro Poroshenko. Lyovochkin is the only member of Yanukovych's inner circle who remains in Ukraine and feels quite comfortable. According to media reports, he has close ties to Petro Poroshenko.
Kravets, taking advantage of the fact that his activities are virtually unknown to the general public, decided to enter parliament and, just in case, hide behind parliamentary immunity. Moreover, he has considerable funds for his company. In the Verkhovna Rada, it's quite clear that he will represent his own interests and Lyovochkin's. Judging by how successfully Kravets worked for the benefit of Yanukovych, his family, and himself, siphoning billions from the state budget, there's no doubt whose interests he will defend in the Verkhovna Rada.
Special Correspondent
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