Vadim Slyusarev
Zelenskyy's declared war on oligarchs and smugglers could turn out to be just another spectacle for naive voters, while behind the scenes, a major redistribution of schemes and flows is taking place in favor of the president's corrupt circle. Evidence of this is the absence from the sanctions list of many well-known "customs princelings," such as Kharkiv border guard general Vadym Slyusarev, as well as his close associates, former deputy head of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Tregubenko and the scandalous Ilya Pavlyuk.
The secret of the NSDC's "shortsightedness" is very simple: the trio belong to the so-called "shadow headquarters" of Zelenskyy and the Servant of the People party. This group secured their victory in the 2019 elections in several regions of Ukraine through "deals" with local corrupt officials and the financing of election campaigns from "slush funds." So, Ukrainians, who mostly voted for Vasyl Holoborodko at the time, were unaware that their candidate was being massively supported by corrupt officials of the "second guild," eager to displace their rivals from Poroshenko's entourage and become the leader. And they succeeded! Now, new "fixers," new "schemers," and "overseers" have rallied tightly around the new president, who themselves are handing him lists of those whom the state should "press" as part of the "fight against corruption."
Vadim Slyusarev: All roads lead through Goptovka
Vadim Alekseevich Slyusarev was born on November 1, 1972 in Kramatorsk, the same place as his friend Artem Pshonka. The press has repeatedly mentioned that they were childhood friends, but it's worth considering that Pshonka is almost four years younger than Slyusarev. It's possible they lived in the same building.
After graduating from high school in 1989, Vadim Slyusarev entered the Donetsk Higher Military-Political School of Engineering Troops (completely closed in 1995). It wasn't the best choice, as he was destined for a career as a political officer in a construction battalion. But then the USSR collapsed, political officers became redundant, and the resourceful Slyusarev transferred in 1992 to Kharkiv, to the Higher Military School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Logistics, which was later redesignated as the School of the National Guard of Ukraine (now the National Academy of the National State University), from which he graduated in 1994. However, Slyusarev didn't pursue his chosen career, instead taking a job as a border controller at the Vovchansk border crossing, where he served for seven years, rising to the rank of deputy station chief and acquiring an apartment in Vovchansk (on Korolenko Street). This is arguably the only property he acquired honestly.
In July 2001, Vadim Slyusarev was appointed deputy chief, and in August 2002, he became chief of the Goptovka border crossing (Derhachi district, 4th border detachment of the Eastern Sector of the Border Troops of Ukraine). It was there that Slyusarev became known throughout the region as the "Goptovka smuggling king." And all this time, living and working in the northern Kharkiv region, Slyusarev maintained contact with Artem Pshonka, who at the time held the still-modest position of deputy prosecutor of Kramatorsk. But they were hardly just pen pals! No, border guard Slyusarev and prosecutor Pshonka were connected by smuggling—or rather, by the very serious smuggling flows that the "Donetsk gang" were launching through border crossings in the Kharkiv region. But for some reason, no one mentions this; now Slyusarev is only criticized for his friendship with Artem Pshonka. But what's wrong with the friendship between fellow countrymen? Nothing! Their shady dealings, the very reason they were friends, are a different matter.
Artem Pshonka
In 2006, their friendship grew even stronger: Artem Pshonka hired Slyusarev as his assistant to the people's deputy (on a voluntary basis), a position he held throughout the 6th and 7th convocations of the Verkhovna Rada. That same year, Slyusarev was not only promoted, but also saw his border control significantly expanded: he now commanded the Dergachi border crossing, which was then overseen by the Goptovka and Kozachya Lopan crossings. This placed under his control a crucial railway transit route—enveloping entire trains carrying coal, petroleum products, metal, and other goods.
Slyusarev quickly made new and useful friends. First and foremost, this included Sergei Ivanov, who served as an inspector and senior inspector from 1994 to 2006, and as head of the Goptovka customs post from 2006 to 2008. According to sources, Skelet.OrgBorder post chief Slyusarev and customs post senior inspector (later chief) Ivanov formed an incredibly productive smuggling duo. Together, they had complete control of the customs gates at Goptovka, allowing them to smuggle and process anything they wanted. Rumor has it that if someone wanted to smuggle an atomic bomb through Goptovka, the only question would be how much bribe Slyusarev and Ivanov would have to pay!
Sergey Ivanov
However, their smuggling duo needed regular cover from local law enforcement. So, with the help of Artem Pshonka, they established their own man in the prosecutor's office: Alexander Filchakov (current Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor). In 2002, as a 23-year-old graduate of the Kharkiv Law Academy, he joined the Dergachi Prosecutor's Office as an intern assistant prosecutor, and after meeting Slyusarev, he began to make a successful career. In 2006, Filchakov was transferred to the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office as a prosecutor overseeing border and customs services—exactly what Ivanov and Slyusarev needed! Then, in October 2007, Filchakov returned to Dergachi as deputy district prosecutor, and from 2010 to 2014, he served as head of the district prosecutor's office.
Alexander Filchakov
It should be added that, along with the names of this trio, the media often mentions Major General Sergei Semenovich Tregubenko, who is also often confused with another well-known corrupt MP. Sergei Nikolaevich Trigubenko, Incidentally, he's also from the "Kharkiv" group. Unfortunately, after Sergei Tregubenko served as deputy head of the Foreign Intelligence Service from 2018 to 2020, all public information about him was removed from the public domain. It's only known that he also graduated from the Kharkiv Academy of the National State University (in 1999), and the media mentioned that he worked for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Border Service, including in the Kharkiv region, where he met Slyusarev and Ivanov.
Sergey Semenovich Tregubenko
It was also reported that initially, after graduating from the academy, Serhiy Tregubenko worked in the logistics system (rear-front supplies). How the former "deputy for logistics" managed to ascend to the leadership of the Foreign Intelligence Service, only Poroshenko, who appointed him there, knows! But interestingly, Tregubenko's choice of professional profile as a "logistics specialist" was not accidental. The fact is, he has an older brother, about whom he studiously keeps quiet: the controversial Lieutenant General Stanislav Semenovich Tregubenko (both were born in the village of Zvenigorodka in the Cherkasy region), who Worked for 35 years in the supply system of the Soviet Army, the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and the National Guard. For example, he became the head of logistics at the National Guard back in 1996, and was later appointed deputy for logistics to the commander-in-chief of the Ground Forces. Gorgeous the career of the rear services general was interrupted at the beginning of 2015, when he was simply “devoured” by new corrupt officials from Poroshenko’s entourage, who were taking over the flow and resources of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Ukroboronprom.
Stanislav Semenovich Tregubenko
Thus, the smuggling "Goptovsky clan" was formed not during Yanukovych's presidency, as some media outlets claim, but even earlier, during Yushchenko's time (but with the help of the "Donetsk gang"). Did Viktor Andreevich know what was going on at his country's customs and border posts, or was his mind wandering along with the bees? Skelet.Org It is not known. But it is known that on February 22, 2010, the outgoing President Yushchenko awarded then Lieutenant Colonel Vadim Slyusarev the Medal "For Impeccable Service" of the 3rd degree (Decree No. 208/2010). However, this was already his fourth medal (see archival information).
Vadim Lyusarev: From the Donetsk people to Muraev
After the "Donetsk gang" gained full power in the country in 2010, along with control over the entire border and customs service, they no longer needed separate smuggling corridors. Perhaps this explained why, in the fall of 2011, Vadim Slyusarev drastically changed his role from border post commander to head of the Internal Security Service. He first headed the corresponding department in the Eastern Directorate of the Border Service (Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Donetsk oblasts). He took this position with the help of his old friend Artem Pshonka, but the choice was no accident, as back in 2008, another of his friends and associates, Sergei Ivanov, had become head of the Internal Security Department of the Kharkiv Customs Service.
According to sources Skelet.OrgAt the same time, Slyusarev and Ivanov practically "privatized" the border and customs checkpoints in Goptovka, turning them into their own fiefdoms. Having risen in rank, they transferred them to the control of their trusted successors (including called Alexander Malko), and even managed to appropriate the land on which these posts are located! More precisely, what happened was this: Vadim Slyusarev "bought out" a large chunk of land belonging to the Goptovsky border crossing, registering it in the name of his company, "Frontera" (EDRPOU 38128459). He established a private parking lot on this land (for cars waiting in line), and cafes and shops are located on this land, which now pay rent to Slyusarev.
Goptovka, Druzhba complex
Frontera also privatized the former Druzhba Hotel, converted into an office complex, along with the land, and... leased the third floor to the Goptovka border post. Thus, for several years now, Goptovka border guards have been working in premises belonging to their former boss. A criminal case was eventually opened for this outrageous incident. However, it was quickly closed by Slyusarev's friends in the prosecutor's office, including Alexander Filchakov and his wife (also a prosecutor). As the saying goes, the Pshonkas are gone, but the Filchakovs remain!
In 2010, Sergei Ivanov also received a promotion: first, he became head of the Kharkiv Customs Office. But thanks to whom? The answer to this question gave a ceremonial performance, the newly appointed chief customs officer of Kharkov, arranged by a scandalous corrupt official Vasily Salygin. Who, incidentally, had just been appointed Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Customs Service at the time! But before that, Salygin had never worked in customs; he had been running fuel and real estate scams with a childhood friend. Therefore, until 2010, Salygin, who hailed from Dergachi himself, only used the services of Sergei Ivanov and Vadim Slyusarev. But upon taking a leadership position in the Customs Service, Salygin immediately promoted his old friend Ivanov.
Vasily Salygin
Here it is necessary to especially emphasize that Salygin, although he belongs to the “Kharkiv people”, is a friend and partner Alexander Yaroslavsky, but he is also one of the "Luzhniki", like Evgeny Giner with Boris Baum, and also did some business with Arsen Avakov. So, despite all the Maidan protests, Salygin still remains a highly influential "schemer"! And he, of course, maintains contact with Sergei Ivanov and Vadim Slyusarev.
In April 2013, thanks to the efforts of his friend Pshonka, Slyusarev himself received a promotion to the capital – to the position of Head of the Internal Security Department of the Personnel Department of the Border Service Administration of Ukraine, which also awarded him the rank of Major General. He successfully survived the "revolution of dignity" there, and in August 2014, he rose even higher, heading the entire Internal Security Directorate of the Border Service Administration. He became the subject of laudatory newspaper articles – albeit in the departmental press. But this was his last civil service position: in April 2015, Slyusarev was quietly dismissed, his resignation being documented as voluntary due to family circumstances (see document).
What actually happened was not publicized. According to fragmentary information from sources Skelet.Org, Slyusarev was then "eaten up by Poroshenko's men," just like his older brother, Sergei Tregubenko. This wasn't difficult, as Slyusarev was mired in corruption at the time. He was simply offered the chance to leave peacefully, even to keep what he had "crowned," without facing criminal charges and arrest.
Mikhail Shpolyansky, Skelet.Org
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