Vadim Stolar. The notorious "sneaker"
Recently, Yuriy Lutsenko, the head of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction, officially announced a merger with Vitali Klitschko's UDAR . They will run in the elections together. In fact, those in the know had been predicting this since early to mid-August. The news about Vadym Stolar, who was supposed to head the BPP headquarters in Odesa, according to one version, and in Kyiv, according to another, was a key factor.
Vadim Mykhailovich himself, however, denied this fact on his Facebook page, calling the information idle rumor. Perhaps it really is rumor. But who is this Vadim Stolar? After all, most people, except those who live in Obolon, where he ran, will know nothing about this name. Well, he is a very interesting character. Most interestingly, he has been involved in some of Ukraine's most high-profile scandals at various times, yet somehow remained in the shadows.
Vadim Stolar. Blood Relatives
Vadim Mikhailovich Stolar comes from a fairly wealthy family; by any standard, he's a "rich kid." But that's not the interesting part; there are plenty of "rich kids" in Kyiv. What's interesting is how exactly his family made their money. His parents, Yana and Mikhail Stolar, own several companies, including a travel agency named "Yana" after their mother. This isn't just any travel agency. It provided exclusive vacations for tax officials and prosecutors, including former Prosecutor General Svyatoslav Piskun . This business is the foundation of another successful company owned by Vadim Mikhailovich's wife, Inna Maistruk. This firm, called "Universal Legal Company," primarily handles issues with tax officials and prosecutors, who, as mentioned earlier, enjoy affordable and high-quality travel abroad thanks to the efforts of Vadim Stolar's parents' travel agency. Another business of our hero's wife is the modeling agency "Metropolitan." You won't find his website online, and his models don't participate in major shows like Fashion Week. In fact, he's a front for an expensive escort service. And their phone number is known only to those in the know and with money.
Vadim Stolar and his wife Inna Maistruk
Tell me who is your friend
Vadym Mykhailovych also has some unique friends. He once lived in Koncha-Zaspa in the house of Stepan Chernovetskyi , the son of Kyiv's then-infamous mayor. Chernovetskyi Jr. and Stolar are partners in the 101 Tower business center in the capital. It's clear that the business partners obtained the land for such a project easily and inexpensively. But his most notorious friend is crime boss Vyacheslav Fursa, known to the police as Slava Vyshgorodskyi. In the turbulent 1990s, he made a living selling stolen cars, but over time, he founded several businesses with Vadym Stolar, including Syaivo, Liga-M, Foodservice, and NTC Diya. These enterprises are involved in various businesses, some of them entirely legal, while others, like NTC Diya, used "gray" schemes in the petroleum products market, importing crude oil from Russia and then refining it in Ukraine as gasoline grade 76 and selling it as grade 92. One day, Stolar Furs's friend and partner killed a police officer while drunk. This is where the connections described above came into play. Svyatoslav Piskun personally defended the crime boss and pressured the court. He did. Slava Vyshgorodsky is still at large and remains Stolar's partner. But Vadim Mikhailovich himself has reached new heights.
Vadim Stolar. The First Major Scam
A very large sum. According to some sources, it's 13.3 million euros, according to others, 55 million euros. Stolar once swindled Conversbank for exactly that amount. The scheme was simple: partners of the bank's then-owner, Vladimir Antonov—Strizhak and Tumovs—made Vadim Stolar a shareholder by proxy. They weren't just shareholders, but also top managers, so they controlled everything. Then, as if by magic, they siphoned off huge sums of money from the bank and transferred the bank's ownership to their own people. They then demanded 17 million euros from Vladimir Antonov, promising to return the bank if they did. Antonov didn't pay, and the bank went to Vadim Stolar.
It's still in business, just changed its name to CityCommerseBank. However, he's proven to be a lousy banker—the bank is currently under temporary administration and is being prepared for liquidation. Perhaps the truth will emerge during these proceedings. Although, given the Stolar family's connections, this is unlikely to be a problem for Vadim Mikhailovich.
The scam of the century
But Stolar's greatest "achievement" was the scam involving the Elite-Center construction company. Vadim Mikhailovich was one of the founders of this company. Furthermore, through his firms, Vozrozhdenie Trading House and Elite-Boxing, investors' money was siphoned off and cashed out. More than 1,500 people suffered as a result of this scam. Vadim Stolar's name appeared in the criminal case, but he denied any involvement. At the trial, he was... a witness. All the blame was pinned on his partner, Alexander Shakhov-Volkonsky, and he alone went to jail "for his friends," although it's clear to anyone that he couldn't have pulled off such a scam alone. It's said that Stolar was then bailed out by Svyatoslav Piskun.
Vadim Stolar. Politics and Nothing Personal
In 2007, Vadym Mykhailovych was a Verkhovna Rada deputy representing the Party of Regions. But in 2012, he was unlucky. Apparently, there weren't enough constituencies for all the "heroes of the Maidan," and he faced competition from Oleksandr Bryhynets in his native Obolon. Stolar lost, but decided not to antagonize pro-government forces, congratulating his opponent on his victory even before the results were announced. This humility, coupled with ample funds, was respected by the pro-presidential forces. No, Vadym Mykhailovych wasn't recruited into UDAR; he was too odious a figure. But Vitali Klitschko's political force fielded a certain Olga Lyulchak against him, an unknown woman who, moreover, had numerous revealing photos of herself on social media. And then, winning and gaining a seat on the Kyiv City Council became, once again, a matter of technique.
Olga Lyulchak
Today, Vadym Stolar is one of the "managers" of Kyiv's budget, one of the "communicators" between the new and old authorities, one of the "casting managers" who selects deputies for local elections, and one of the "shadow figures" of the presidential campaign headquarters. So, it's safe to say that those who have come to power (or rather, never left it) are not only officials, oligarchs, and corrupt cops, but also outright swindlers.
Denis Ivanov, for Skelet.Org
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