Victor Boyko
The start of the election campaign in the Kirovohrad region can be discerned not only from the calendar but also from advertisements in the local press. In them, the "renowned manufacturer" and "philanthropist" Viktor Boyko speaks of Ukraine's rebirth and bright future. Clearly, with his participation. However, the "hero" of these advertisements has likely forgotten that for today's Ukrainian society, including the residents of the Kirovohrad region, lustration is more than just a rhyming word. And that he will have to answer for the time he spent in lucrative positions, sucking at the state's troughs, as well as his years of inaction as a people's deputy. And advertisements are unlikely to help.
How Viktor Boyko improved the environment in the Kirovohrad region
It was in 2010, when Viktor Boyko headed the Ministry of the Environment, that the bodies under the ministry's control issued a permit to the company "Tekhpromproekt" to dispose of waste on the territory of the Pavlovsky village council of the Svetlovodsk district of the Kirovograd region.
In 2013, under public pressure, law enforcement agencies conducted an inspection, which uncovered multiple violations in the operation of the land plot where the landfill is located, poisoning the lives of residents of the district. In April of this year, the Svitlovodsk Interdistrict Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal investigation into the unauthorized use of the land plot for the landfill. Let's hope that law enforcement will finally be able to deal with this toxic "gift" brought to the Kirovohrad region by Viktor Boyko and his subordinates.
Bribes? Go to hell!
Overall, Viktor Boyko's tenure as Minister of Environmental Protection can be summed up in just two words: corruption and shady dealings.
During his three-month tenure at the helm of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the banya, or rather, the sauna, in his workplace became something of a calling card for Viktor Boyko. Even his fellow party members complained, "The first thing Boyko did when he came to the ministry was build a sauna there. Why he needs a sauna in his workplace—I don't understand."
As for corruption, it flourished like wildfire under Viktor Boyko in the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
The most illustrative example is the red-handed arrest of Viktor Boyko's deputy, Bohdan Presner, by officers of the Prosecutor General's Office and the Security Service of Ukraine on June 1, 2010.
Another of Viktor Boyko's deputy, Valeriy Glinyanchuk (incidentally, he served as his deputy in 2005, when Boyko was head of the State Reserve Committee), was also implicated in corruption schemes. The publication "Minprom," which published an article about these officials, succinctly described their activities as "environmental racketeering."
Having witnessed this kind of management of the ministry, the first to lose their temper were the deputies from Lytvyn's bloc, whose quota had enabled Viktor Boyko to worm his way into the ministerial seat. Where did Lytvyn get him from, they asked at a regular meeting of their parliamentary faction (a meeting which, incidentally, Viktor Boyko regularly ignored) and raised the issue of his resignation. As a result, Viktor Boyko was summarily dismissed from the ministry on the recommendation of Mykola Azarov.
The homeland's coffers and one's own pocket make no difference
If you ask what Viktor Boyko accomplished during his time as a deputy for the 102nd constituency that elected him, the answer is clear: nothing! I mean, absolutely nothing. Not a single request, not a single speech on the constituency's issues, not a single bill on the problems of the Kirovohrad region.
Already a member of parliament, Viktor Boyko headed the State Reserve Committee for three months (May 31–September 20, 2005). And, of course, in this position, especially with the cover of his parliamentary mandate, he implemented a number of well-established schemes.
The most high-profile of these involved enrichment schemes involving purchases and sales at the State Reserve Committee. In September 2005, a criminal case was opened under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for fraudulent purchases of diesel fuel by the State Reserve Committee at inflated prices from companies affiliated with Viktor Boyko (his wife, Irina, was a co-founder). Investigative authorities established that the State Reserve Committee's management embezzled approximately 20 million hryvnias. However, his parliamentary badge and political protection helped Viktor Boyko avoid criminal prosecution.
Yuri Ternikov directly linked the significant increase in sugar prices in 2005, which was associated with a shortage, to the artificial restriction of its supply to the market.
"When the wholesale price of sugar on the market was 2,6 UAH/kg, the State Reserve Committee set it at 2,8 UAH/kg plus 6% for the expenses of the State Enterprise Ukrreserve, which served as the impetus for price increases," he noted.
Viktor Boyko's hallmark is his pursuit of profit, even in small matters. The service license plate "85," which was issued to the State Reserve Committee after Boyko's dismissal from the agency, was transferred to his luxurious personal vehicle—a Bentley Continental Flying Spur, which starts at €300.
Viktor Boyko's election campaign in the Kirovohrad region, as always, will be accompanied by promises of mountains of gold, fiery speeches, and outreach to the people. To secure votes, he will traditionally use not only administrative resources, food packages, and generous "meals" laid out in villages, but also "black" tactics, which our "hero" is not above using. The price of all this is another place at the trough, not only to recoup the money spent in the elections but also to snatch more from the people. Purge the government of such "wolves in sheep's clothing" is a long process, but elections are one of many effective ways to end the vicious practice of hiding from responsibility behind a parliamentary badge.
Natalia Ostrovskaya, Golos.ua
DOSSIER: Boyko Viktor Alekseevich
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