Yuriy Kosyuk – the "Chicken God" and friend of all Presidents
In July 2014, a rather strange appointment took place in the Presidential Administration of Ukraine: Yuriy Kosyuk was appointed First Deputy Head of the Chancellery of the Guarantor. It was officially announced that he would oversee the security forces. The peculiarity of this appointment is that Yuriy Kosyuk had never served in either the military or the security forces. He graduated from the Kyiv Institute of Food Industry and spent his entire life in business. His most successful project was Myronivsky Hliboproduct, known by the Nasha Ryaba brand. So why was a chicken specialist appointed to "lead" the Ukrainian security forces, especially during a de facto war with Russia?
Yuriy Kosyuk – the "Chicken God" and friend of all Presidents
However, on the eve of this appointment, rumors circulated that Yuriy Kosyuk would be appointed nothing less than Minister of Defense. So the country is relatively lucky. It's still unclear what Borys Lozhkin's deputy minister accomplished in his role for the army and the security forces as a whole. What is known, however, is that in 2014, during his tenure, Myronivskyi Hliboproduct received a record VAT refund of 1,6 billion hryvnias. Just for comparison, for the entire previous year, 2013, when the country was war-free and enjoyed relative economic stability, the same company received a VAT refund of 0,7 billion hryvnias. Are such strange coincidences even possible?
VAT refund to Myronivsky Hliboproduct in 2014
VAT refund to Myronivsky Hliboproduct in 2013
Once the business problems of his agricultural empire were resolved, Kosyuk resigned from his post as First Deputy Chief of Staff, wrote his resignation, and, according to Skelet.Org, went... yachting. This was reported by Zerkalo Nedeli. "Neither the war in the East nor the gravity of his duties prevented the billionaire official from spending the weekend in August at an expensive Italian resort, including, according to media reports, in the company of the oligarch of a country at war with us – Roman Abramovich," the publication writes.
Moreover, his government position, which required him to fight tooth and nail against the aggressor, didn't prevent Yuri Anatolyevich from re-registering his business in Crimea in accordance with Russian law. Thus, he remained the owner of the enterprises "Friendship of Peoples Nova" and "Crimean Fruit Company." So, businesses in the annexed territory apparently continue to generate a tidy income for the resourceful businessman-official. One can't help but recall the proverb: "One man's war is another man's mother."
Yuri Kosyuk. Strange Connections
In fact, despite the war, Yuriy Kosyuk is doing business with the Russians at full speed. For example, this year he signed a deal with Voronezh Agro Holding, transferring 40000 hectares of land in Russia to the Russians in exchange for 60000 hectares in the Lviv, Ternopil, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions. Yes, don't be surprised—until this summer, the Russians owned a substantial land stake in Western Ukraine. Now this land belongs to a local oligarch, who has become one of Ukraine's largest landowners, owning 380.000 hectares of Ukrainian land.
Yuriy Kosyuk – the "Chicken God" and friend of all Presidents
Myronivsky Hliboproduct is doing extremely well. Despite the crisis and the war, the company is paying its shareholders $50 million in quarterly dividends. And anyone thinking that these payments will generate substantial revenue for the Ukrainian treasury in the form of taxes is gravely mistaken. The taxes on these funds will go to Luxembourg. And taxes on the $249 million Eurobond payment that Myronivsky Hliboproduct issued in 2007 and listed on the London Stock Exchange will, accordingly, fuel the UK economy. In Ukraine, the company is reporting losses, citing bans on poultry supplies to the Customs Union and the closure of its factory in occupied Shakhtarsk.
Yuriy Kosyuk's affairs, however, were going well in previous years as well. One of the keys to this success is his ability to place his people in the right positions. A case in point is Agriculture Minister Yuriy Melnyk. This "trusted man" served as Minister of Agriculture in both the Tymoshenko and Yanukovych governments, and even served as Deputy Prime Minister for Agrarian Issues in the Yekhanurov government. After Melnyk himself left for government service, the former minister became the head of Myronivsky Hliboproduct. Such is the reshuffle: from government to business, and from business to government.
Yuri Melnik
In 2008, Yuriy Kosyuk received the title "Hero of Ukraine" from then-President Viktor Yushchenko. It's unclear for what merit. The official document states "for services to the agricultural sector." But this isn't service to the country, but rather a business that brings in handsome dividends. Perhaps it's not the merits, but the services rendered? Yuriy Kosyuk provides tourism services to the current president. This summer, Petro Poroshenko , Oleksandr Turchynov , and Borys Lozhkin vacationed on his yacht. It happened just before the fire at the BRSM-Nafta oil depot. They were a fine bunch; I wonder how they'll thank their hospitable yacht owner?
Yuri Kosyuk's yacht
And finally, Yuriy Kosyuk remains a freelance adviser to the Ukrainian president. He is among the top five richest people in Ukraine, according to Forbes. He remains friends with the top Ukrainian government and has influence over the country's politics, meaning we'll be hearing more about the "Chicken God."
Denis Ivanov, for Skelet.Org
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