The economic crisis of recent years has knocked even the most resilient businesses off their feet. Mass bankruptcies of banks and insurance companies have undermined public trust in financial institutions. The state has legislated methods and structures for guaranteeing payments to consumers.
In the banking system, this is handled by the Deposit Guarantee Fund (DGF), and in the insurance industry, by the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine (MTIBU). Despite this, there are still those who exploit the imperfections of the legal system and are willing to profit from the misfortunes of others.
Since the media already devotes sufficient attention to banks, we'll discuss the insurance market, where the MTIBU is the guarantor of compensation for accident victims. According to current legislation, payments under contracts of insolvent insurance companies are made only after the insolvency proceedings of these insurance companies, and the sole beneficiary under the insurance contracts can only be the injured party, i.e., a Ukrainian citizen. However, in the auto insurance market, there's someone like Yuriy Yavtushenko, who successfully circumvents the law and profits by introducing a factoring system.
Yavtushenko's persona is familiar to everyone. A notorious windbag, a troublemaker, a choleric, a liar, a braggart, and, most importantly, a plugger for every crack where there's even the slightest opportunity to steal. Behind the scenes, insurance agents call him "shaggy," a poodle, or simply a "scavenger." Incidentally, he resembles the latter description not only in essence but also in form.
Yavtushenko is the director of Opeka-Zhizni PJSC and a shareholder in Salamandra-Ukraine PJSC. Since the latter is a co-founder of factoring and pyramid companies such as Finance-Line LLC and Marx.Capital LLC, Yavtushenko has direct influence over them.
Since 2011, Yavtushenko has chaired the board of the corporate non-state pension fund PJSC Concern Stirol, which is owned by Dmitry Firtash's GroupDF. This fund is also administered through Opeka-Kapital Asset Management Company LLC, which is controlled by Yavtushenko. The SK Salamandra-Ukraine Group also serves other corporate clients within the Firtash group.
It is reliably known that since the beginning of 2012, Yavtushenko has been secretly heading the investment and legal activities of entities under his control in a scheme to influence the withdrawal from the market of "overripe" insurance pyramids, factoring, and debt obligations of insolvent insurance companies to victims in the motor insurance segment.
From that period to the present day, Yavtushenko has worked closely with Sergei Protsyk, who at various times served as director of Marks. Capital LLC, Finance-Line LLC, and Salamandra-Ukraine Insurance Company PJSC, in factoring matters. Yavtushenko also has close business interests with Roman Malenko, Chairman of the Board of Salamandra-Ukraine Insurance Company PJSC (a member of the MTIBU Presidium since 2014), who is also close to GroupDF.
Financing of its factoring operations is carried out mainly by banks (JSCB Soyuz, PJSC Terra Bank, AB Clearing House, AB Unicombank).
Using Firtash's name as a cover for his financial dealings, Yavtushenko allows himself to "kick in" doors with the head of the relevant Verkhovna Rada committee, Serhiy Rybalka, the head of the National Commission for Financial Services, Igor Pashko, and Commission member Denys Yastreb, which he then brazenly boasts about in the insurance community.
The cashing out of funds through Orly Insurance Company, the closure of insurance companies, the collapse of the Ukrainian insurance market, and the outright theft of reinsurance money from its own, namely GroupDF, raises a logical question: does the world-famous billionaire know he's "working" for Yury Yavtushenko's image and wealth, and where is his security service looking in all this?
The factoring company "Marx. Capital" operates using a rather rudimentary model. The company acquires bankrupt insurance companies to claim payments from the MTIBU fund. Due to delays in payments to victims, the company offered policyholders the opportunity to transfer their debt reimbursement rights for 30-50% of the payment (which the company pays immediately), rather than waiting a year or a year and a half for the full compensation, when the necessary court decision is issued. The factoring company, in turn, gains the ability to demand 100% of the debt from the MTIBU.
To close the book on Yavtushenko, amendments to the relevant compulsory motor insurance law were initiated. In an interview, then-MTIBU Director General Natalia Gudyma stated: "The decision to pay victims from MTIBU funds, without waiting for the bankruptcy of problem insurers, was made long ago. All member companies of the Bureau have signed agreements that allow us to pay from guarantee funds even before bankruptcy proceedings begin. But even in this case, legislative changes are necessary."
Due to political instability and the constant turnover of key players in the insurance market, legislative changes were never adopted. During this time, Yavtushenko managed to amass a profit of approximately 10,000,000 hryvnias from factoring transactions.
The buyout included UESK PJSC, InterTransPolis PJSC, and NFSK Dobrobut PJSC, which he organized with the help of Yevgeny Kozindo, who then served as the head of these insurance companies and subsequently fled the country. Other companies that were "drained" included Lafort Insurance Company PJSC, Inkomstrakh Insurance Company PJSC, Status Insurance Company PJSC, Garantiya StZDV, and Ukrainian Insurance House PJSC.
The most interesting situation arose with StZDV "Garantiya," which deserves special attention. Yavtushenko proved more agile than anyone else when he installed his former protégé, Roman Yevgenyevich Ignatovich, at StZDV "Garantiya." During his short tenure at StZDV "Garantiya," Ignatovich managed to transfer 5,106,000 hryvnias to an unknown destination and also sold an apartment belonging to the insurance company, located at 56 Kostyantynivska Street, Apt. 13, Kyiv, the proceeds from which also went to an unknown destination. Meanwhile, official debts to employees and payments to clients were not repaid. As we can see, Ignatovich proved to be a capable enforcer in the hands of "Yura the Scavenger." A legal assessment of Ignatovich's actions is highly desirable from law enforcement agencies.
The greed and impunity of Yavtushenko and his accomplices are inexorably driving the compulsory motor insurance market into the abyss. In 2015, four insurance companies lost their membership in the MTIBU, three of which—PJSC IC ORANTA-LUGAN, PJSC IC NOVA, and PJSC IC Ukraina—have already been targeted by "insurance scavengers."
Let's take a closer look at one of Yura's most recent conquests: PJSC IC "Ukraine." It has now become known that, having gained control of this company, Yura also gained control over the remaining MTPL insurance forms belonging to PJSC IC "Ukraine." For the period from July 1, 2015, to November 3, 2015—the very period when this insurance company's poodle ears began to stick out—the MTIBU recorded the sale of insurance forms totaling UAH 2.5 million. Furthermore, by order of the National Commission dated April 3, 2015, No. 656, the MTPL license was suspended, and on July 1, 2015, the MTIBU revoked PJSC IC "Ukraine's" membership status. At the same time, despite the lack of legal grounds, the sale of policies, as we see, was carried out in earnest. It is noteworthy that the upload to the MTIBU Central Database was carried out from the IP address: IP 82.207.61.190, which, according to information received from Ukrtelecom, belongs to PJSC Insurance Company "Salamandra Ukraine," 47 Pushkin Street, Poltava, 36039. There is confidence that the sale of forms from companies that do not intend to pay citizens was also carried out by other companies seized by Yura. It is highly significant and symbolic that this became known to an insurance company called "UKRAINE." How many Ukrainian citizens will not receive insurance compensation as a result of the actions of such a "scavenger"?
Several criminal cases have previously been opened against Yavtushenko for such unbridled appetites: by the Pechersky District Department - criminal case No. 12013110060004593 (regarding fraudulent actions of officials of PJSC UESK and LLC Marx.Capital in bringing the said insurance company to bankruptcy); by the Shevchenko District Department - No. 42013110000000266 (illegal actions of officials of PJSC IC Lafort), by the Podolsk District Department - No. 12013110070004460 (embezzlement of property and abuse of office in relation to officials of PJSC NFSK Dobrobut). These criminal cases are at the pre-trial stage.
I really want to know about the fate of these cases.
In all his "projects," Yavtushenko has reliable accomplices, who, incidentally, are still operating in the market and even enjoy authority. It's no news to the market that Elena Masharo, the MTIBU (Ministry of Transport Insurance of Ukraine), promptly informs him of the insurance company's financial impasse.
It's from this "insurance market specialist" that Yura receives the first warning signs about the unreliability of insurance companies, and she, when necessary, delays reporting the situation at such insurance companies to the Bureau's management. She gives Yura a head start, so to speak. A grim picture emerges in which the top management of MTIBU, an organization created to protect victims, is robbing these same victims, essentially working for the benefit of factoring.
Since Yavtushenko's schemes have become tiresome, and the monopolization of the insurance market is a source of concern, Yura is resorting to new methods. For example, a new Yavtushenko project, "Insurance Ombudsman," recently launched on the market, with Yuri Chunikhin as its representative.
After all this, one question remains: how much longer can society tolerate such "scavengers," while the National Financial Services Commission, as the regulator of this market, which should protect both participants and consumers, remains inactive? Or is the truth kicking open the doors?
Ruslan Yakushev, Antikor
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