Kyiv's Deputy Mayor Konstantin Usov – from leaking paid information to kickbacks from Kyiv's carriers
Konstantin Usov, Deputy Head of the Kyiv City Administration for the Exercise of Local Government Powers, began his career as an investigative journalist and, it must be said, quite successfully. However, at some point, he realized that, aside from causing trouble, these investigations weren't bringing much benefit, so he went into politics. Where, as you can see for yourself, taking the current Parliament as an example, the opportunities are much greater, writes Anticorrosive
True, his first attempt was a flop: in 2012, when Usov ran for the Batkivshchyna party in his native Kryvyi Rih, he failed to become a deputy. He became a deputy two years later, after changing his flag:
As a member of parliament, Konstantin Glebovich Usov was remembered for skipping 43% of Verkhovna Rada sessions, thus becoming one of the leaders on this honorable list. Another scandal involved the Batkivshchyna party: in 2019, Usov was accused of orchestrating the beating of Vadym Mirzoyan, chairman of the party's Inhulets district branch.
The incident took place in Usov's hometown of Kryvyi Rih, so it's safe to assume he remembered something. However, the scandal was hushed up, and Mirzoyan himself claimed he'd overreacted when he accused Usov of ordering the beating. The true story remains unknown, but no one seemed to be interested in investigating. And given what's been happening and is happening in the country, it's a mere trifle.
Before describing Konstantin Glebovich's tenure as Klitschko's deputy, it's worth revisiting his early years, when he made his name as an investigative journalist. Usov wasn't investigating the activities of some lowly village council officials, but rather, he was unafraid to uncover the true state of affairs in places where far more prominent and established journalists were afraid to venture.
To avoid overloading this article with too much text, we'll only mention the most high-profile ones. Usov is responsible for investigating corruption at a maternity hospital in Kryvyi Rih, where doctors refused to care for premature babies for free (though they didn't do anything after accepting the money).
Usov also uncovered the true owner of the bulk carrier Faina, whose Ukrainian crew spent nearly four months in pirate captivity in 2008. He turned out to be then-Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Igor Urbansky. Usov also investigated the Yanukovych-orchestrated repression of former Interior Minister Lutsenko. Usov also uncovered a system of bribery and repression against inmates at the Lukyanivske pretrial detention center, which led to another high-profile scandal and criminal charges against the facility's leadership.
Usov's latest investigation, incidentally, also tarnished his reputation as an "honest fighter," because it suddenly became public knowledge that the commissioners for Usov's film, "Lukyanovka. Prison No. 1," were Ministry of Internal Affairs employees who were simply vying for positions.
After this, the public became interested in Usov's other investigations, asking, in particular, who funded them all, as the collection process involved dozens of people and quite expensive equipment. There were no answers to these questions, nor to the question of who leaked information to Usov and led him to the necessary sources, often quite high-ranking.
Be that as it may, Konstantin Glebovich decided to change his profession and enter politics. Tellingly, he was elected to the Supreme Council through a single-member constituency. Even then, this raised questions: where did the journalist get the money for such a costly campaign? Furthermore, Usov, a representative of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, won a single-member constituency in the Party of Regions' stronghold, a factor that clearly increased the cost of the campaign. His official biography offers no answer to the question of the source of the money:
But the secret to his electoral success is simple. During the 2014 parliamentary campaign, Usov was repeatedly linked to Oleksandr Vilkul, a former Party of Regions member and former Deputy Prime Minister in Mykola Azarov's government. Specifically, it was noted that Usov's campaign headquarters was located in the building of the Artstyle advertising and printing center, which the younger Vilkul was associated with.
Media reports also noted that several candidates, including Usov and his main rival, Malachevsky, shared a single source of funding. It's said that, in fact, in high places, Kryvyi Rih was divided between the BPP and the Opposition Bloc—the 33rd district was given to the BPP, while the 31st and 32nd went to the Opposition Bloc.
Parliamentary activity has clearly benefited Usov. A look at Kostiantyn Glebovich's 2020 asset declaration, when he traded his seat as a Verkhovna Rada deputy for a more modest position as a Kyiv City Council member, reveals that he is far from poor.
For example, he now owns a 95,9-square-meter apartment in Kyiv, a 12-meter parking space there, and a 3,252-meter plot of land in the Kyivo-Svyatoshinsky district. However, the first two properties belong to his wife, who, as befits the spouse of a deputy, is a successful businesswoman.
By the way, pay attention to the price of a plot in an elite area:
And compare it with reality. Regarding the price of the apartment and parking space, Konstantin Glebovich remained modestly silent.
As for transportation, the Usov family does not use public transport, which is currently handled by the deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration (more on that later):
It's not exactly luxurious, but pay attention to the prices and compare them with the market.
As for income, Konstantin Glebovich's 2020 income amounted to 16,828,640 hryvnias. We won't list where, how much, and where he earned it—it would take too long. But I'd like to point out a couple of points. Some kind souls gifted Usov, a civil servant, something valuable:
Kyiv's Deputy Mayor Konstantin Usov – from leaking paid information to kickbacks from Kyiv's carriers
Some were donated in cash. The total value of the gifts was 6,486,710 hryvnias.
The second point worth paying attention to is the following:
Can you imagine the amount of a deposit, which has accumulated almost half a million in interest in just one year?
And finally, to conclude the topic of declarations, what Ukrainian politician doesn't have a little cash for a rainy day? Konstantin Glebovich Usov is no exception. Admittedly, he's quite frugal, keeping only $112,000 and 175,000 hryvnias under his bed. The rest he entrusts to the banking system:
By the way, the phrase about Usov’s wife, who is a “successful businesswoman,” was by no means a joke:
And Konstantin Usov himself, as follows from this screenshot of his declaration, is no stranger to business.
So, five years in the Rada have clearly been beneficial: the recent Shevchenko University graduate and penniless journalist managed to acquire a rather good business during this time, judging by his declaration, and one of the firms is even registered in the United States.
Now let's return to the present day. No sooner had Konstantin Glebovich become Klitschko's deputy than he found himself embroiled in a scandal. The fact is, he was placed in charge of the capital's parking and public transportation.
Read also: Konstantin Usov: From a simple journalist to a rich brawler, thief, and Krivoy Rog-style media mogul
Kyiv drivers are well aware of the parking chaos. For those who haven't been to the capital, let us explain: under the guise of combating parking violations, several companies operate in the capital that tow away improperly parked cars.
On the one hand, this seems like a good idea—but what about the cars parked on crosswalks and sidewalks? But on the other, it's a real mafia, because there's practically no parking, and cars are towed regardless of whether the driver is breaking traffic rules. Finding the car later is extremely difficult, and it costs the owner around two thousand hryvnias. But the city only gets the fine—510 hryvnias. The rest—towing fees (1,270 hryvnias) and a day's impound (144 hryvnias)—goes to the owners of the companies that operate this business. Moreover, all of these companies are privately owned, and their number is strictly limited.
However, Konstantin Usov is only just beginning to explore this market, as he recently became deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration, while the parking mafia has been building for years. Therefore, the division of the market is still ongoing.
Moreover, due to pedestrians' well-known hatred of drivers, many Kyiv residents support the removal of cars from the capital's streets, strongly advocating for public transport. However, they were clearly not pleased with the news that it would cost 20 hryvnias. And Konstantin Glebovich is partly responsible for this price increase.
The fact is, he zealously took on what he called the "minibus mafia." While not denying its existence, we'll venture to speculate that Usov decided to lead it. So, he first demanded 200 hryvnias per day from minibus owners for each bus on their route. When they refused, he began terminating their contracts and introducing companies into the capital's transportation market that agreed to work under his terms.
As recently as October, Aven Ezer Private Enterprise and Yaroslav Auto LLC, which operate transportation services in Kyiv, held a press conference where they announced that "Usov had sent 'petitioners' to them, represented by his advisor, Viktor Sasin, and the head of the Transportation Service, Viktor Savchenko, demanding a daily fee of 200 hryvnias per vehicle. This would allow the deputy mayor to accumulate over 9 million hryvnias per month." Those who refuse are having their licenses revoked.
You can read more about this extortion in the article "Defender Klitschko Usov Seized Control of Kyivpastrans through Deputy Levchenko," so we don't think there's any need to go into too much detail.
But the fact is that Usov's actions have also led to a shortage of vehicles in the capital's transportation sector. And the additional 200 hryvnias per minibus, accordingly, must come from somewhere. It's clear that Kyiv residents will ultimately pay the price—the levy will simply be included in the fare. Against this backdrop, the announcement of a fare increase on municipal transport was made. However, the scheme for embezzling budget funds (Kyivpasstrans is a municipal enterprise) is far more complex and requires a separate investigation, so we'll save that for our next article about the young talent currently serving as Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration, Kostiantyn Usov.
Author of the article:
Marina Vorona
In topic: MP Usov's companies are accused of embezzling budget funds.
In Kryvyi Rih, BPP MP Usov stole tens of millions during school construction.
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