Rinat Akhmetov
When DTEK "came" to Sverdlovsk... I'll stop here. Let me explain what "came" means. The decision "to have DTEK" was made not by the miners, but by the miners.
Yes, we have democracy. And although the Verkhovna Rada and the Ministry of Coal Industry quickly cobbled together the necessary regulations, the "decision" that "the Donbas mines cannot survive without DTEK" was made by the miners.
Surprisingly, before DTEK, when Sverdlovantracite was a state-owned enterprise, it was portrayed by the media and the Ministry of Coal Industry as unprofitable. The state budget allocated... annually to "support" the coal industry.
And suddenly... in DTEK's reports, just before the concession tender, the state-owned enterprise "Sverdlovantratsit" and the state-owned enterprise "Rovenkyanthracite" become the flagships of the Ukrainian coal industry.
"DTEK, having accepted the concession, is a successful coal mining enterprise," says DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko.
"Subsidized coal mining enterprises have been transferred to concession," states the Ministry of Coal Industry's report.
And this is all about the same integrated coal complex. What happens next? At the mines, there's a chorus of bravado and "they'll save us," "we're subsidized enterprises," "there's no money for...," "we'll die." At the executive committee, DTEK representatives say they'll "calculate and transfer, repair, and help."
The city was being prepared for surrender. The Federation of "dependent" trade unions shook hands and wiped away tears of affection for the "saviors." None of the coal industry union workers had read or even seen the already-signed concession agreement, but...
At meetings, the miners were told about the development prospects, supposedly enshrined in the concession agreement. And the miners said, "Well, so be it," "We'll manage the mine ourselves, sell the coal, and get rich."
None of the miners could clearly explain how to do it "themselves" when you have a tenant, that is, an owner. They simply created an illusion, they simply believed in it. It was simple and not difficult.
Why bother? Those who opposed the concession or simply pointed out its pitfalls were immediately declared enemies of the people and Akhmetov's personal enemies.
The city mayor and the executive committee workers, rolling their eyes, sobbed in a fit of indignation, reading my legal outlines on the Mining Law, the Collective Agreement, the Coal Agreement, and the Civil Code.
The question is, why should you worry about the tenant’s well-being?
But it was city officials, the Federation of Coal Industry Workers' Trade Unions, like the ever-committing R. Akhmetov Pioneer Combat Squad, who advocated for its protection and, through their controlled media, ensured the "smiling face of a good master."
To hell with you, I said and waved my hand.
Three months later, the first "sufferers" flocked to the office of the law firm where I worked, their faces childishly incomprehensible, their pay stubs saddened, and their shock at the lack of "mining experience" in their work records. Thus began the reorganization of DTEK.
I won't bore the reader with the various "scams" perpetrated by DTEK's reorganizers. I'll just say it briefly. Those who always agreed with and applauded the "Oh, finally the boss is coming" chants at meetings have seen their work experience, household coal, pensions, regression, average wages, and other hard-won benefits go to hell.
The union was packed with the "offended and humiliated," but the Boss offered no new bravado, chants, or slogans. So they dealt with it in the standard way: the prosecutor's office, letters, promises, and the courts.
Along with the reorganization, DTEK introduced new rules. More on that in a bit. Security was beefed up. They guarded everything—the administrative building, the coal storage facilities, the utility rooms, the smart buildings. The guards had the power of God. On more than one occasion, half-drunk, overly aggressive guards beat miners, intimidating them while brandishing their service weapons. Access to any certificate, to employment, or to the mines was strictly by pass. The mines began to resemble restricted access facilities with three or more checkpoints. This was 2009.
A reward system for informing on others was introduced at the company. A miner who turned in a comrade for criticizing management received a bonus. Teams were divided into "elite," "service," and "lowlife." The elite received up to 50,000 hryvnias in wages and "met" the quota, but the real workers were the service and lowlifes, who earned up to 10,000 hryvnias.
Only the first three days of sick leave were paid. If a miner was sick more than twice a year, they were fired. Each individual division (as the mines within DTEK Sverdlovantartsit LLC were known) had its legal staff increased.
A dossier was compiled on every mine employee (including his wife, children, and relatives). In the event of a rebellion (a lawsuit), threats were made to all family members of the miner who had gotten out of control.
The miners signed statements in which, under threat of dismissal, they promised “not to disclose their wages to outsiders, not to disclose the number of meters mined, or their production….”
Miner's Day, a citywide holiday since the city's founding, had become a celebration for both the elite and the "lowlife." The elite were invited to the stadium with personalized invitations and entertained by showbiz stars. The lowlifes were content with a bonus, a bottle of booze, and a drunken dance to the veterans' choir.
We watched with horror as the miners changed (denunciations, fear, genuflection). That's how the militia began. It formed from 2009 to 2014. Then the lawyers became commanders of field units, torturing and killing pro-Ukrainian citizens. The miners' rabble received weapons and orders to defend the mines from Kolomoisky, while the "service personnel" continued to work and save the mines. They weren't touched. They were essential bees, bringing honey from the coal during the war. But let's not talk about that.
Let's return to "a dossier was compiled on each mine employee (including his wife, children, and relatives). In the event of a revolt (a lawsuit), threats were made to all family members of the out-of-control miner." This proved effective.
Many miners had criminal records (fights, child support evasion, petty theft). Many had children studying at mining colleges or institutes (meaning they hoped to find employment at DTEK). Many received social security benefits for loss of health due to occupational disease or injury.
Using the levers of control, "you have an outstanding criminal record," "we'll fire you from work - you'll fail your child," "your child is graduating from college this year - we can arrange for him to work if...," "you need to undergo a medical and social expert commission (MSEK) for regression (a medical and social expert commission that establishes facts of "non-healing or non-regrowth of limbs" and extends payments), we can make it so that there will be no regression," "your wife...," "your son-in-law...," "your godfather...."
I saw those folders and files DTEK's lawyers had collected on their already obedient employees. Neighbor interviews, bank card printouts (under banking secrecy, yes), tracking of store purchases, real estate, equipment, traffic fines…
I suspect that the folders now contain information about “who fought where, how many were killed, who looted, who stole what and where.”
To ensure more efficient and successful HR management, DTEK LLC lawyers received salaries three times higher than those of ordinary miners from the "service" or "cattle" groups.
But let's not talk about Sverdlovsk and Rovenki (two cities where similar DTEK personnel management schemes were in place). Let's talk about DTEK's other partners and other schemes.
DTEK Trading Cyprus (Nicosia state registration number HE245132) had a "Know Your Client" program. DTEK itself, in anticipation of a deal or upon receiving a commercial proposal, would loudly proclaim that the Ukrainian (it was emphasized) company was clean, all in white, and simply shone on the canvas of financial innocence.
In Europe or the Mediterranean countries, people don't know who Rinat's dad is.
But, flashing its innocence, DTEK immediately declared that it would not enter into any deals without understanding the "who" behind a foreign partner company. Therefore, DTEK requested all relevant information from companies under this program, including state registration certificates, shareholder ownership, names and addresses—everything else that was relevant.
Incidentally, there is now DTEK Trading Netherlands, which continues to work within the framework of this program.
DTEK, like many other Ukrainian companies owned by Akhmetov and Ivanyushchenko, fled Cyprus after the banking crisis.
Next, DTEK's partner company, again within the framework of the program, was asked what associations or unions they belonged to, whether they did business with Iran, Jordan, Afghanistan, and other rogue states, and which of the foreign partner company's executives had worked or were in government agencies, and in what capacity.
Documents were required confirming that the company was not subject to any anti-corruption laws stipulated by the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Bribery & Corruption program.
Reading this might send a Ukrainian reader into a political hysteria. After all, DTEK, a thoroughly criminal and gangster organization, was testing its European clients for "honesty and integrity."
The point is that foreign companies are very attentive to client requests and provide all information openly. Why am I describing all this? I emphasized that DTEK presents itself and positions itself as a Ukrainian company (!).
Having received everything from its foreign partners and knowing who was in front of it (the client's details were on the table, after all), DTEK, after the deal was concluded, began playing all sorts of "games," such as "pay for the coal that was stolen or underloaded onto a ship in Ukraine," "win the lawsuit in Ukraine," "the Ukrainian court ruled that the foreign partner was at fault," "the Ukrainian laboratory gave that sulfur content in the material and we disagree with the results of the neutral laboratory," "I'll ship the coal not when it's needed, but when it's convenient for DTEK," and so on and so forth.
Ukraine's image in the European coal market was rapidly declining. Whenever its partners attempted to resist or sue, DTEK launched various "inspections" and filed complaints with "counteraction" organizations, effectively paralyzing the company or blackmailing it.
Moreover, in Europe, upon receiving documents (certificates, lab results, etc.), no self-respecting person will check their authenticity. Thus, exploiting the European integrity of its partners, DTEK not only compiled a database but also falsified documents received from clients, repeatedly providing its foreign partners with counterfeit documents using European forms.
DTEK Trading and all its associated companies currently maintain a vast database of European firms, their founders, and their clients in Kyiv, compiled thanks to European trust and the "Know Your Client" affiliate program.
Data from this database has repeatedly become material for pressure from the Russian side in resolving various commercial and military conflicts.
With love,
Olena Stepova, for Information Resistance
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