Member of Parliament Serhiy Leshchenko stood up for the fraudulent millionaire.
Journalists have obtained documents confirming that one of the largest producers of Ukrainian cognac is under investigation due to suspicions of smuggling "illegal" alcohol and producing surrogate brandy from it. Investigators’ suspicions have been confirmed by the results of an independent examination conducted at a European institute. (We do not quote the documents in full because we respect the secrecy of the investigation).
This concerns the private joint-stock company (PJSC) "Odesa Cognac Factory," 100% of whose shares belong to the scandalously famous vodka magnate from Zaporizhzhya, Yevhen Chernyak, owner of the Global Spirits holding.
Last week, Ukrainian Member of Parliament Serhiy Leshchenko, from the parliamentary tribune and his personal Facebook page, with characteristic assertiveness, accused the Security Service of Ukraine of creating obstacles for Ukrainian cognac producers.
"For two months now, cognac producers ’Shabo’ (produced at the same Odesa factory. – ed.), ’Southern Distillery,’ Mykolaiv Cognac Factory, and others have been unable to complete customs procedures at the Odesa customs office, which has been ordered to block cognac spirits," he stated.
According to Leshchenko, it appears that the Security Service of Ukraine, having instructed the State Fiscal Service to "prevent the release beyond the customs territory of Ukraine of potentially dangerous products until the results of expert studies are obtained," has initiated something undesirable.
"It’s been two months, and the results of these ’expertise’ are unknown to cognac producers," claims Leshchenko. "These people have lost their fear and conscience. Instead of fighting threats to national security, the Security Service has turned into a means of market redistribution and simple extortion. But through unveiling plans and public pressure, we will break their schemes."
Journalists decided to assist their former colleague in his efforts and conducted their own small investigation, which, among other things, helped to understand why the drinks of the "Odesa Cognac Factory" after its purchase by Yevhen Chernyak resemble cognac only remotely.
So, in the spring of 2015, by order of the Prosecutor General’s investigator in a case involving smuggling, abuse of power, illegal manufacture of excise goods, and the release of substandard products, an inspection visited the warehouse of PJSC "Odesa Cognac Factory." Inspectors seized samples of products (cognacs "Shustov," "Shustov-150," "Three Stars," "OCF") to study them to determine what they are and whether they are safe to drink.
A drink, to be called cognac or at least brandy, must be made from grape alcohol obtained from winemaking materials and aged in oak barrels. If this simple technology is violated, the result is not cognac but a surrogate. Trading such drinks is criminally punishable, and consuming it is dangerous to life and health.
"We spend too much time and money on producing cognac using the classical technology adopted worldwide," the owner of the factory, Yevhen Chernyak, once said in an interview with the Russian newspaper "Kommersant." "Odesa Cognac Factory is one of the few enterprises that have their own vineyards and own cognac alcohols. And these are the main components that allow producing high-quality cognac."
Cognac enthusiasts, in principle, need only sip what Chernyak’s factory produces to understand that this figure is being deceitful and that it is better not to drink his product. However, inspectors did not rely on their taste buds. They sent collected samples to the Ukrainian Laboratory of Food Quality and Safety. As part of international cooperation, the samples were sent for examination to the laboratory of the Romanian National Institute for Development of Cryogenic and Isotopic Research.
The Romanian laboratory used nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometric analysis methodologies in the study of Chernyak’s "cognac." It found that the samples had too little carbon C3, characteristic of alcohol derived from grapes, but a lot of carbon C4, typical of corn and sugar cane. According to the conclusions of Romanian scientists, such "illegal" alcohol in Odesa cognacs, depending on the test, ranges from 41-58%.
According to the "Law on Food Safety and Quality," the drink produced at Yevhen Chernyak’s factory is not only banned from sale, but it is also forbidden to manufacture. Why Chernyak broke the law is easy to explain: cognac alcohol costs at least two euros per liter, while "illegal" alcohol - four times cheaper. Considering that the vodka "king" sells millions of liters of drink under the guise of cognac, the "savings" are clearly astronomical. Naturally, such actions attract the attention of the Security Service and other law enforcement agencies. It’s just unclear why the fervent anti-corruption crusader Leshchenko stood up for the questionable dealer. However, we will also try to find this out.
To be continued.
Pavlo Shulz and Ivan Pomidorov specially for CRiME