Ihor Cherkaskyi — a shadowy figure and one who has become extraordinarily enriched during the change of power.
It’s difficult to estimate the approximate wealth of Ihor Cherkaskyi, but it is easy to understand how significantly it increases year by year while Derzhfinmonitoring handles the flows. Why the head of Derzhfinmonitoring, accused of corruption, doesn’t trust savings to Ukrainian banks.
A scandalous interview given to the online publication "Tema" by former MP from the Party of Regions Oleksandr Shepelyev, who fled to Russia in 2014 after being suspected of organizing a murder and embezzling and misappropriating others’ property, "exposed" a number of well-known names in Ukraine from both past and present authorities.
Among them are former Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka and the "gray cardinal" of the Party of Regions Yuriy Ivanyushchenko, as well as NSDC secretary Oleksandr Turchynov. Shepelyev harshly criticized Turchynov, claiming, among other things, that he "personally carried out his orders" and "personally transferred millions to offshore accounts for Turchynov." Along with him, another prominent representative of the new government was targeted — the head of the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine Ihor Cherkaskyi.
Oleksandr Shepelyev
"Look at how Turchynov reacted to my accusations. He asked the head of Finmonitoring to investigate my so-called ’provocative accusations.’ And who is currently heading Finmonitoring? That’s right, Mr. Ihor Cherkaskyi. What was Cherkaskyi’s position under Turchynov when he was the first deputy prime minister? Correct: he was also heading Finmonitoring. Cherkaskyi was an accomplice in the criminal schemes of embezzling funds from Ukraine’s state budget. Turchynov’s dubious companies or shell companies operated under the umbrella of Ukrainian Finmonitoring. Generally, they functioned for no more than a month before being closed and all documents destroyed. Only then would Finmonitoring discover the nonexistent ’shell companies,’ send materials to the GPU – and close the case without further pursuit. No companies, no money, no documents, no culprits... For all this, Cherkaskyi received a share amounting to tens of millions of dollars," said the fugitive former MP.
Oleksandr Turchynov
Ihor Cherkaskyi, who has not commented on the accusations from Shepelyev, indeed has a reputation of being close to Turchynov. This is not surprising given that his political career began in 2006 when he was elected to the Kyiv City Council from Yuliya Tymoshenko’s bloc, where Turchynov was the second most significant figure. By 2007, Cherkasky was elected a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada from BYuT, and in February 2008, soon after Yuliya Tymoshenko became Prime Minister for the second time, and Turchynov became the first deputy prime minister, Cherkaskyi became the head of the State Committee for Financial Monitoring.
Yuliya Tymoshenko
During Yanukovych’s presidency, Cherkaskyi "sat out" on public work, heading the public organization "Foundation for Legal Initiatives." His "moment of glory" came on March 1, 2014, just two days after then-Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Turchynov signed the resolution appointing Arseniy Yatsenyuk as Prime Minister. By the government’s decision, Cherkasky once again headed the State Committee for Financial Monitoring and continues to lead it to this day.
Ihor Cherkaskyi
In his 2015 declaration, published by Cherkaskyi at the end of last year, naturally, there is no mention of tens of millions of dollars as claimed by Shepelev. However, Cherkaskyi is not a poor man, although his main source of income — his official salary — was less than 114 thousand UAH for 2015. According to the declaration, he accumulated 580 thousand dollars and 210 thousand euros (nearly 22 million UAH at the current exchange rate). What is most intriguing is that the official, who manages Ukraine’s financial intelligence, does not keep these funds in accounts in state financial institutions — Ukreximbank, Oschadbank, or Ukrgasbank, but instead, he holds them in "cash," setting a sort of "personal example" for investors in the Ukrainian banking sector. Unlike Turchynov, who placed about half of his savings — around 760 thousand dollars — in a deposit at Oschadbank.
Against the background of a head of Ukraine’s financial intelligence who doesn’t trust state banks, his wife, Nataliya Cherkaska, stands out positively, with her entrepreneurial income exceeding 10 million UAH for 2015. Meanwhile, Ihor Cherkaskyi’s wife has a fondness for elite cars — owning a whole fleet of luxury vehicles. Among them are Infiniti QX 56, Mercedes-Benz G 63 AMG, Mercedes-Benz S 500, Mercedes-Benz R 350, Lincoln Navigator, and Maserati Quattroporte. “Yes, everything is under my wife’s name, but I bought them. I am a Jew; this is our tradition: if I earn money, it’s all for the family. I even feel awkward that she has such old cars; if I had the opportunity, I would buy new ones,” Cherkaskyi lamented about life last year. He added, just in case, that he doesn’t meddle in his wife’s affairs.
Not much is known about Nataliya Cherkaska’s business. Journalists found that she has been a private entrepreneur since October 2002 (just around the time her husband went into public service, becoming deputy head of the main department for judicial reform, military formations’ activities, and law enforcement authorities — head of the department for international military-technical cooperation control at the Presidential Administration). Her primary activity is consulting on commercial activities and management. Whom exactly and on what matters she consults as the wife of the head of Derzhfinmonitoring remains unknown. However, the potential client’s circle can be outlined, given that together with Ihor Cherkaskyi’s father, Nataliya is a founder of the “Zolotovoritskyi” serving cooperative in Kozyn, where the financial intelligence family resides. Accompanying her in "Zolotovoritsky" are such notable individuals as Borys Krasnyanskyi, managing director of Group DF, linked to the "Viennese prisoner" Dmytro Firtash, and Ivanna Nikonova, wife of ex-first deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration and major Kyiv developer Ihor Nikonov.