The financial market of Ukraine has long been convinced that the former owner of Mezhyhirya is hiding behind "UkrBusinessBank." However, it was difficult to prove this. From now on, it will become easier, including with the help of "family" archives.
In Ukraine, there has been a long-standing tradition of registering companies owned by officials to offshore companies, investment funds, lawyers, or even peasants from the Kharkiv region. The Yanukovych family was no exception. One recalls with what insistence the managers of the elder son persuaded journalists that one of the leaders of tender schemes – the company "DRFC" – had nothing to do with the presidential business. Proving the contrary was only possible after abandoned documents were found in Mezhyhirya.
Although "family archives" are not the only thing that helps recreate the real picture of the world. There is another nuance that helps to explore the labyrinths of business elites more thoroughly. It’s about either their greed or laziness. The thing is, companies that were de facto owned by officials were often registered to the same lawyers, the same offshore companies, and the same offices.
Thanks to this, today we can navigate some of the labyrinths of the business empire. Let’s start with "UkrBusinessBank," a structure that has long been called "family" in the financial market, but only whispered about without proof.
The National Bank issued this coin in honor of Yanukovych’s inauguration in 2010. And since then, Yanukovych has prospered
It became clear from the first days of acquaintance with the Mezhyhirya documents that "Ukrainian BusinessBank" (also known as "UBB") is far from alien to family values. All companies related to the presidential residence held accounts in it: both the official owner "Tantalit," and the developer "AVK," and the fund "Revival of Ukraine," to which a piece of land from Yanukovych’s personal paradise was registered, and even the local housing office in the form of LLC "KyivUniversalService."
Further digging in the documentation revealed more, let’s say, intimate financial relations of partners. Judging by the cash orders of cash receipt and issuance, "Tantalit" ran impressive sums of cash through "UBB": 20, 50, 60, 110 million. Among the surviving papers, we found over two hundred such orders and acts of acceptance-transfer for 2010-2011. This refers to at least 340 million hryvnias, 15 million dollars, and 422 thousand euros. The acts were most often signed by the head of the "Ukrbusinessbank" department A.S. Khaliavin. On one document with a sum of 12 million USD, it is noted at the top - "income from investor in UBB." Unfortunately, these "investors" were not named specifically in Mezhyhirya’s accounting.
All this flow went through "UkrBusinessBank," definitely not so simply. In recent years, the media called this bank "family," usually relying on two facts.
First. Earlier, the bank belonged to Eduard Prutnik, a large part of whose business came under "family" control after the presidential elections. Second: in 2004-2010, the financial institution was headed by Serhiy Arbuzov, the future chief banker of the country’s "young reformers" Yanukovych. Now to these indirect facts we can add a number of more significant ones.
For those who love precision, let’s list all the found inventory: companies, people, positions, and so on. For those who do not have time to delve into the details – below is a simplified scheme of connections.
Connection one: the nominal bank owner and her family
The major shareholding of "UBB" in the amount of 99% is owned by LLC "Universal-L," which belongs to LLC "Realty Estate Group." The latter company is registered to Nataliya Mishuk. On the bank’s website, she is listed as the Deputy Chairman of the Board and curator of corporate business and legal support.
In the early 2000s, Nataliya Mishuk was registered at the same address with Yaroslav Mishuk, apparently her brother. At the same time, a person with such a full name according to the minutes of this year’s bank shareholders’ meeting heads its legal department, and in 2008-2011 was a co-owner of the company LLC "Stream." At the same time, the second co-owner in the same period was LLC "Investment Building Group." This company leads to one of the former "main sons of the country."
LLC "Investment Building Group" is a co-founder of LLC "Capital Style," another co-owner of which in 2010-2012 was the president’s elder son Oleksandr Yanukovych.
"Stream," by the way, is related to another person far from alien to Yanukovych. After Mishuk, "Stream" was re-registered to the Belize offshore "Newlight Import S.A." To it, as well, Andriy Dudnikov “transferred” his LLC "Belluchi" – the first director of "Realty Estate" (let us remind you – it’s a co-owner of "UBB").
The name Andriy Dudnikov has already surfaced in Mezhyhirya documents, specifically in the story with real estate maintained by "Tantalit." Payment slips for apartments in a luxury high-rise at Hrushevskoho 9a, near the Mariyinskyi Park, were issued to LLC "Manager" through director Andriy Dudnikov, while payment slips from BTI were filled in the name of Viktor Fedorovych himself. For the same "Manager," similar receipts were issued for Yanukovych’s apartment on Obolonska Naberezhna 15/5.
Connection two. Group of companies from Donetsk business center "Akula"
The last four and a half years, essentially all the time of Yanukovych’s rule, the firm "Realty Estate," which owns "UBB," has been officially registered in Donetsk, at 138 "A" Artema Street, in the business center "Akula." As follows from the court cases, as of 2009, the owner of the center was the same "Stream" of Yaroslav Mishuk. So, together with "Realty Estate," here settled a whole number of companies connected with the family and entourage of the ex-president, or more precisely his elder son Oleksandr. Also, several companies recorded on people known as various level managers of "UBB" have been registered here.
Donetsk business center "Akula"
Let’s start with the already mentioned LLC "Investment Building Group." Besides a share in "Capital Style," until recently "IBG" was a partner of "Realty Estate" via PrJSC "Inneks Stock Exchange.” Let’s remind you that it was through this exchange that the State Property Fund sold last year five beneficiation plants in the Donetsk region for twice less than their market value. And they sold them to the "family" "DRFC" and the company "Altera Finance," the latter, as the media noted back then, possibly participated in this "sale" in the interests of the "Family."
“IBG” owns a share in the exchange through LLC "KUA ‘UB Finance’" and LLC "Agnel 2008," while "Realty Estate" entered through LLC "Kelis Consulting" (however, recently “Kelis” was moved to offshore companies). All three intermediary firms are also registered at Artema 138 "A."
As for "Agnel," it in 2008-2013 was a co-founder of the company "Consulting Systems," whose director and owner before that was already familiar to us Andriy Dudnikov.
Now about the companies recorded on UBB managers.
The first - LLC "Airas," was founded in 2012 by Dmytro Pasynkov, known as the director of the Yasynuvata branch of UBB. At the end of 2012, "Finance" joined the members, and now the firm is re-registered to Pasynkov and Oleksiy Bilyaze, a deputy of the Leninsky district council of Donetsk. When Bilyaze was elected to the district council, he indicated he worked as an advisor to the chairman of the board of UBB.
The second firm - LLC "Mortgage Reserve" of the same Pasynkov and Anelya Batisheva. The latter is still remembered by online business directories as the director of one of the Donetsk branches of UBB.
Through this "Mortgage Reserve," Pasynkov and Batisheva also established the third tenant company of "Akula" - LLC "Interpay," which is now recorded directly to Pasynkov and Bilyaze.
In total, in the business center on Artema, not a single company associated with the "family" business of Yanukovych settled.
For example, here are registered companies "Fuel and Energy Capital" and "Transnational Transport Company." Both were founded by Oleksandr Sichinava, the former chairman of the supervisory board of "VBR" - the bank, which belongs to the ex-president’s family openly, being 100% registered in the name of Oleksandr Yanukovych. The first "Artem" company is still owned by Sichinava, the second one recently changed owners.
Also, “Akula” recently housed the company "SL-Group" (38220430) of Eduard Slynko, who in 2010-2012 headed the Corporation "MAKO" of the same Oleksandr Yanukovych.
All the years of Yanukovych’s presidency, Artem has been registered with PrJSC "Insurance Guarantees" (21957067).
The owners of the company are hidden in Panama, but a whole cohort of insurance managers – in parallel hold positions or are co-owners of UBB. Thus, the director of insurance is Dmytro Rodin, who in 2010-2012 headed the Supervisory Board of UBB. At the time of dismissal, his minority share in the bank was also known - 0.0000007%. According to the latest SMIDA information, for the last three years, the chair of the insurance supervisory board has been Oleh Amirshadyan. In the protocols of UBB shareholders for 2014, he is noted as the head of the Securities Operations Department. Besides Amirshadyan, for the same period in the insurance supervisory board are Iryna Papakina and Tetyana Hayday, which according to the protocols for the past year are minority owners in UBB. And, by the way, it was in "Guarantees" that the Mezhyhirya Mercedeses and Land Cruisers were insured - payment slips and a list of cars for 2011 were found among the archive documents.
It turned out to be impossible to get any comment from "UBB." The only available phone is a hotline, where they flatly refused three times to connect with the press service or provide contacts of individual bank representatives. However, it looks like we can do without comments. And not only this bank, but also another one, which will be discussed in the next part.
To be continued...
Lesya Ivanova, Kateryna Kaplyuk, Maksym Opanaseko, Mariya Zemlyanska
The material is prepared as part of the “YanukovychLeaks” project