"Zelenskyy’s Smuggling Office"

Or, how failing to defeat corruption at customs, its slush fund was put to the service of the new government

Exactly a year ago, the newly elected President Zelenskyy, following the echoes of his inauguration speech and the bursts of applause after the debates at the Olympic Stadium, launched his blitzkrieg in the fight against corruption. One of the first targets was customs.

In the eyes of the Guarantor, it was an easy, juicy, and quite symbolic trophy, and most importantly, since it provides 40% of the country’s budget, it was believed to hold the key to fulfilling all other promises.

The decision seemed simple: remove the "schemers" and bribe-takers, appoint normal ones, stop collecting cash, and the budget would fill itself.

The future, at that time, Prime Minister Honcharuk, who played the role of the Guarantor’s loyal squire in the legendary assault, marked the attack with the phrase: "Remember! No more carrying upwards is needed!" Back then, everyone at customs was scared. Truly.

A year has passed, and it can be confidently said that in this battle, the Guarantor himself lost, not his easy prey in the form of customs. The corruption monster, which was planned to be swiftly conquered, emerged victorious, penetrating the government and no longer appearing as an enemy in its eyes. Now it is a resource for solving many tasks, primarily election-related.

But the President cannot be told about this. He is sensitive, touchy, irritable, and intolerant of such processes, so, protecting him from unnecessary information and reporting victories on the Odesa, Halych, and Kyiv fronts with figures and slides, the top officials in the Presidential Office are building a new, their own "Smuggling Office". They are building it with the staff of the "Smuggling Office of Poroshenko and Yanukovych".

Let’s be honest - the "Smuggling Office" has always been there. Under any government, with all Presidents, Prime Ministers, Heads of customs or the State Fiscal Service.

Live, and more importantly, systematic money, the origin of which is absolutely unclear to 98% of the population, was always needed by the authorities: for sowing electoral districts with buckwheat before elections, financing certain humanitarian projects, shadow advertising, maintaining headquarters, ultimately - for personal enrichment... For many things. If there were cash - it would be accommodated. And there’s plenty of it there.

Major regional customs can generate from one to two million dollars in cash every month, while still producing a satisfactory budget fulfillment indicator. And everyone is satisfied.

A properly built structure of the global "Smuggling Office" on a national scale can collect several tens of millions of shadow dollars a month. So why not build and strengthen the corruption structure?

Who is in the game?

To understand what Ukrainian customs is, and how deeply its spirit is imbued with corruption, one must understand the main thing: customs is a clan structure that has evolved throughout all the years of independence. By the 30th anniversary of Ukraine, corruption at customs has turned into a perfect, self-sufficient, and hard-to-defeat organism. It has become like a great white shark in the ocean.

From a rank-and-file inspector to a post chief, from a department director in the central office to a customs head, there are no accidental or uninvolved people in corruption.

Each of them is a member of some horizontal or vertical chain, each belongs to a certain clan, group, or team. Meanwhile, depending on how much this or that group or team managed to get close to the current government and get a "+" to work, it depends on how many and which chains permeate the single customs organism.

Some come in, others temporarily satisfy themselves with crumbs from the master’s table, waiting for a change of power and "kicking out" the first ones. Power changes: the first ones are out, the second ones come in, then the third ones, and so on endlessly. And during one tenure of power, the "winds of change" can storm several times.

A bit of history

The first serious corruption architecture of Ukrainian customs became the "Smuggling Office" during the early Yanukovych times. Back then, a key role in it was played by Yuriy Ivanyushchenko (Yura Yenakiyevskyi), and the cash register was held by Ivan Avramov. Smugglers were explained that now all topics at customs are conducted only through them, and a share of the underestimation flows into Yura’s cash register and compliance with these rules is the only guarantee of their successful work. It was Ivanyushchenko with Avramov who sowed the seeds of a new trend at customs, which soon bore the juicy fruits of the "Smuggling Office".

This group was replaced by a more efficient and technical group of Ihor Kaletnyk, and the key person in the structure responsible for collecting cash was his godfather - customs officer Hennadiy Romanenko.

After Yanukovych’s and Kaletnyk’s escape, Romanenko remained in the country, and it happened that besides him, there were no people left who knew how to manage customs according to corrupt rails. For this reason, having managed to get in touch with Poroshenko’s entourage, Romanenko became an advisor to Roman Nasirov. Before that, Nasirov dealt exclusively with taxes, but with Romanenko’s arrival, he quickly locked both taxes and customs on himself, restoring work to the old way.

The scandal raised by another Nasirov deputy, Kostyantyn Likarchuk, in 2015, could not remove him from office. But it did strike heavily at Likarchuk himself, who was simply dismissed. Interestingly, the "watchers" and "cashiers" personally placed at customs by Mr. Romanenko back in 2015, were just resurfaced today in full, providing the public and media with a quite justified reason for outrage.

Mr. Prodan, who replaced Nasirov, removed Romanenko from operational work with the "cash". Simultaneously, against his will, after the change of the Head of the State Fiscal Service, customs fell under the control of the Hranovskyi-Kurshutov people. This was probably the most powerful group of shadow customs management as it was "reinforced" personally by the head of the "K" department of the SSU, Demchyna.

The SSU fully entered the "Smuggling Office" as a subject back then. It was the SSU that started playing the main role in driving business and customs officers. Before this, customs was an independent influential figure but turned into a pawn, to which the SSU gave commands on how and in which documents to put stamps.

Mass searches, provocations, simulated briberies – the whole set of dirty methods worked not only against business but also against those customs officers who did not want to serve the "understandable". The first ones were driven into the "cash", the second ones were turned into obedient slaves. Thus, the "Hranovskyi-Kurshutov’s office" was extraordinarily strong and no less effective.

There was no office after Nefedov

Nefedov honestly tried to break centralized corruption and did break it. However, getting lost among the "three birches", he himself could not understand how he built his regional corruption model. The "feudal lords" very quickly built their local offices on the ground, de facto leaving Kyiv’s subordination. Essentially, regional customs became uncontrollable. For this, Maks Nefedov was removed. But let’s return to the big game and the operating principle of the "Smuggling Office".

The scheme looks like this:

Customs – performs a technical role;

The President’s Office – provides indulgence for systematic corruption;

The SSU – offers forceful cover and support of top-down decisions on who to "soak" and who to "pardon";

Business watchers – selected businessmen from the smugglers, who oversee relationships within the market, through whom entry or exit from relations with the office takes place. Cash collection also goes through them;

These are the main players. In turn, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Cabinet of Ministers, and others are structures that stand alongside for their percentage of the process. And for this percentage, they choose not to enter the active phase of relations with the office. Within this structure, customs officers perform exclusively the technical link role, responsible for the correct handling of cargoes. Their task – in strict accordance with the list "A" "descended" by curators, not to notice certain companies, their goods not to check, not to correct price, and very quickly to arrange everything. But for the companies from list "B" – everything is the opposite: search long, find something, overestimate price, arrange long, or better to not arrange anything at all.

The key role of any "office" belongs to the OP and the SSU.

From the first, political approval is given to cash collection for their needs, and the Security Service ensures the process’s safety, helping customs "not to notice" the companies from list "A" and "torment" the merchants from list "B".

The SSU has more than enough tools for this. The special customs "4th" unit in the "K" department deals exclusively with this. As they say in corporate slang – "the roundup".

Who collects the cash?

This question lies within the responsibility of another force involved in the structure of any "Smuggling Office" – selected market operators who themselves are smugglers but on the rights of the "office" take on the responsibilities of forming lists of firms "A" and "B", their curating, voicing conditions, tariffs, red lines and so on. As a result, the participants from list "A" gain the right to transport certain goods at understated prices, weights, under substitute nomenclature, broken invoices, etc. For this, they pay the "office" according to an agreed rate.

Companies "B", as a rule, represent the team of the previous force, which the current clan does not want to admit to the big game or intends to drive into the process on its terms. These selected businessmen control the work of companies from both lists 24 hours 7 days a week and strictly monitor compliance with the rules.

During Poroshenko’s and the "Hranovskyi’s Smuggling Office.", the role of such businessmen was played by the TOP smuggler of Turkish goods, Viktor Sherman, and ex-Crimean Seyar Kurshutov. Sherman kept a whole office of managers who controlled round-the-clock the registration of declarations by the firms from list "A" and led a parallel cash register. If errors were found, and someone "didn’t bring", the information was instantly transmitted to the SSU representative from the office, head of the "K" department, Pavlo Demchyna. In turn, Demchyna’s people from the "four" immediately organized training and educational activities with the violating companies: mask shows, searches, arrests, cargo arrests and other usual troubles.

Seyar Kurshutov, on his part, was the collector, holder, and distributor of the cash register. The black cash flowed to him from all customs, and from him the earned sums were transferred to the SSU, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and customs. Kurshutov was the mind of the "Smuggling Office" in Poroshenko’s times.

From the Presidential Administration, the whole structure, as well as Seyar and Sherman themselves, was supervised by the closest partner to Poroshenko, Oleksandr Hranovskyi. His main area of activity was courts and prosecutors. Customs were "hung" on him as a "bonus", as a pleasant cash bonus.

Why are we describing this hierarchy in such detail? Because today, based on this system’s patterns, the Zelenskyy Presidential Office is building its corrupt customs "office". With a clear understanding that a year has passed, and the cavalry charge to reform customs successfully choked, and less and less money is coming from this reform to the budget, which cannot be said about scandals that are growing every day, the PO decided to switch the "reform" to a well-known track. Why invent a bicycle if there is a working model, staff who can quickly set up work. Just give them a chance!

And this chance was given to these staff. The key stimulus for the OP to start its own corrupt customs game was the local elections. Zelenskyy’s team realized that winning with ratings and promises is becoming increasingly difficult, so buckwheat is needed, and therefore cash...

Since August 19, two heads of customs have already changed under Zelenskyy. The third became Andriy Pavlovskyi, who from the first minutes of appointment also fell under the analysis of personnel policy. In just one day, Pavlovskyi appointed people from the personnel chain of ex-customs officer Hennadiy Romanenko to all customs offices in the country, who, remember, was the "watcher" over customs under two previous Presidents. Comparing Romanenko’s appointments in 2015 under Nasirov with the new personnel layout signed on August 20, 2020, no differences can be found - identical.

By the way, for laughs, it is worth noting that the entire quartet of the newly appointed heads of Lviv, Volyn, Zakarpattia, and Chernivtsi customs are the same people whom Zelenskyy so "beautifully" fired a year ago while visiting Zakarpattia. They are all Romanenko’s people. These are his fighters from his cartridge. He put them in positions in 2015. In 2019, Zelenskyy fired them, and now, in 2020, with the same Ze’s approval, Romanenko "reincarnated" them.

Today, according to our informed sources, Romanenko – is again the key person in building personnel policy at customs in the interests of the new "office". And another person who managed to stay in the shadows over the last year - Seyar Kurshutov - is helping him. With his experience and remaining connections in power structures, Kurshutov is ready to resume cash collection in the shortest possible time.

To confirm Seyar’s responsible role in this game, at least the fact of the appointment of one of the backbone people of the "Hranovskyi’s Smuggling Office", Ihor Reznik, to the structure. In the past times of his active work, Reznik headed two customs offices - in Mykolaiv and Kherson, providing cash receipts to the central "office". Last week, Reznik was suddenly and "unexpectedly", through a very dubious competition, appointed as the director of the department for combating smuggling. His main task – to drive firms "B" and maximize the expansion of list "A".

In turn, the head of the coordination and monitoring customs was appointed the person of Reznik, Serhiy Niderman. He is fully subordinate to his chief, and since this customs is also a "business driver", it is obvious that they will act in the interests of the "office".

Who is responsible for the new "office" in the SSU?

The OP entrusted Ivan Bakanov personally with this delicate issue, who from himself delegated to this case his closest person in the SSU, the Head of Internal Security Andriy Naumov. He oversees the entire commercial block, including the 4th customs unit in the "K" department, led by his protege Artem Kapelyukh. They will provide coverage for the work of "A" companies and roundups of "B" companies.

At the same time, it is worth noting that the Ministry of Finance and personally Minister Marchenko are entirely removed from making any serious independent decisions on customs. A mysterious force from the OP ordered Mr. Marchenko: "All personnel cases to be signed immediately!".

And also, knowledgeable people say: the acting head of customs, Pavlovskyi, who is nominally the initiator of all personnel rotations,will soon be fired from his position, as he has already accomplished the main task, having conducted a personnel revolution with Romanenko and Kurshutov’s hands. Thus, his successor will be formally clean before the law and as nominal as possible before the masters.

What will fund the budget?

It’s not difficult to understand. The "white business" will work for the budget, as before, already receiving the so-called "tables" with indication of maximum value of goods, below which it will be forbidden to file declarations.

For example, if someone was transporting socks at $2 per kg, now they must indicate in the declaration at least $3 per kilogram. No, of course, he can indicate $1, but then the Naumov’s SSU will "visit" for tea. Meanwhile, while they are having "friendly" tea, companies from list "A" will import socks for $0.5. The game is very simple and unequivocal. Only one question remains open: who specifically in the Presidential Office gave permission to build a new corrupt structure at customs.

Zelenskyy is definitely not Poroshenko and not Yanukovych, who personally supervised the customs case. Most likely, Volodymyr Oleksandrovych simply isn’t aware of this scheme and, caught up in the whirlpool of political events, gave customs management to someone from his entourage. However, by finding out the name of the person whom he entrusted it, Ukrainian society will clearly know who is building the new "Zelenskyy’s Smuggling Office".

from-ua