The story of the unsinkable Sasha Akst, or Why Zelenskyy did not approve the decision of the NSDC

This is a story about so-called «sanctions». About smugglers. And about Sasha Akst, whom Danylov «sanctioned», but President Zelenskyy saved.

Whether it was for money or someone once again masterfully «deceived» him. Just as they previously «deceived» Bakanov, Naumov, and the same Sasha Akst. And we will start with the most mysterious employee of the agency — Andriy Naumov, whom V. Zelenskyy dismissed from the position of head of the Main Directorate of Internal Security of the SSU on July 25.

The President desperately needs a rating boost, and polls have already shown: sanctions work! Naumov came to the SSU from the GPU, but judging by the criminal cases against him during his time managing the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, he is simply a criminal. And under Ivan Bakanov, he was not just a team member, but a friend, a trusted person, and, as malicious tongues gossiped – his wallet. And, as those same malicious tongues claim, he remains a friend and a wallet. He just moved his office from Volodymyrska, 33 to Patorzhynskoho. But he continues to manage the SSU. Naumov was responsible for the «cleanliness» of personnel in the «agency». And one of those «cleaned» personnel — former first deputy head of the Service D. Neskoromnyi — even gave Naumov some PR. By «ordering» him (you remember this thrilling story, right?). And besides, Andriy Naumov controlled the customs. And he continues to control it.

It is no secret that the Service, which is threatened with being stripped of its «bread» in the form of combating economic crimes – remains the main curator of smuggling flows in our country. After the decriminalization of smuggling, it turned into an activity that is not only profitable but also safe. So why not redistribute the market for yourself using a new magical tool – sanctions?

That’s probably how A. Naumov reasoned. He eagerly rolled up his sleeves and, on the orders of his boss Bakanov, took on the highly publicized anti-smuggling work. He entered into a battle with a shadow, so to speak.

By the fall of 2020 – when, with Zelenskyy’s light hand, Naumov received the military rank of brigade general of a colonel (!) – Andriy had already created a back—office following the example of Poroshenko’s.

A few words about how «the fight against smuggling» worked during the reign of the country by the victorious Dignity Petro Poroshenko. The President-«patriot» in those circles is called a dove of peace – in the sense that Petro did not fight any schemes and did not threaten anyone. The «overseer» of smuggling under him was Oleksandr Hranovskyi. And the «treasurer-administrator» — Seyar Kurshutov.

In 2014, this previously unknown businessman arrived in Kyiv from Crimea and became so friendly first with the President’s partner B. Lozhkin, and then with O. Hranovskyi… that from a petty speculator, he turned into a magnate.

As they say – young but early: powerful figures like Vadym Alperin lined up to Seyar’s back-office. Kurshutov’s shadow office was the intersection point of interests between customs, business, and the SSU, and veteran smugglers like Alperin were just clients for Seyar.

Naumov, as can be seen, studied Kurshutov’s experience and decided to replicate his successful success. For this, he hired Oleksandr Akst, who previously worked for Seyar. And under Bakanov, his own «seyar» emerged — the creator of a smuggling Hranovskyi disguised as courier delivery, known in narrow circles by the nickname «German». The role of Hranovskyi went to Naumov. And only Zelenskyy suspected nothing.

Thus, we come to the answer to the question: on what principle was the first package of «anti-smuggling» sanctions formed? The sanctions list was compiled by Oleksandr Akst. A person close to the lustrated customs officer Hennadiy Romanenko — the godfather of the legendary millionaire from the CPU Kaletnyk.

In the new realities of «fighting smuggling», all those eager to steal something from the state lined up to Akst. And then — they either became his clients or… Those «colleagues» who did not fit in, Akst sent under sanctions. Moreover, if Kurshutov and Hranovskyi imposed levies on smugglers and allowed them to earn… then Naumov and Akst worked to become the only smugglers in Ukraine.

Let’s go through the personalities. 

NSDC sanctions involve blocking assets, freezing accounts, preventing capital outflows abroad, revoking licenses and permits, halting resource transit, restricting trade operations, and many other issues — for a term of up to 3 years.

Oleksandr Chudakov was among the first to fall under sanctions because he was Akst’s competitor in Boryspil. Through this port, 95% of air shipments pass, and the scheme Akst streamlined: supplying expensive electronics under the guise of international parcels, each of which was presented as a package worth up to 150 euros and imported into the country without duty.

Valeriy Peresolyak – that unique businessman who created a private customs in Ukraine. The piece of the border controlled by Peresolyak is a tasty morsel. Anecdotes are told about Peresolyak. He created a football team of smugglers: during the day, the guys train, and at night, they work as customs officers.

Heavyweights of «contraband» who are well-known also made it to the blacklist, so it was impossible not to include them: Vadym Alperin, Ivan Bokalo, Oleh Doronin (the latter was included in the second wave of sanctions).

Businessman-minimizer Firmanyuk Orest was sanctioned for allegedly «ordering» articles about the SSU by Plinskyi and Dubinskyi, and Naumov with Akst found out about it.

Viktor Sherman under Kurshutov actively transported rags from Turkey. They say that Seyar had a desire to become a monopolist in this field, but he tolerated 4-5 businessmen with «protection». Such as, for example, Yerimychuk («Elephant»), who also imported Turkish light industry and had patrons in the leadership of the «People’s Front».

Oleksandr Yerimiychuk. He fell under sanctions because Akst was not satisfied with having a percentage of a business that could be made his own. «German» saw himself as #1 in supplying Turkish clothing.

For the same reason – to clear the market of competitors — other «Turkish light industry» players fell under sanctions: Kushnir Yuriy was hit by the first wave, while Aminyev Denys and Serdyuk Serhiy were included in the second package of «anti-smuggling» restrictions.

But it turned out that something was still missing for successful work: either offices in Istanbul or IQ. So Akst compromised — those included in the first list of smugglers temporarily continued to work for him, sharing their experience.

Our sources say that the «rag» business is entirely gray, so the «light industry» players did not suffer much from sanctions. However, they all ended up on the SSU’s hook. And, realizing that they could be handed over at any moment, they decided to resist.

The second wave of sanctions hit 13 smugglers and among them — Oleh Bohdanov. Akst hired his manager Yakubov and made him the head of the «Turkish direction».

Former customs officers with whom Akst simply did not get along also fell into this wave. Among them is the retiree Yuriy Dvorak. And businessman Mykhailo Hribanov, who won the competition for the head of Odesa Customs and within three months managed to annoy Yakubov (a former manager from the smuggler Bohdanov’s team) so much that he earned sanctions. Along with Hribanov, his manager Andriy Popov also made it to the blacklist, although according to our data, he is just an employee living in a one-room apartment.

Finally, the aforementioned Seyar Kurshutov also fell under sanctions. Those he previously «taxed» turned out to be vengeful guys: they did not forget how, under Poroshenko, Seyar «sheared sheep», receiving dividends from others’ smuggling business.

Along with his former patron, Oleksandr Cherepynskyi also suffered, having previously worked in Seyar’s «Smuggling Office». They say Cherepynskyi has long been «out of business», but former clients hold a huge grudge against him.

Eduard Kukoba fell under the sanction sword because Akst set his sights on his cigarette business as well.

The problem of the «successful fighters against smuggling» from Ivan Bakanov’s department was that all their vigorous activity to redistribute the market was not coordinated with Zelenskyy.

Have you forgotten about those who fell under the sanctions of the 1st wave of «light industry» players who decided not to give up? They wrote a letter to the President, in which they explained that they were being manipulated. Moreover, the aggrieved smugglers found friends in the SBI, who collected compromising material on Naumov and opened Zelenskyy’s eyes to the shadow «Smuggling Office» in the SSU.

Andriy Naumov, who came to the SSU in 2019 and already a year later received the rank of brigade general, had access to Zelenskyy’s office. And now, it turns out, this is how he repaid the favor. Upon learning the truth, Zelenskyy was so enraged that he purged several of Naumov’s close associates from the SSU along with him. And he instructed the Ministry of Internal Affairs, not the SSU, to prepare the third package of «anti-smuggling» sanctions.

In the end, three people fell under the third wave of sanctions. First and foremost – the same Oleksandr Akst, who under Zelenskyy managed to destroy all competitors and make his company «Premium Package» a monopolist.

Then — Vladyslav Studenets, who is a manager of the notorious Denys Pudryk. Pudryk has been working at customs since 1998, starting as an inspector at Donetsk Airport, and then moved through 12 regions, holding positions as either chief customs officer or deputy. In 2015, he was lustrated, but Pudryk won a court case for compensation of 677 thousand hryvnias (!) and was reinstated. He was the head of Odesa Customs from August to October 2020, after which he was dismissed for poor performance, but resurfaced again as a deputy, and is still considered the «king» of Odesa Customs. Including his «right hand» Studenets in the sanctions list is an attempt to put Pudryk in his place, from whom it is not easy to get rid. Rumors say that the profit from Pudryk goes to the head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, Pavlo Ryabikin himself.

The greeting to Pudryk from the list compilers was not accidental either. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has its own contenders for market redistribution. They are considered to be two brothers: Oleksiy Sementsov — a regional council deputy from «Servant of the People», former head of the Department of Economic Protection of the National Police of Odesa Region, and businessman Rostyslav Sementsov.

Also included in the third package of sanctions was Valeriy Falkovskyi – a former associate of the Sementsovs, who switched to competitors and was punished for it.

But the funniest part came later. The decision on sanctions against Akst was announced by Danylov on July 30 of this year. In previous sanction cases, President Zelenskyy signed a Decree within a week, enacting these sanctions. But … in the case of Akst, this did not happen. There is still no Presidential Decree on sanctions against him. Is it really that simple, and someone brought Zelenskyy a couple of suitcases of dollars, and he «changed anger to mercy»? And Akst continued to work. Only now not through «Premium Package», but through other companies, focusing his attention on Odesa and Volyn. And Naumov continues to effectively manage customs. And the money goes into his pocket, into envelopes for «Servant of the People» deputies, and for Zelenskyy’s future election campaign. Ryabikin – is nothing more than a «front», receiving instructions from Naumov, while personnel are supplied by Bezzubenko, Yermak’s advisor. The most «lucrative» customs posts are handed over to «chekists» from Bezzubenko’s circle. And you talk about fighting smuggling. Zelenskyy, it seems, understands everything perfectly. As they say, «both in the know and in the share».

BELOW — THE FULL LIST OF THOSE WHO FELL UNDER SANCTIONS IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE FIGHT AGAINST SMUGGLING.

1st wave of «anti-smuggling» NSDC sanctions (from 02.04.21):

1) Ivan Bokalo (Lviv) — former senior inspector of the technical control department of Lviv Customs and ex-deputy of Lviv Regional Council, according to «Strana» — manager of I. Kryvetskyy nicknamed «Pups», operator of schemes for importing cars into Ukraine and «taxing» trucks entering Ukraine from the EU.

2) Valeriy Peresolyak (Uzhhorod) — former deputy head of the risk management and law enforcement department of Zakarpattia Customs, owner of FC «Mynai». According to «Strana», oversees a scheme for delivering various goods from the EU without declaration in minibuses, as a result of which the cargo enters Ukraine without registration. In 2020, ex-Mynai footballer Yevhen Myronchuk became the head of the rapid response department of the anti-smuggling unit of Zakarpattia Customs.

3) Yuriy Kushnir (Chernivtsi Region) — entrepreneur, a figure in a case of a $400,000 bribe to the former head of the regional council. According to «Strana», has a reputation as the godfather of smuggling in Chernivtsi Region, was a regional council deputy from 2010 to 2015.

4) Oleksandr Yerimiychuk (Chernivtsi) — brother of an ex-prosecutor, linked to Arseniy Yatsenyuk and former «People’s Front» deputy Maksym Burbak. He was also associated with importing goods from Turkey. Yerimiychuk was stripped of Ukrainian citizenship and there were statements about intentions to extradite him. According to «Strana», known in Bukovyna under the nickname «Elephant», considered the «overseer» of smuggling flows on behalf of ex-«People’s Front» MP and Yatsenyuk’s friend Maksym Burbak.