The fugitive regionalist Khomutynnik took an elite car fleet out of Ukraine

The fugitive regionalist Khomutynnik took an elite car fleet out of Ukraine

How a former regional turned a cunning "special operation" to transfer new Mercedes and Roll’s Royce cars abroad with a total value of $700,000.

During the war, Mercedes and Roll’s Royce of the 2024 release were taken abroad, which can only be afforded by the wealthiest people in the world – and this is not the scenario of another episode of the blockbuster "Mission Impossible," but the realities of the life of odious ex-regional members. After fleeing to Britain in February 2022, former MP Vitaliy Khomutynnik has not returned to Ukraine, but his assets "migrate" around the world in quite a strange way. For example, in the form of purchasing luxury cars in Ukraine and transporting them to Europe.

How did Khomutynnik manage to "evacuate" elite cars worth about $700,000 from Ukraine and what wealth does the former parliamentarian possess? Details of the sly scheme from a business partner of sanctioned oligarchs Kolomoiskyi and Fuks – in an exclusive investigation by Alla Martin for StopCor.

However, this mysterious flight is only the beginning of a tangled story with assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

According to law enforcement sources, Khomutynnik has not returned to Ukraine since 2022.

"Instead, the capital of the ex-partner of sanctioned oligarchs Kolomoiskyi and Fuks seems to continue to be transported abroad in the strangest way. For example, in the form of purchasing luxurious cars in Ukraine and simultaneously exporting them abroad, which only the richest people in the world can afford," comments the journalist.

Already in October 2024, a flagship Rolls-Royce Spectre of the 2024 release, freshly bought in Ukraine, crossed the border through the Shehyni checkpoint towards Europe. According to media reports, the premium car was registered to the company of ex-MP Vitaliy Khomutynnik.

After journalists from "Ukrainska Pravda" disclosed the fact of buying and simultaneously exporting a car worth more than half a million euros, Ukrainian military this year raised a wave of indignation, believing that this money should have been directed to meet the army’s needs.

Where and how could one earn for such an "iron horse"?

And by the way, this is not the only premium car registered to Khomutynnik’s companies after he left the country. Let’s recall, Vitaliy was a parliamentarian for 17 years, standing for election from various political forces, including the "Party of Regions". Together with Kolomoiskyi and Fuks, he owned the gas extraction company "Ukrnaftoburinnya".

In 2022, he was among the top twenty richest Ukrainians in the Forbes ranking with a capital of almost half a billion dollars. Khomutynnik is also a current co-owner of the shopping mall "Respublika" and other businesses.

Before the full-scale invasion, he managed not only to profitably sell a share of his largest asset in "Ukrnaftoburinnya," which was later nationalized, but also to leave Ukraine in a timely manner.

It can be assumed that Khomutynnik had very informed insiders, as he fled abroad, it seems, clearly planned.

"A few days before the last departure, the politician, according to our sources in law enforcement agencies, flew from Boryspil to France on a private plane with Ukrainian registration. And already three days later, on February 8, 2022, he returned to Ukraine from Vienna, it seems, to collect things," the journalist notes.

And if the documents and some valuables could somehow have been taken out by the ex-MP’s family on the eve of full-scale war, what did Khomutynnik do with all his money, which could have been stored not only in personal accounts and business but also in a cash safe?

Without confirmation of the origin of funds, it is possible to transfer a maximum of 10,000 euros across the border, but according to the lawyer of the legal association "Strategic Advocacy" Vladyslav Pavlenko, there are many other ways that are abused by those seeking to avoid state control: through conversion centers, cryptocurrency, or by transporting cars.

"Some Ukrainians may abuse legal ways of transferring funds across the border, using, for example, the purchase of premium cars. In such cases, the person declares the vehicle as goods for personal use or resale abroad. Thus, it allows transferring capital in the form of property, while effectively converting funds into an asset that is easily realizable abroad," he comments.

Hypothetically, this might be one of the reasons why an ex-MP in Europe has a car from Ukraine, while most people, on the contrary, bring cars from abroad.

But there might be another explanation, investigators note. In the UK, where Khomutynnik is currently registered, according to journalists, Roll’s Royce Spectre might be even cheaper than in Ukraine. But in a hefty sum, it will cost insurance and taxes, including luxury taxes.

Our team was told about this by a Ukrainian from Britain – Mykhaylo, who has been buying/selling cars in Europe for 25 years. Moreover, for lovers of "freebies," it is much more profitable to drive abroad in a car registered in another country.

"If it’s exactly such a car, then somewhere around 4-5 thousand per year is needed to pay for insurance. Then there is luxury taxation, roughly another thousand and a half per year on top. If you have a car with foreign numbers in Britain, you don’t get parking charges, you don’t pay adjusting checks, because here there is a fee for entering/exiting central London that costs 22 pounds a day. And generally, all current fines for speeding – they just disappear," he says.

Thus, the most plausible version seems to be that the wealthy Khomutynnik purchased a supercar in Ukraine not for savings, but simply because it is not so easy to buy it abroad.

There, you need to explain where you have such crazy money for an expensive car.

"For a resident of Ukraine to buy such a car in Great Britain, you need to queue up, register, and show where you have such an income from. Because here they only accept money from your bank account, and you have to confirm that this income is legal," Mykhaylo emphasizes.

It should be added that this car is very expensive and costs as much as some houses in Koncha-Zaspa. The car, we remind you, is registered in the company of Khomutynnik "Opko-fruit". From their own sources, journalists received data on all of the company’s contractors over the last few years and its financial indicators.

And it turned out that the supercar was bought at LLC "AVT Bavaria" – the exclusive dealer of Rolls-Royce in Ukraine.

"Under the guise of secret buyers, we signed up to this dealership for an inspection of the flagship car, where we got a unique opportunity to feel this luxury to the touch," the journalist explains.

In addition, the filming crew got a chance to find out the details regarding the cost and purchase conditions of the car.

Cash cannot be used to buy this car here; documents about the origin of funds are needed. But, as the dealership employees told us, for a "small" commission of 100-150 thousand hryvnias, you can do without this reference: break the amount into several parts and make a payment to the car dealer’s account from different banks to bypass bank surveillance and limits.

"Having obtained data on all transactions of the ’Opko-fruit’ company of Khomutynnik, we found out that the purchase of the supercar was split into two payments over two years: 10 million hryvnias for the car in 2023 and 12 million in 2024. It was hardly an advance and calculation. Most likely, the huge amount was broken either to hide the real value of the car and avoid control by the relevant bodies, or due to possible liquidity constraints. All together Rolls Royce purchased for almost 23 million hryvnias, or 548 thousand dollars, according to the rate on the car dealer’s website. But the amount of 619 thousand dollars was mentioned in the salon," the journalist notes.

The discount raises the question: did they choose the cheapest configuration, or is this hiding the real cost of the car?

But that’s not all. As journalists found out, another luxury car was registered to Khomutynnik’s business after he left for abroad last year, a Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 4MATIC 24 of the year. This electric car was purchased in October at LLC "Automobile House Ukravto Ukraine," owned by the well-known ex-regional Tariel Vasadze.

For the luxury car, LLC "UEK," owned by Khomutynnik, paid over 4 million hryvnias, which is almost 100 thousand dollars or an apartment in a new capital residential complex.

As a result, it turns out that the Ukrainian politician-ex-regional "evacuates" abroad literally before the war, and his previously dormant Ukrainian companies strangely revive and make purchases worth tens of millions of hryvnias.

"We suspect it may be a banal scheme to withdraw capital from Ukraine, but all this needs to be checked by law enforcement agencies, to which we will transfer our detailed financial analysis of his Ukrainian companies," the investigator summarizes.