Will Yanukovych heed Van Rompuy and Barroso?

Monday's big-selling, pro-PoR 'Segodnya' newspaper article on president Yanukovych's trip to Brussels yesterday was entitled:

'Yanukovych only smiled once during the Ukraine-EU summit' 

Here is a passage:

"..The President did not sign anything in Brussels, [but]  private negotiations with EU leaders Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso took place. They talked for over two hours instead of the planned 30 minutes ... [After this] the three of them entered the press centre without smiling. Van Rompuy almost immediately began to speak of the "Fule criteria" - 19 requirements that the European Commissioner for Integration brought to Kyiv two weeks ago. 

And [with] the first of them the EU president mentioned the most uncomfortable question - "selective justice." Van Rompuy use this phrase at least five times, whilst mentioning progress in the implementation of Ukraine's European integration plan only once. "The EU wants to have a successful summit in Vilnius" (in November 2013, when is expected that the Association Agreement EU and Ukraine will be signed), - but made it clear that the success of the summit depends solely on Yanukovych.

Yanukovych facial expression during these speeches was expressionless...Yanukovych smiled only once, after a question from a Reuters correspondent..."

Today, 'Segodnya' is equally realistic in its reporting:

'Ukraine has been given a chance to catch the train...
Europe is changing its strategy and awaits a solution to the problems of Tymoshenko and Lutsenko...'

What did Rompuy and Barrosso tell Yanukovych in those two hours?

LEvko hazards a guess, and suggests the following:

"Listen Yanukovych, you have the chance to clinch a landmark deal with the EU - the biggest in your country's history. Your place in that history will be assured. Furthermore, a successful signing would greatly enhance the chances of what you crave most: a second term in office as president. We have not closed the door...the ball is in your court...

But if the deal falls through, you will be blamed for screwing up the best opportunity in a generation for your country to develop swiftly. Your chances of a second presidential term will be dented as a result. Furthermore, you will be considered to be a vindictive bully, who has put his own lust for revenge over political enemies ahead the future development of his country. You will not be welcome anywhere in western democracies...there may even be calls for sanctions against you, your associates and your family...

The opposition are disunited....Tymoshenko's moment in history has passed...Forget about her...let her go..."

But will Yanukovych take heed?

Your blogger doubts this.

During his formative years Yanukovych was immersed in a criminal environment...his deepest instincts tell him: Enemies have to be destroyed - never compromise with enemies; never, give a dangerous opponent, especially a younger, smarter one, a second chance to get back at you....you will regret it for ever....

The campaign to destroy Tymoshenko has been a priority for president Yanukovych since the day he came to power..I do not believe he will change...it would be an unacceptable mark of weakness...

Yanukovych could have had Lutsenko released last week...he did not.

Apparently the thin-skinned Yanukovych, [a characteristic of many bullies]  hates Lutsenko calling him a 'zek'...[ prison inmate]. He hates the nasty and horrible Lutsenko saying disagreeable things about Yanukovych's son...

For Yanukovych it' easy....if you don't want sleepless nights, be an autocrat...

Europeans will not be convinced Tymshenko is a murderer

I liked this comment from 'Black_Booker' at the end of a thoughtful article in  'Liga.net' which analyses the preliminary court hearings in the Shcherban murder case. [It is quite probable Yulia Tymoshenko will face criminal charges for commissioning the Donetsk politician's/businessman's killing, and could be sentenced to life imprisonment.]

"There is no sense in continuing to trample on Tymoshenko for 'domestic consumption' purposes: she is already in prison for seven years. The Ukrainian electorate has long since split into two camps: those who hate her, and those who worship her and will not be convinced by any of the prosecutors' fairytales. 

Furthermore, these fairystories are so primitive and so clumsily cobbled together , that even a large proportion of those opposed to Tymoshenko do not believe them.

To trample on Tymoshenko as a show for the Europeans makes no sense either. The level of confidence in Ukraine's judiciary there is almost zero. 

Deputy prosecutor Kuzmin's crazy show is not assessed by the Europeans in terms of our new Criminal Code, but rather from the point of view of their own best legal practice. It is scary to imagine what all this looks like in the eyes of Europeans. What an idiot you have to be to imagine that 27 parliaments in the 27 European Union countries will vote to integrate a country such as ours into the EU."

The Germans, who call most of the big shots in Europe, are amongst the most sceptical. More from Deutsche Welle, on this,  in English, here. [Their photo of Tymoshenko in this article dwarfs that of PM Azarov..]

Opportunity blown already

Here is a brilliantly written analysis from Andeas Umland in his recent article in 'The National Interest' : "How Ukraine Might Blow Its Historic Opportunity"

In any walk of life for any deal to be successfully concluded both sides have to negotiate in good faith and be flexible on one another's major concerns. Yanukovych has stubbornly refused to budge one millimetre to meet the concerns of the EU. The opening of the Scherban murder case against Tymoshenko is the clearest evidence of this.

Leaders across Europe are already making plans on how to disentangle themselves from the EU-Ukraine association agreement mess with minimum loss of face...

p.s. Yanukovych's performance at a spectacularly over-the-top round table, under-lit 'floating space ship' stage set, complete with swooping camera-work, zooming and editing,  and his responses to the planted sycophants in his televised 'Dialogue with the Nation' today resembled something emanating from North Korea or central Asia rather than anything similar seen in western European countries. It was numbingly cringe-making....'pokazukha'

[Click on image to enlarge..]

p.s. This from the Council of Europe:

Strasbourg, 21.02.2012 – Pieter Omtzigt (Netherlands, EPP/CD), who is preparing a report on “Keeping political and criminal responsibility separate” for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), has said that it is urgent to address the status of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and former Interior Minister Yuri Lutsenko as ‘political prisoners’ within the meaning of the definition adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly in October 2012.

Mr Omtzigt was speaking at the end of a three-day information visit to Ukraine (19-21 February 2013), during which he met Mr Lutsenko in prison.

“I should like to recall that the Assembly, in Resolution 1862 (2012), has already called on the President of Ukraine to consider all legal means available for him to release Ms Tymoshenko and Mr Lutsenko, and indicated that if these demands were not met it could consider possible sanctions,” said Mr Omtzigt.

“Meanwhile, the European Court of Human Rights has found that the arrest of Mr Lutsenko violated the European Convention on Human Rights on numerous counts, including a finding that there were other than legal motives for his arrest. This judgment, in my view, shows that law enforcement in Ukraine is unfair and urgently needs an overhaul,” he added.

“The democratic forces in Ukraine place their hopes in the principles upheld by the Council of Europe, and I will do my very best to ensure that we will not let them down,” concluded the rapporteur, indicating that he intended to present his final report as soon as possible.

Is Ukraine a country currently fit to be integrated in to European institutions?

Cautious optimism? Self-delusion, or what?

The presidents of Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine met in Wisla, southern Poland, on Thursday to discuss the upcoming EU-Ukraine summit.

Some reports claim the first two managed to 'squeeze a "positive signal" from Yanukovych on the matter of Yulia Tymoshenko's incarceration.

Polish President Bronisław Komorowski, on his official website: "expressed his conviction and optimism regarding a series of gestures and decisions which President Yanukovic had envisaged, important from the point of view of rebuilding Ukraine's image in EU countries and linked with two names - Yulia Tymoshenko as well as Yuri Lutsenko."

Polish 'Newsweek''s assessment in an op-ed piece is far more stark.... and realistic. Here's a loose translation of one passage:

"Instead of releasing Tymoshenko, she is being threatened with life imprisonment in a fresh case against her.

The [mass] media are being ever-more controlled by the authorities.

The opposition is being  threatened, this time, with early elections under new electoral law which would give Yanukovych's party a decisive majority in parliament.

Key issues, demands by Brussels for administrative and judicial reforms, have not even started. If Yanukovych were to meet the minimum required by the EU he would shake the foundations of the para-democracy constructed these last two years and destroy the power of the Party of Regions at an impressive rate. It's hard to expect this.

The system created by him is calculated for power - the [country's] administration and the economy, all to be monopolised by the ruling Party of Regions.

He's done nothing for two years, he won't do anything in two months. The game is no longer about an association agreement, but how to exit from several years of missed opportunities and the illusion of struggle between Brussels and Kyiv without losing face..."

Valeriy Portnikov writing in his op-ed piece in Liga.net on the same topic, says: "Ukrainian authoritarianism has already passed the point of no return, and those who are trying to change its trajectory are engaging in complacent self-delusion ['samouspokoyeniyem'] rather than real politics."

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p.s. Hennadiy Moskal, a seasoned opposition parliamentary deputy with a many years experience in the top eschelons of Ukraine's law enforcement agencies, provides some background info on Serhiy Zaitsev - the second witness to testify against Yulia Tymoshenko in pre-trial hearings last week.

Quoting reliable sources Moskal alleges that last year five criminal criminal cases were opened against Zaitsev in Ukraine. These included serious fraud, embezzlement, forgery etc..

In 1999 Zaitsev was detained by law enforcement agencies in Poland on suspicion of murder, but was later released for unknown reasons.

After Zaitsev had provided 'the stuff' that the prosecutors needed against Tymoshenko, a lot of the charges were dropped ...surprise surprise....

p.p.s. I wonder is Zaitsev's name cropped up in president Komorowski's tete-a-tete with Yanuk?

Yanukovych's response to EU's misgivings before EU-Ukraine summit

In their official report of today's meeting of Polish president Komorowski and president Yanukovych in the town of Wisla, the Polish president's official website  reports:

...Polish president Bronislaw Komorowski said in a recent interview on the "Signals of the day" [radio programme] - "We will talk [and try] to convince our Ukrainian guest to to make a series of gestures that will confirm Ukraine's wish to get closer to the Western world and increase the chances of him signing the EU Association Agreement with Ukraine at the summit of leaders of the EU and the Eastern Partnership in November this year in Vilnius."

"We will [try to] convince him not only [to make] gestures, but also to really set into motion the announced reforms in the sphere of justice", said the president.

Everyone knows what Komorowski was talking about - he wants Yanukovych to made a gesture regarding the deeply troubling politically motivated persecution of leaders of the Ukrainian opposition.

And Yanukovych's response? - The novice judge Rodion Kiryeev, who sentenced Yulia Tymoshenko to 7 years imprisonment was today promoted to the position of acting deputy head of the Pechersk regional court.

This week former minister of the interior Yuriy Lutsenko could have been released from prison on grounds of ill health. He was not..My guess is that for Yanukovych any such gesture would have been construed as a sign of weakness..which is totally out of the question for a bully like him.
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p.s.  Donetsk crocodile Volodymyr Shcherban. will be the next witness to be called to testify in the pre-trial hearings investigating the murder of Yevhen Shcherban. Yulia Tymoshenko is accused of commissioning this crime.


From July 1994 until October 1996 Volodymyr Shcherban was head of the Donesk oblast council. From July 1995 until July 1996 he was head of the Donetsk oblast state administration, or governor.

According to Forbes.ua,  in recent testimony to law enforcement agencies, Volodymyr Shcherban alleges Tymoshenko may have been responsible for the death of Industrial Union of Donbas director, Alexandr Momot too.

However following Donetsk mafia capo Akhat Bragin's assassination in the Shakhtar stadium in October 1995, Volodymyr himself started having problems with Ukraine's law enforcement agencies. A commission from Kyiv arrived in Donetsk led by the-then prosecutor general of Ukraine, Hryhoriy Vorsynov. The commission's report was prepared by Vasyl Durdynets, the then vice-PM responsible for state security and emergencies. Durdynets blamed Shcherban [not unreasonably] of permitting organised crime to run riot in the oblast, and directly accused Shcherban of  providing 'a roof' for this.

Forbes.ua make the obvious point that this casts a big shadow on any verbal evidence he may have presented to prosecutors in recent days..

Similarly Volodymyr Shcherban claims that  in 2005 and 2006, after the Orange Revolution, when he was applying for political asylum in the USA, he told US officials that Tymoshenko and Lazarenko were involved in Momot's murder. However, by his own admission, Shcherban had had serious disagreements with the pair. Lazarenko was already under arrest...so he knew he could 'lay it on thick'. If anything, this would only help his claim for asylum, particularly in the light of Vasyl Durdynets's assertions...

p.p.s. Yevhen Shcherban was shot dead on the runway at Donetsk airport on 3rd November 1996

Akhat Bragin was blown up in the Shakhtar Stadium on October 15 1995, almost a year before Shcherban's death.

Oleskandr Shvedchenko, the president of the Ukrainian branch of Russian gas trader ITERA Energy who were also trying to gain a portion of the Ukrainian gas market, was shot dead in Kyiv on March 28 1996,

Aleksandr Momot, a co-founder of IUD, was shot dead on May 16 1996.

In July 1996, Pavlo Lazarenko survived an assassination attempt, less than two months after he was appointed PM.

Yulia Tymoshenko was born 27th November 1960. When Yevhen Shcherban was shot dead  Tymoshenko had not yet celebrated her 36th birthday.

Is it really possible... that in the anarchic, massively male-dominated world of pitiless ex-Communist career politicians, factory bosses, underworld gangsters and hoodlums that dominated Ukraine in the mid nineties, such a young woman could have had a decisive voice on 'who was to live and who was to die?

Tangled web of crime, politics, law enforcement, and business...

It seems that the hero of my previous blog, the boorish Ihor Maryinkov [see photo] who gave evidence against Yulia Tymoshenko earlier this week, has major 'previous form' as a professional witness. He was a prosecution witness in the high-profile murder trials of Yevhen Shcherban, Akhat Bragin, and Vadym Hetman, who were  all allegedly killed by the notorious Kushnir gang.

Almost exactly seven years ago I posted a blog about the interwoven nexus of crime, law enforcement, business,  and politics that lies embedded below the surface of today's Ukrainian elites.

Here is a portion from that blog:

On 22nd February 2006 an appeal court in Donetsk heard the preliminary statement of Vyacheslav Sinenko, a former police major who is accused of the attempted killing of Akhat Bragin and others by means of an explosive device.

Sinenko [who himself survived and assassination attempt when he was shot in the hip on 5th May 1998] claimed:

that he was framed for this crime by the former Donetsk Chief Prosecutor and former Prosecutor-General of Ukraine Gennadiy Vasilyev,

that the true organizers of Bragin's killing were associates of Akhmetov,

that he was persecuted after collecting and presenting evidence to Vasiliev,

that the crime's prime suspect was a man called Rukhmanov, who he had apprehended but who was then released on the orders of Vasiliev,

that his own death was "needed by Akhmetov because I held in my possession evidence against one of his 'warriors' Rukhmanov",

that when he was in hospital recovering from his assassination attempt he 'spilled the beans' to an investigative TV journalist Igor Aleksandrov, who was murdered in July 2001. [A homeless man accused of killing Aleksandrov himself died in suspicious circumstances.]

Sinenko escaped to Greece, but on 30th March 2004 was detained in Athens and extradited to Ukraine a year later.

At a further court hearing on 23rd February Sinenko gave more details of his defence. He says that at the time of his investigation into the Bragin killing he met V.S Malyshev, the former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Donetsk.

Malyshev told him: "Where the hell are you going with this, you idiot..?" 

Malyshev became chief of security at billionaire Akmetov's SystemCapitalManagement, and well-placed on the PR parliamentary election list at that time.

Similar details of the Sinenko trial were reported by the authoritative 'Kommersant' site.

Tetyana Chornovil, in her recent 'U.P.' blog reveals Ihor Maryinkov, whose demeanour would make  a perfect extra in 'The Sopranos',  was also the chief prosecution witness in the trial against the above-mentioned Vyacheslav Sinenko...

She describes how several years ago Maryinkov, [whose own evidence  this week makes clear he was completely trusted by the Kushnir gang] was also in business  with three other men, Yuriy Vandin, Mykola Shatkovsky, and Yuriy Zemlyansky. All three were in some way known to have significant connections with the killing of Yevhan Shcherban. Also, together with Maryinkov, they were the founders of the 'Ukraina-Kytay' investment-consultancy company.

The first of the three, Vandin was head of the Investigation of Organised Crime directorate at Ministry of Internal Affairs and was directly responsible for investigating Shcherban's murder. If Maryinkov was an inside man, they why did he not prevent any of the numerous high-profile murders conducted by the Kushnir gang? Why has he never spoken out against Tymoshenko before...even when she was imprisoned in early 2001 when president Kuchma was determined to eliminate her from politics?


'Ostrov' reports that Yuriy Vandin also led the investigation of the murder in Slovyansk in 2001 of television journalist Ihor Aleksandrov*. [Readers of my blog will be aware that Aleksandrov was allegedly investigating corrupt links between known criminals and top prosecutors....including....with the current P-G...Viktor Pshonka, when he was killed .] A certain Oleksandr Ribak, who had been sentenced for allegedly commissioning the Aleksandrov killing, escaped after being escorted by paramilitary guard 'Alpha' to the prosecutor's office.


The second of the three, Shatkovsky was, a year ago, appointed first deputy head of the SBU [Security Service of Ukraine] by Viktor Yanukovych himself, and held the position of deputy head of external intelligence of Ukraine.

As for Zemlyansky, the last of Maryinkov's partners in 'Ukraina-Kytay', between 1998 and 2004 he was first deputy head of the SBU, and according to a 2004 article in the authoritative 'Dzerkalo Tyzhnya', the high-ranking Zemlyansky was Yanukovych's main man in the SBU.

Tetyana Chornovil enumerates other companies Maryinkov set up with Vandin and other 'sylovyky'. Maryinkov remember, is the man who was arrested and imprisoned for transporting an arsenal of ammunition and weaponry in the late '90's. He is the man, by his own admission in court, had members of the Kushnir gang living in his expensive hotel rooms. The gang members openly revealed details of their crimes to him...

As a conclusion to her blog Chornovil asks:

Who actually was Mar'yinkov at the time of Shcherban's murder?

What role did the SBU and Ministry of Internal Affairs play in the numerous high-profile murders in Donetsk [in the '90's]? Is there any truth in the words of Major Sinenko, who claimed that Mar'yinkov took orders from Rinat Akhmetov?

And finally, what is the significance of the fact that the "sylovyky" business partners of Mar'yinkov [who, in essence provided shelter to the Kushnir gang], were also close to Yanukovych?

p.s. Below I paraphrase what Sergei Vysotsky,  in his commentary on the Tymoshenko trial writes, in 'LigaBusinessInform' :

The backbone of Ukraine's modern political elite and oligarchy was formed by an alloy of the Communist nomenklatura and administrators who had experience of milking state assets, and organised gangsters. The former understood the mechanisms of management of property and how to appropriate it; the latter had the ability to protect what was stolen, and importantly - to guarantee compliance of the terms of the deals...

Many remember the shootings, the explosions, the blood.... Carnivorous packs tore and split the country apart. ..Shcherban was the leader of one of those packs..... Tymoshenko  a high-ranking member of the other [portion of the country's political elite]...

By the end of the 90's, an unspoken agreement between the general public and these elite was formed because the people in power that had grabbed former state property by force,  managed to set up certain rules of the game so ending the gangster lawlessness of the early 90's.

A mutually acceptable amnesia descended on the country, and the dangerous, lawless days of the early and mid-nineties were all but forgotten about by everyone....it became a taboo subject. Society gave the appearance of having forgiven the country's elite in exchange for something that resembled civilised life.

But now the accusations against Tymoshenko that she commissioned the murder of Yevhen Shcherban are bringing all of the bad times back. The country is stepping back 20 years. The sentencing of Tymoshenko for Shcherban's murder will be the key to Pandora's box...

*More on Aleksandrov murder here and here

Another Shcherban murder trial witness is linked to Yanukovychs

Yesterday a pre-trial hearing took place in Kyiv during which Ihor Maryinkov, a rather nasty-looking witness [see photo], gave testimony. He accused Yulia Tymoshenko of involvement in the contract killing of Donetsk multimillionaire and member of parliament Yevhen Shcherban,  back in 1996.

In her 'U.P.' blog investigative journalist Tetyana Chornovil reveals that Maryinkov, like Rulan Shcherban [see previous blog] also has links to the Yanukovych family.

From official sources, Chornovil discovered that in the mid 90's Maryinkov was the founder of the joint Ukraine-Russian enterprise "DonetskoOvoch", which was later renamed "UkrSpetsResurs". His business partner was a certain was Arkady Klein from Artemivsk.

Arkady Klein worked for 42 years at the Artyomivsk sparkling wine factory [the biggest of its kind in Eastern Europe] and at the end of the 90's became its director. At that time it was part of the  "UkrInterProdukt" corporation whose owner was Party of Regions' MP Alexander Leshchynsky. Igor Alexandrov, director of the Slovyansk TV company Thor, who was beaten to death in 2001, called Leshchynsky "The vodka king of Donbas."

Around the same time Arkady Klein becomes an honorary citizen of the city of Artemivsk (just after the Soviet Union's Sinatra - Yosyp Kobzon had received this honour) and the factory directorship is handed over to a Roman Nikiforov. (Nikiforov mysteriously 'shot himself dead' with a rubber bullet immediately after the Orange Revolution [see this from F.N.]).

In 2000 Arkady Klein  is appointed chairman of the supervisory board of the Artyomivsk Winery and holds this position until 2006.

In 2002 the Donetsk firm "Edelweiss" becomes a shareholder in the Artyomivsk Winery with a 15% stake.  Structures close to Rinat Akhmetov and Boris Kolesnikov owned the remainder. Today 99.9% of the shares of this company belong to Viktor Yanukovych's son Oleksandr's "MAKO Holding".

"Edelweiss" was the main business structure of the Yanukovych's in 2002. Old family associate Edward Prutnik, the-then manager of  'The Family's' businesses, was it's front man. Prutnik later sold his share of "Edelweiss", so now Oleksandr Yanukovych is the sole owner of "Edelweiss."

Thus it appears that Arkady Klein, business partner of today's witness in the Shcherban murder case, for several years helped develop the champagne sector of  Yanukovych's elder son's businesses.

It turns out that now that both main prosecution witnesses have links with  Yanukovych family's businesses.

Ruslan Shcherban hunts with Yanukovych's business partners [and occasionally shoots them ;-) ] He also goes hunting with Oleksandr Yanukovych himself.

Ihor Maryinkov had a joint business with a man who occupied a high position in a company owned by Oleksandr Yanukovych, Rinat Akhmetov, and former cabinet minister Boris Kolesnikov.

Maryinkov can be considered to be a habitual,  professional witness. He testified in the highest profile murder trials ever held in Ukraine - those of Yevhen Scherban, Shakhtar Donetsk boss and alleged mafia capo Akhat Bragin,  and National Bank of Ukraine chairman, Vadym Hetman.

In those trials he gave all necessary evidence in favour of the prosecution against crime boss Yevhen Kushnir, who organised there killings, and Kushir's ties to Pavlo Lazarenko. But he never ever uttered a single word about Yulia Tymoshenko's involvement in these murders...until now.

Maryinkov started to give evidence [and 'sing' like a canary] after he was arrested on May 30, 1998, together with a Yuriy Serdyuk, when driving into Poltava.

An arsenal of weapons were found in the trunk of his Mercedes - a Kalashnikov automatic rifle, several grenade launchers, and a large quantity of ammunition. He was sentenced to a laughable one year of imprisonment.

Serdyuk testified in all the above-mentioned high-profile trials together with Ihor Maryinkov.

In their evidence, Serdyuk and Maryinkov recalled their trusting friendships with members of the murderous Kushnir gang. They were so close that Kushnir and his side-kick Anatoliy Ryabin spoke openly to them about their plans to murder a whole list of top people in the Donbas region, in other words Serdyuk and Maryinkov were both loyal gang members.

So the businessman Maryinkov, with his highly criminal background was also close to Arkady Klein, who for many years was in charge of production at the Artyomivsk Winery, owned by Akhmetov, Kolesnikov and Yanukovych's eldest son.

Ryabin was killed in 1966. Kushnir died in highly suspicious circumstances while he was detained in an investigative isolation unit in  Donetsk in May 1998.

p.s. With friends and associates like these is it any wonder the Yanukovych's are constantly surrounded by swarms of bodyguards....it's not their enemies they are worried about...

A final thought - over that last few years, after the disillusionment of the Oranges, many in Ukraine have  been prepared to overlook, and perhaps forgive the undeniable criminal background of today's 'Donteski'. Any trial of those who allegedly commissioned Yevhen Shcherban's murder will inevitably again shine a spotlight on the dark events of the mid nineties in that region...to the detriment of the 'Donetski'? As for observers from Europe and elsewhere...hmm....Yanuk must really, really fear Tymoshenko...

Main prosecution witness in Shcherban case is friend of Yanukovych’s son

Yulia Tymoshenko was recently officially notified  that she is a suspect in the murder of prominent Donetsk businessman and politician, Yevhen Shcherban.  He and his wife had been assassinated by a band of killers at the city's airport in November 1996 as they were alighting from their aircraft.

Last April Yevhen's son, Ruslan, during a hesitant and rather embarrassing press conference, for the first time since his father's slaying publicly accused Tymoshenko of involvement in the assassination of his parents.

Well founded allegations were immediately made that Ruslan Shcherban was blackmailed to make such allegations by prosecutors after a hunting accident last February during which a friend of his, Rodion Drozdov, was shot dead.

Today Tetyana Chornovil  in a good piece of investigative journalism on this topic reveals that Ruslan Shcherban, who may turn out to be the main prosecution witness in any murder trial, is a good friend of president Yanukovych’s elder son, Oleksandr Yanukovych.

Yanukovych jr. whose name now appears in the top 100 wealthiest Ukrainians lists, is also a business partner of Ruslan Shcherban and was a frequent visitor to the hunting lodge where Drozdov was shot dead almost exactly a year ago.

Drozdov had come to visit Scherban with a certain Serhiy Bogdanov. Bogdanov and Drozdov were business partners and ran the Donetsk-registered 'Metugletreyd 2008' commercial and industrial enterprise which extracts and enriches coal products.

Bogdanov is also the director of a financial and industrial company 'Kapital' - 100% of which is owned by Ruslan Shcherban.

But the most interesting thing is that in 2008 Bogdanov founded a company called 'Donsnabtara'. This was the first public company owned by Yanukovych's eldest son. In that year the current stars of political and economic life of the country were assembled under its roof.

In particular, Valentina Arbuzova, the mother of the current Deputy Prime Minister and former head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Serhiy Arbuzov was in charge of this company. Oleksandr Yanukovych was the main shareholder of the company with a personal stake of 75 million hryven.

So it seems then that a partner of Oleksandr Yanukovych was shot by a gun owned by Ruslan Shcherban. [Because there were so few witnesses to the crime it may even be that Shcherban himself  fired the fatal shot.]

Ruslan Shcherban and Oleksandr Yanukovych were close in business matters too. It is possible that Bogdanov represented the interests of Ruslan Shcherban in 'Donsnabtara', the article says.

In addition, the younger Shcherban and Yanukovych have a common passion - banking.  Chornovil found some interesting information in a register of court rulings from  May 2009 about a money laundering case in which  Yanukovych's 'UkrBusinessBank'. and Ruslan Shcherban's 'AKB Kapital' commercial bank were allegedly involved.

Residents of Mayatske forest, where Drozdov was shot, have told Chornovil that Oleksandr Yanukovych occasionally hunted there together with Ruslan Shcherban.

"He has not been here for a while, though," said one local forester. "Last time he came was six months ago."

Yulia Tymoshenko has declared that prosecutors have fabricated the case against her at the personal request of her greatest enemy, president Yanukovych.... and then it turns out that the main prosecution witness is a friend of the son of the man who is most interested in Tymoshenko being sentenced to life imprisonment.

In what looks could be a cover-up, last September a certain O.G. Novikov, who according to some reports is Shcherban jr.'s chauffeur, was sentenced to four years imprisonment for the involuntary manslaughter of Drozdov [caused by carelessness], and immediately unconditionally released.

Chornovil's article also provides details of the Novikov trial culled from court records and official public sources, and highlights serious omissions therein.

Being close to 'The Family' helps to resolve problems in any criminal case, says Chornovil, citing the example of another of Viktor Yanukovych's friends - head of Ukraine's highways agency, 'UkrAvtoDor',  Volodymyr Demishkan.

Two years ago, a court released Demishkan's son Serhiy enabling him to avoid serving a prison sentence for murder. [See F.N. blog]

Demishkan earned the release of his son by handing over a Crimean 'UkrAvtoDor' health sanatorium to 'The Family,"

p.s. In the court's report of the Novikov trial, Shcherban jr.'s, and other participants' identities are concealed - they are referred to by a number only. However, from the report details it is very easy to determine with high degree of certainty who stands behind these numbers.

Why should the identity of any participant in this homicide trial be concealed? This merely provides more evidence of the dreadfully subservient state of Ukraine's judiciary and law enforcement agencies, and the power Ukraine's current rulers have over them? [LEvko]

[Blog also based on info from Censor.net]

'Semya' using courts to break parliament's back, says Poroshenko*

'Kyiv Post' reports : "  In an unprecedented move, on Feb. 8, the High Administrative Court of Ukraine cancelled election results in two majority constituencies, stripping deputies of their mandates and immunity from prosecution, and ordered a re-election.

The deputies, and some opposition members, say the move is the government's retaliation in response to their independent stance in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's legislature.

The court on Feb. 8 cancelled election results in constituency 11 in Vinnytsia and 71 in Zakarpattya Oblast, Interfax Ukraine agency reported. Deputies Oleksandr Dombrovsky and Pavlo Baloga lost their status in parliament as a result. The resolution cannot be appealed.

Pavlo Baloga is the brother of a former Emergencies Minister Viktor Baloga. He quit the pro-presidential Party of Regions faction on Dec. 13. Oleksandr Dombrovskiy has remained non-affiliated after the election. Results in Dombrovskiy's constituency were disputed after the Oct. 28 vote, but the Central Election Commission [CEC] ruled to recognize his victory..."

Most experts agree that once a parliamentary deputy has had his victory approved by the CEC and has been sworn into office, as these two had, they can only leave parliament in two ways, either feet first, or by resignation. In other words the  High Administrative Court has crudely and cynically exceeded its authority.

It is  yet another example of how Ukraine's courts have become a tool in the hands of the country's current rulers utilised to demonstrate their unchallengeable power. The courts have, of course, been used to eliminate president Yanukovych's deadliest enemies, Yulia Tymoshenko and Yuriy Lutsenko by  what have been widely considered to be politically motivated legal trials.

Immediately after last autumn's parliamentary elections opposition parties challenged what they considered to be fixed results in many constituencies nationwide in Ukraine's courts. Virtually all their submissions were brusquely declined.

Dobrovsky is an associate of Petro Poroshenko.  Both Poroshenko, and Viktor Baloha are Ukrainian political heavyweights, very powerful in their respective home oblasts, and have held high office both in Orange and Blue and White adminstrations . Poroshenko has high ambitions - he may stand for election in the Kyiv city elections, which he most likely would win. This could provide a platform for the 2015 presidential election campaign.

Even though Pavlo Baloha's and Dobrovsky's recent electoral victories over opposition rivals were highly dubious, both they, and their political sponsors, had been drifting toward the opposition lately.

The ruling authorities ordered the High Administrative Court decision to demonstrate to non affiliated parliamentarians - either obey us...or you will get the chop. The ruling authorities gambled that the parliamentary opposition would not support the two dismissed deputies...but is seems they have miscalculated..

Some observers suggest that 'Semya' loyalists have now gained the upper hand amongst the PoR parliamentary faction. These loyalists are more concerned with obtaining a totally compliant parliament as quickly as possible by squeezing a few judges' balls, than adhering to the Constitution or any rules of parliament.

*[Source]

Ukrainian authorities digging an ever-deeper hole

PM Azarov tells the readers of 'Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung' that the criminal cases and imprisonment of Tymoshenko and Lutsenko are of secondary importance and that Ukraine intends to continue on the path to eurointegration.

But as I wrote yesterday, the Council of the European Union have already given their verdict - the Tymoshenko and Lutsenko cases were politically motivated and "did not respect international standards as regards fair, transparent and independent legal process."

They are a roadblock to EU-Ukraine relations and in no way secondary..

Because the Ukrainian authorities fear the European Court of Human Rights will soon rule in favour of Tymoshenko another, charges on a more serious case, that of the murder of Yevhen Shcherban 17 years ago, are likely to be brought against her. Quite why Ukrainian authorities assume Western observers will consider the Shcherban case to be also anything other that politically motivated is beyond me. On the contrary, it merely provides further confirmation that Western observers' assessment of Tymoshenko's treatment is correct.

The Ukrainian Deputy Prosecutor-General Renat Kuzmin has already been denied a US visa...and could well be denied entry to the European Union too.

Kuzmin's boss, Pshonka has declared Shcherban was killed because he and his company IUD did not bow to pressure over natural gas prices from USEU, the energy company that Tymoshenko headed at that time.

Yet today one of the founders of Industrial Union of Donbas,a man who was at the heart of its gas dealings, one of Ukraines' biggest oligarchs and one of Shcherban's closest associates at IUD, Serhiy Taruta, in a revealing 'Ukrainska Pravda interview  states: "All commercial conflicts with [Tymoshenko's] UESU and us ended by January 1996 - ten months before the killing of Yevhen Shcherban. By January were were [all together] in one boat."

"Practically every week a big UESU and Itera team used to come [to us]. They sat constantly in our office, we agreed specifications according to each factory; this was a big job and at the same time a complex job... [Shcherban's] killing in no way changed our scheme [of operations], provided no advantage to UESU..."

So what was the motive?

Ukraine Handed November Deadline on EU Association Pact

On December 10 2012 the EU laid down clear conditions which must be fulfilled in order for Ukraine to make further progress on the road to eurointegration.  [official EU document here]

"The [European Union] Council reiterates its strong concern regarding the politically motivated convictions of members of the former Government after trials which did not respect international standards as regards fair, transparent and independent legal process and regrets that, as a  consequence, opposition leaders were prevented from standing in the parliamentary elections....The Council expects the authorities to address the cases of politically motivated convictions without delay as well as to take further steps to reform the judiciary to prevent any recurrence."

Headlines following the visit of president Yanukovych to Lithuania yesterday and the visit of Stefan Fule, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European neighbourhood policy to Ukraine today, now include clear mention of deadlines and ultimatums.

Ukraine must satisfy the above conditions by November this year when a grand summit will take place, or risk waiting years or even a generation to sign the pact.The statement is clear - in the eyes of the European Council former Government members were convicted on politically motivated charges. Everyone knows we are talking about here - the release of Yulia Tymoshenko and Yuriy Lutsenko.

And the Ukrainian authorities' response?

Yesterday a court ordered Yulia Tymoshenko to be questioned via a video link - a clear attempt to speed up the start of any possible trial if she to be charged with the murder of Yevhen Shcherban.

Deadline or not, there is no evidence that since last December Yanukovych and his 'banda' have stepped back even one centimetre from their drive to transform Ukraine into an authoritarian state..

Authorities intent on making VR unworkable

Last week the parliamentary opposition were denied an emergency parliamentary session despite having the necessary number of signatures demanding such an event. Today the opposition's demand that the ruling parties adhere to a fundamental constitutional voting rule - one man one vote, has not been met. The parliamentary session has been blockaded by opposition deputies as a result. The vast majority of Ukrainian voters want VR deputies to work ethically, attend parliament regularly and stick to the rules. The opposition know this so it is an easy win-win policy for them to stick with.

But Party of Regions' deputies seem comfortable with the opposition's tactics - unlike previous occasions when they have cleared the plenum chamber by physically assaulting their opposition colleagues with fists, flying chairs etc.

The parlimentary speaker and the ruling parties  are deliberately making Verkhovna Rada unworkable because they know this is the last place where the country's political opposition can still fully express its opinion and influence events.  Right now opposition forces are too weak, society too apathetic,  for 'people go out onto the street'.

 President Yanukovych and his 'banda' are therefore intent on making the V.R. unworkable and irrelevant..

p.s. If there is a problem with the V.R. electronic voting system why can't the parliamentary speaker, the Neanderthal Rybak, merely agree to voting by show of hands, or by an individual roll-call of those deputies who are present in the plenum chamber?

In the Westminister parliament, the mother of parliaments, members of parliament vote by walking through one of two narrow doors, the Aye door, or the No door, as they exit the main parliamentary chamber. Independent counters and party checkers do a simple head-count. What could be easier - or more foolproof?

I suspect Yanukovych and his parliamentary supporters know in their hearts sooner later one man one vote in parliament will become the norm. The days of vote rigging are over - this is the 21st century after all. To merely say the opposition are blocking the work of parliament just to score cheap points simply will not do any more.

A trawl through the past

I came across this analysis, by a highly respected author, written in 1996,  about Pavlo Lazarenko's stint as PM. [page 86 onward]

Just three weeks after being appointed PM he survived a professionally organised assassination attempt - he was very nearly blown up by a huge remote controlled bomb as he was being driven to Kyiv airport.

The conclusion [on page 92] is interesting. He had many enemies...and was very powerful..

Why Ukraine will not go to Arbitration Court over gas deal

Gazprom has sent Ukraine’s Naftogas a huge €5.2 billion bill under a ‘take-or-pay’ clause that Ukraine has to pay even if it hasn’t imported the gas.  This was part of a dreadful 2009 gas deal negotiated by Yulia Tymoshenko during the last Russian - Ukrainian 'gas war'.

When Yanukovych was elected president, not only did he not annul this 2009 gas deal, he set it in concrete when, by signing the so-called inter-state Kharkiv accord, he unconstitutionally gave away the use of  the Sevastopol naval base and its facilities to the Russian Black Sea fleet for decades, in exchange for a small discount on the price of gas imported by Ukraine from Russia.

As commentators have mentioned, many other European countries have recently successfully renegotiated gas deals with Russia at the Arbitration Court of the Chamber of Commerce, in Stockholm.

Ukraine would have a good case - they could probably prove the 2009 gas deal between Gazprom and Naftohaz Ukrainy was made under duress both from the Russian side and from European countries who were being starved of gas at that time; Ukraine is a major transit route for Russian gas bound for European customers. This would be sufficient for the court to call for the deal to be renegotiated.

The problem for Yanukovych, of course, is that if the Arbitration Court were to rule in Ukraine's favour it would prove that Yulia Tymoshenko was forced into the deal under unacceptable duress - she could not then be accused of exceeding her powers for which she was sentenced to seven years in prison. The case against her would have been shown to be purely politically motivated.

Keeping Tymoshenko in prison is more important to Yanukovych that paying over-the-odds prices for Russian gas.

p.s. Some say Gazprom are unlikely to go to the Arbitration Court for their money [because they would lose?] and will try other methods....

P.s. If anyone has any doubts about the sadistic treatment being systematically being meted out to Yulia Tymoshenko and Yuriy Lutsenko they should listen to Lutsenko's wife Iryna's passionate, moving address in the Verkhovna Rada today...

Ukrainian authorites don't give a fig for European concerns about political prisoners

Former minister of the interior Yuriy Lutsenko has served over half his 4 year jail sentence which was the result of  highly suspect charges and trial. The European Court of Human Rights have ordered the Ukrainian authorities to pay him compensation for unllawful detention prior to the trial. Other ECHR rulings are currently being considered.

In many normal countries he would be either eligible for release on parole right now, or perhaps moved to an open prison with a less harsh regime that that observed in a penal colony.

Just a week ago he underwent a surgical operation to have a growth removed from his intestines at a Kyiv clinic.

He allegedly needs a second operation to treat stomach ulcers.

Today he was unceremoniously transferred back to the penal colony to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Senior officials in the EU who are monitoring his case are outraged by his treatment.

Ukrainian officials must be aware that Lutsenko's case is being very closely monitored - I have posted about this previously - but it is absolutely obvious they do not care about this. They are sadists. Lutsenko's treatment is a brazen signal: "Don't mess with us-  whoever you are ...we will crush you...whatever those smartarses in the west say..."

p.s. the British Ambassador has made his feelings known about this matter too... 

One law for Kuchma..and one for Tymoshenko

Today a Ukrainian court convicted the former police general Oleksiy Pukach for killing investigative journalist Heorgiy Gongadze over a decade ago. He was sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Pukach's final words to the court were: "I [will] accept [the sentence] when [ex-president] Kuchma, and [ex Verhkhovna Rada speaker] Lutvyn are in this cage with me." I have revealed everything during the investigation and trial, but only Fedur [the victim's lawyer] wanted to know about it."

One comment in response to the article at the link above:

"So much for Donetsk-style justice.

When the killer [Pukach] names the commissioners of the murder, Donetsk jurisprudence covers not only its eyes but its ears. But when not one of the [eight] co-conspirators who murdered [Yevhen] Shcherban [and were sentenced a decade ago] ever even mentioned that Tymoshenko [may have] ordered Shcherban's assassination, Donetsk prosecutors blare this [her guilt] out over the whole world...And these man-hunters are supposed to bring justice?"

Tymoshenko charges timed to damage EU-Ukraine integration process?

"The decision to press these [Shcherban murder F.N.] charges against Tymoshenko on this particular date seems to be a demonstration, before the EU-Ukraine summit on 25 February, that Kyiv will not make any concessions regarding the opposition leader, who has been accused of committing a felony.

The Ukrainian government seems to be hoping that this will convince the EU to stop defending Tymoshenko. However, the opposite reaction should be expected from the Western states, which will lead to a further deterioration of relations between the EU and Ukraine. [source ]

An interesting graphic in this 'Forbes.ua' article reveals that over the last year and half, pronouncements and developments in the prosecution of Yulia Tymoshenko have frequently, and most likely not coincidentally,  been timed to influence events significant to the development of  the EU-Ukraine relationship.

 According to Forbes: "The new charges against  Tymoshenko look like an insult to the EU. They (the leaders of the EU member states) have made it clear that they demand her release. Now it seems we deliberately ignoring this requirement. Obviously, the signing of this year, of the Association Agreement with the EU is now in question "- says a source close to one of the members of government.

"Our law enforcement officers  [siloviki] and judges have frequently put forward key decisions in the criminal cases against the former prime minister on the eve of important negotiations," concludes the Forbes article..

Support for Tymoshenko from an unexpected quarter

Ex-President Leonid Kuchma told an 'Ukrainska Pravda' reporter in Davos today that during his presidential terms the prosecutor's office had no evidence linking  Yulia Tymoshenko to the murder of Yevhen Shcherban.

"The Prosecutor-General Potebenko in his reports said at the time there were no grounds for legal action [against Tymoshenko] And that it,"said Kuchma.

"And against Lazarenko at that time there were.. [grounds for opening a case]" added Kuchma.

Yanukovych, who is also in Davos, has turned down the opportunity to attend the traditional 'Ukrainian Lunch' organised by Kuchma's son-in-law, Viktor Pinchuk.

The Shcherban murder case recently opened against Tymoshenko is considered by many observers to be a massive additional road-block against Ukraine's Euro-integration hopes and has been initiated at a particularly inopportune time ...so is particularly embarrassing to one of its proponents, Viktor Pinchuk.

Or maybe Yanukovych has become a 'Nobby No Mates'

p.s. The recent leak of Yevheniya Tymoshneko's emails posted on zhuzhaleaks.com may have been plugged [at the moment] However, some interesting spin-offs in the form of cached documents have come to light. E.g. a detailed essay describing the murderous events that took place in Donetsk in the mid-'90's and the men behind them. [In Russian here]

The information presented in these documents has been knocking around since those bloody times..and has been confirmed and repeated by many other sources. They provide a grim, but broadly true account of the background from which today's Ukrainian leaders emerged and exposes their involvement in these dirty deeds.

The prosecutor-general is crazy throwing all this sh*t around merely to besmirch Tymoshenko...It is landing on many other people already.. In Ukrainian here].  Similar files are being dusted off and examined in foreign ministries in capitals across the world...

p.p.s. Rinat Akhmetov, according to Bloomerg, is 26th richest man on the planet.

Case against Tymoshenko convinces no one

Some details of the Shcherban murder case with which the Ukrainian prosecutor's office intend to charge Yulia Tymoshenko with have come to light. The evidence so far presented is highly circumstantial and is based almost entirely on hearsay; there are many unanswered questions, and the evidence would probably not be deemed sufficient to bring such a case to court in most democratic countries.

If the intention of proceeding with the case is to convince western governments and observers of Tymoshenko's culpability, it will fail.

The Ukrainian prosecutor's office already has highly disreputable, if not to say laughable reputation. I posted about this in an earlier blog.

European Court of Human Rights may well be critical of the Ukrainian judicial system and its law enforcement agencies, when they present their judgements on the treatment of Yulia Tymoshenko and Yuriy Lutsenko in other cases in the next few months.

I would suggest the narrative described today by Tymoshenko of events in the Donbas region in the mid-nineties, a portion of which I've translated below, is the one generally accepted in the west.

"Yevhen Shcherban was one of five founders of ISD, [Industrial Union of Donbas], which owned hundreds of businesses illegally privatised in the 90's. Apart from Shcherban, the [other] owners of ISD were Alexander Momot, Akhat Bragin and Rinat Akhmetov. 

A fifth, shadow co-owner of the ISD corporation was a young politician - Viktor Yanukovych, who is now president of Ukraine. Shcherban was the undisputed leader of this group, and also deputy leader of the Liberal Party of Ukraine. Within a short time three owners ISD corporation  were tragically murdered. Shcherban and Momot were shot dead in Donetsk, and Akhat Bragin blown up at the Shakhtar stadium. The entire ISD corporation, then estimated to have a value of billions of U.S, dollars, was transferred to Yanukovych and Akhmetov. 

After the tragic murder of Scherban, Yanukovych could be appointed governor of Donetsk region. The leaders of the gang that killed Scherban were immediately eliminated in the Donetsk corrective penitentiary, over which current prosecutors Kuzmin and Pshonka had oversight. 

The kind of internecine criminal disputes that existed in the Donetsk region in the 90's, were not seen in any other region in Ukraine. 

Yuriy Lutsenko, when he became the Minister of the Interior  in 2005, exhumed more than 30 corpses of businessmen, judges, lawyers, investigators and others which had been liquidated in Donetsk in the 90's...Then, [president] Yushchenko ordered Lutsenko to stop digging up any more slag heaps in the Donetsk region..."

The west will not be convinced by the latest accusations against Tymoshenko. The aim of Ukrainian officials is primarily to discredit her before the Ukrainian electorate and prevent her taking an active part in Ukrainian politics ever again. Meanwhile the country's leaders' credibility abroad is plummeting to ever lower depths.

Background to Shcherban murder from 'Forbes.ua'

The authoritative 'Forbes.ua' have posted an enlightening article - "The rise and fall of Yevhen Shcherban's business empire" 

The article provides background to the conflict over gas between  ISD, Industrial Union of Donbas, and their business rivals, Yulia Tymoshenko's UESU, which allegedly culminated in Shcherban's murder in 1996.

Here is one portion of the article:

"Did Lazarenko and Tymoshenko have a motive to eliminate the Donetsk magnate [Shcherban]? 

There are significant reasons to doubt this. By the time of the murder the conflict between ISD and UESU had been settled. Most companies in the region had signed contracts for the supply of gas from ISD, which purchased a large portion of the fuel from UESU. "All conflicts and misunderstandings between UESU and ISD were resolved before the tragic death of Yevhen Shcherban," - confirms a former vice president of UESU, Oleh Bespalov. 

[Serhiy]Taruta [the former CEO of ISD and Shcherban's partner] is also sceptical about the involvement of Lazarenko and Tymoshenko in the murder. In his opinion, the prime minister/corruptioneer is being excessively demonised."

Tymoshenko's name has never figured in the murder of Shcherban since the dreadful events at Donetsk airport over a decade and a half ago. None of Shcherban's political or business associates from the early nineties have ever pointed the finger at her...

But last April Yevhen's son, Ruslan, during a hesitant and rather embarrassing press conference, for the first time publicly accused Tymoshenko of involvement in the death of his father. However, Ruslan was allegedly blackmailed to make such an allegation by prosecutors after a hunting accident during which a friend of his was shot dead. Despite denials by the Prosecutor-General's office, Ruslan's declarations, so late in the game, should be treated with great suspicion.

Who really ordered Yehven Shcherban's killing?

Yulia Tymoshenko has now been officially named as a suspect in the 1996 murder of  prominent Donetsk businessman, Yevhen Shcherban who was assassinated by a professional hit squad on November 3rd 1996 as he and his family were disembarking from his airplane at the city airport.

In 2002 eight men were arrested and tried for his murder - all were found guilty. No linkage to Yulia Tymoshenko was ever considered at that time even though she was still in opposition to the-then president, Leonid Kuchma, and even though she was being persecuted by the government of the day. It would have been very easy and convenient to charge her with Scherban's death at that time.

In Spring last year, when it became clear the case and trial against Tymoshenko for exceeding her powers in arranging a long-term gas deal with Russia would not be accepted or deemed sound by international observers and governments, another case had to constructed against her by Yanukovych and her enemies as 'back-up'.

At that time, deputy Prosecutor General Renat Kuzmin was dispatched on a tour of European capitals, bizarrely organised by the same PR agency employed by Party of Regions, to broadcast allegations that the P-G's office had details of payments linking Tymoshenko to the convicted killers.

Kuzmin claimed Shcherban's killers had been paid from an the intermediate account, that of an Antigua-registered company linked to former Ukrainian prime minister Pavlo Lazarenko,  Orphin S.A.

But in this TVi television documentary it is made very clear that many payments from many companies were made to  the Antiguan registered Orphin S.A. One of the payee companies was Somolli Enterprises - run at that time by Tymoshenko - they had paid Orphin S.A. nearly $3 million, six months after Shcherban's killing. The same allegations directed at Tymoshenko could therefore be made against any or all of the other companies who transferred cash to Orphin S.A.

The case against Tymoshenko is almost without substance. Furthermore, as I have posted previously, there is circumstantial evidence that Yevhen Shcherban was 'rubbed out' by his own people...those who ultimately inherited his business empire, and the business empires of other prominent businessmen murdered in the Donbas region in the early and mid nineties.

The spotlight will be shone on them and their murky past if any trial were ever to be staged.

My guess is this Shcherban scheme is one of a number of possible scenarios that could be employed to solve the Tymoshenko problem. Tymoshenko could be sent abroad for long-term treatment. The Shcherban case would then be used as a deterrent to discourage any return.

Yanukovych Family's boundless grab of assets meeting resistance

Lots of rumours are emerging, e.g. as in this most enlightening TVi television discussion, surrounding the bankruptcy of the major Ukrainian airline company, 'Aerosvit', which is owned by Ihor Kolomoysky,  Ukraine's second [or maybe third] richest man,

Yanukovych's 'Family' bulldozer has apparently been trying to get its grabs into Kolomoysky's businesses - allegedly forcing Kolomoysky to 'self-bankrupt' his own airline. [A procedure that is even considered  by some to be a national tradition - an easy way of clearing your debts.]

Kolomoysky also part-owns Ukraine's largest commercial bank, PrivatBank, but arguably, amongst Ukraine's billionaires, he is the one with the 'least pull' in government circles.

But 'The family' may be in for a fight, as described in this report: 

"A  scandal around the Ukraine airline “AeroSvit'' continues. The company’s  owner oligarch Igor Kolomoisky talks about the deliberate fight against the company and plans to close  offices of  its largest financial institution ''PrivatBank”, which will result in a significant shake in the currency market.

Ukrainian media reports Kolomoisky is getting ready to take  drastic measures to protect  his own business.

PR Conflict Management Agency «PR i Z» CEO  Zakhar Chistiakov states that  Kolomoisky’s this action will depreciate Ukrainian Hryvnia , because it is the largest financial institution in Ukraine and even small changes in its  functioning  will lead to social unrest,'' - Chistiakov says.

Along with offices closure, ATM may be also paralyzed, which would be a real social disaster. Chestiakov notes that  Kolomoisky’s businesses is under a deliberate attack from other oligarchic groups which resulted in serious damage of the oligarch. He is the only billionaire in Ukraine who is not represented in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine."

Bankruptcy procedures have also been launched on behalf of another Kolomoysky airline.

According to the above-mentioned television discussion, other major oligarchs whose businesses are under threat from 'the family's' immeasurable greed may be 'getting their heads together' to ward off the attacks of the 'Semya' .

Spiegel exposes bungling hackers

"Der Spiegel", one of the biggest-selling weekly magazines in the world, has run a story about the leaked 'Zhuzhaleaks' correspondence. Their piece is [loosely] entitled:

 'Doctored emails - hackers pursue Tymoshenko'

German doctors treating Tymoshenko are 'pissed off 'that they have been dragged into dirty Ukrainian politics because some of the leaked emails make it appear they have been signing off astronomically expensive 'sick notes' for Yulia T.. and have been 'trousering' the money.

In particular, one email, purporting to be from a doctor treating Tymoshenko and sent to her daughter Yevheniya, includes several invoice attachments. One of the invoices [probably legitimate] contains a detailed breakdown of all expenses incurred during one visit, even minor ones such as taxi fares. But another invoice, ostensibly for 'medical services' provided in May 2912, is for 680,000:00 Euro! That's it...no further details of treatment, no reference to other agreements, no breakdown at all.....it all looks embarrassingly crude..

The heavy-handed, brutal, many say misogynistic treatment of Yulia Tymoshenko since her arrest nearly a year and a half ago greatly discredits Yanukovych and the Ukrainian authorities. I agree with this group of  female Ukrainian parliamentary deputies - had Tymoshenko been a man, she would not have been treated anywhere near as badly.

These 'dodgy' leaked emails discredit Ukrainian authorities even further. Such amateurish manipulation of stolen emails by their enemies will only give heart to the Tymoshenko camp..

p.s. A birdie told me Yevheniya T. paid the doctor with a million Euro note...and told them to keep the change..

ECHR does Ukrainians a big favour

In 2010 Oleksandr Fedorovych Volkov, a former judge of the Ukrainian Supreme Court, was dismissed from this eminent position by a vote in the Verkhovna Rada.

He later filed a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming his rights had been violated.

A few days ago the ECHR ruled in his favour..because: "The Members of Parliament present [in the Verhovna Rada who voted for his dismissal] used voting cards which belonged to their absent peers. Statements of Members of Parliament about the misuse of voting cards and a video recording of the relevant part of the plenary meeting have been submitted to the Court."

[Full EHCR Ruling here ]

A precedent has now been set.

In future, if credible evidence can be presented to the ECHR of parliamentary vote fiddling which breaches an appellant's human rights, the court will rule in the appellant's favour.

 'U.P.' blogger, Mustafa Nayem, considers this could even turn out to be a good earner...Volkov could be in line for 20,000 Euros of compensation..

Similarly, if there is credible evidence that laws have been passed or appointments made, e.g. as was the case with the new chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine, Ihor Sorkin, by means of parliamentary vote fiddling, in future Ukrainian authorities can have no complaint if they are later deemed to be illegitimate.

Kleptomaniacs

After a failure yesterday, the new National Bank of Ukraine chairman, Ihor Sorkin, was 'voted into office' today by the Verkhovna Rada. As normal, votes were stolen. 

Sorkin was the president's nominee.

In order to get their man into the NBU chair many PoR deputies quite blatantly voted for absent colleagues - in strict contravention of the Ukrainian Constitution.

How can any bank be trusted if its chairman was illegitimately elected?

The men who run Ukraine steal everything. They stole their wealth, they stole electors' votes to gain power, they stole their high-flying positions...They will now steal what is left of the the NBU's reserves..

Big brother is watching..,,

Thousands of pages of electronic correspondence attributed to Yulia Tymoshenko's daughter, Yevhenia, have been posted on the internet at  http://zhuzhaleaks.com 

[Zhuzha is Yevhenia's pet name]

Lots of interesting angles will be spun in days to come....

SMS and email intercepts, even those pertaining to high-profile celebs can be obtained relatively inexpensively, according to Ukrainian 'politekhnolog' Taras Berezovets. This should not be a surprise to anyone. Over the last few years newspapers owned by one of the world's biggest press magnates, Rupert Murdoch, have systematically illegally hacked the 'phones and emails of dozens of famous celebrities'.

But it's so damn convenient to send an email...and to transfer funds electronically...

Ukrainian politicians of all colours must surely know that apart from  their electronic correspondence, all of their electronic banking correspondence is being monitored by somebody...somewhere ...

According to some sources, Swiss authorities have admitted they have blocked bank assets of some Russians suspected of participating in the death of Hermitage Capital fund lawyer Sergey Magnitsky..

Former pro-EU ministers will stay in background - for now

The excellent 'OdessaTalk' blog quite rightly points out that three of the most pro-EU ministers in the previous cabinet, Poroshenko, Khoroshkovsky and Tigipko, now find themselves adrift from the 'first circle' of political power.

'OdessaTalk' considers an ideological split within Party of Regions has already taken place and predicts: "Two very distinct camps will emerge, both with some serious money and very public figures within them championing their respective causes!"

Khoroshkovsky runs Ukraine's most watched television channel - Inter. He has pledged to to make its news coverage more balanced. And there are rumours he recently declined an risible offer to sell up his stake in his media holdings ..

The Yanukovych 'family' business empire has grown dramatically in the last two years...but, as yet does not include any major mass media broadcasters. Control of such assets would of course be highly desirable in the run-up to the 2015 presidential elections...However, 29% of Inter may already be in the hands of Russia's Gazprom. Could this be a factor in 'Mentadent', [as the Inter boss is sometimes called] no longer being the president's 'flavour of the month'?

Will any or all of these three characters ever openly turn against Yanukovych? As always timing is everything...And as for Euro-integration...whatever the wishful thinkers say, this all hinges on the fate of Yulia T.

What is behind the Metalist Kharkiv sale?

On December 24th last year it was announced one of Ukraine's biggest soccer clubs, Metalist Kharkiv, owned by one of the country's richest businessman, Oleksandr Yaroslavsky, had been unexpectedly sold to the little-known 27-year-old businessman and lawyer from Kharkiv, Serhiy Kurchenko.  Some journalists associate Kurchenko with a company called 'Gas Ukraine'....prosecutor-general of Ukraine, Viktor Pshonka's son Artem, and president Yanukovych's oldest son Oleksandr.

Yaroslavsky, or 'King of Kharkiv', as his is sometimes called, was idolised by the club's supporters,  because he had  built the club up to rival the best in Europe. Apart from investing large sums into the club and its stadium, he had also invested heavily in other projects in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city.

The sale came as a surprise, even though Yaroslavsky had had many personal feuds with Kharkiv's odious mayor, Hennadiy Kernes who had striven to return the club to the municipal ownership. Even Shakhtar Donetsk owner Rinat Akhmetov expressed shock when he learned Yaroslavsky had sold up the club.

There has been tentative speculation why Yaroslavsky 'could not refuse the offer he was made' after his failure to provide any clarification to the media.

The Yanukovych family, may have been keen to follow the trend of other immensely wealthy oligarchs  and get their hands on the plaything of the super-rich - a big soccer club.

'Korresponden't blogger Aleksey Golobutsky criticises the sale claiming it to be a demonstration of the barbaric nature of Ukraine's investment climate. If a big player like Yaroslavsky with his connections cannot protect his investments, what chance has an outsider got?

Kernes is one of Party of Regions' biggest hitters in the region - his battles with Yaroslavsky have undoubtedly caused damage the party's image, but it would seem the Yanukovych clan calculate this is a price worth paying for the sake of expanding their business portfolio. It is unlikely than any other raider in Ukraine would be big enough to take away Yaroslavsky's pride and joy.

Lutsenko will not be forgotten

Last week I posted a blog on the second anniversary of the arrest and detention of Ukrainian former Minister of Internal Affairs Yuriy Lutsenko's arrest.

In many countries, he would have been eligible for early release or parole, but the vindictive Ukrainian regime will keep him 'banged up' in prison for just as long as they can in the hope the case will be forgotten about.

They are wrong. His case is being closely studied at the European Court of Human Rights, and many other European Foreign Ministries are also closely following his plight.

Below is a response from the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office with whom I've been in communication:

"We continue to be concerned about this case and about human rights in Ukraine.  During 2012, the Minister for Europe, David Lidington, made two public statements relating to Mr Lutsenko’s case: the first was in February following Mr Lutsenko’s conviction; the second was in July following the European Court of Human Rights’ judgement.  I have attached the Minister’s statements for your information.  [links here and here]

Embassy officials follow developments closely including by attending briefings by Mr Lutsenko’s wife and his lawyer.  We regularly raise our concerns with senior Ukrainian officials and continue to work closely with EU partners in highlighting these issues and in stressing to Ukraine the need to uphold the rule of law and respect fundamental human rights. 

Yours sincerely...

  

Assistant Desk Officer for Ukraine | Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine Team | Foreign and Commonwealth Office | Room W2.72 | King Charles Street | London SW1A 2AH 

Lutsenko will play a major role in Ukrainian politics in months and years to come...

Cheap PR scams discredit Ukraine

In my previous blog I mentioned how the authoritatively-named but entirely bogus Cologne-based outfit  'Zentrum für Interkulturelle Kooperation und Kommunikation e.V'   had recently declared: 'Sergiy Arbuzov Receives the Highest Marks of Any of the Heads of Governments or Central Banks in Eastern Europe' - news which was naturally widely broadcast across Ukraine.

Arbuzov was until recently chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine, is now deputy Prime Minister. This trusted member of the Yanukovych 'Family' is widely tipped to head the cabinet of ministers in a few months time.

A recent investigation by 'Deutsche Welle'  has now also confirmed this 'ZIKK' project to be and entirely fraudulent PR stunt.

Incidentally, 'Deutsche Welle' also describe another thinly disguised scam. The phantom Berlin newspaper "Berliner Tageszeitung" which is frequently quoted in the Ukrainian media, particularly in numerous anti-Tymoshenko articles, does not actually exist at all.  Despite extensive efforts, 'DW' have not been able to contact anyone connected with the publication - it has no telephones or faxes, or even active email addresses.

Such stunts further disgrace the Ukrainian authorities... they are just of bunch of 'zhuliki i vory'...swindlers and thieves...

Arbuzov - what a 'banker'*...

The latest edition of 'Korrespondent' contains a well-researched and detailed article on Ukraine's latest  rising star - recently-appointed first vice Prime Minister and a favourite if the Yanukovych clan - Serhiy Arbuzov. Most commentators agree that aging current PM Mykola Azarov is on the way out..and the so-far obscure 36 year-old Arbuzov will soon head the cabinet for benefit of Yanuk himself.

In the last few months of 2012 Arbuzov's podgy face wast thrust upon the Ukrainian man on the street on billboards and light-boxes across Kyiv in a two-month campaign that was estimated to cost up to $500,000.

The Ukrainian State Bank set up a television company, 'Bank-TV',  at a cost of around $1,000,000, to broadcast never-ending panegyrics in praise of Arbuzov and the State Bank which he headed.

A few weeks ago the obscure 'German Center for Intercultural Cooperation and Communication' astonishingly reported:  'Sergiy Arbuzov Receives the Highest Marks of Any of the Heads of Governments or Central Banks in Eastern Europe'

However, 'Forbes.ua' smelled a rat.  Their investigation revealed the Cologne-base German Centre was merely a highly dubious hollow shell outfit run by a Ukrainian CEO. Nevertheless their glowing reports were widely broadcast in the Ukrainian mass media to build up the young Arbuzov's image....

'Forbes' claim all of these PR schemes were dreamt up at Arbuzov's own initiative...
He loves the aura of power. When he is in Donetsk visiting his old pal - Yanukovych's elder son Oleksandr, his escort includes three vehicles filled with bodyguards...more than even Ukraine's richest oligarch, Rinat Akhmetov employs.

This is a serious creep...a real 'merchant banker...*'

p.s. 'Korrespondent's piece omits some of the more sinister aspects of Arbuzov's rapid ascent...

p.p.s. In rhyming cockney slang 'merchant banker' means 'wanker...'

No leniency toward Lutsenko

Former Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs, Yuriy Lutsenko was arrested and immediately detained almost exactly two years ago, on 26th December 2010.

On 27th February 2012 Lutsenko was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment at the behest of his political opponents who are now in power, on what were widely considered spurious and vengeful politically motivated charges. Criticism of the Ukrainian authorities's unjust treatment of Lutsenko emanated from E.U., the U.S. Department of State, and from many well-known international organisations.

On 3 July 2012, the European Court of Human Rights declared the arrest of Lutsenko had violated his human rights and ordered the Ukrainian government to pay 15,000 Euros compensation to Lutsenko for moral damages.

The ECHR are currently are currently assessing the entire case against Lutsenko and may well order his release sometime in 2013.

Since imprisonment, Lutsenko's health has declined and he has been hospitalised on several occasions.

In most civilised countries [e.g. United Kingdom], having served half his sentence for non violent crimes, Lutsenko would have been eligible either for early release, release on parole, or at minimum, transfer to an open prison with a less harsh regime.

But there is little chance of this occurring in Ukraine because Lutsenko's political enemies are sadists. The absence of such a humane gesture [which would undoubtedly improve their image] reveals their absolute contempt of western critics who accuse the Ukrainian authorities of unfairly persecuting  opposition leaders.

p.s. Has any reader of this blog ever heard any word of support uttered by former president Yushchenko in support of Lutsenko?

Six months for looks alone...

Introducing... Ukraine's new Minister for Regional Development, Construction and Housing -

Hennadiy Temnyk

I swear I have seen this guy on a Police Station notice board 'Most Wanted list'...

Ukraine's poor image will not be repaired by slick talk

Director of the London Ukrainian Institute, Andriy Hunder, in a VOA interview, reveals what everyone knows already - Ukraine has a very poor image in the English language global mass media. He provides 'advice' on what to do to improve this state of affairs.

Ukraine has a deservedly bad image because it is one of the most corrupt countries in Europe and since independence has been lead by greedy, narrow-minded and evil men with no vision. This has little to do with the country's culture, literature, or traditions.

Smart-talking PR hot-shots in foreign capitals who make their money polishing turds may make a few bucks persuading their clients to part with their money in an attempt to burnish the country's image, but this will not change anything.

Ukraine's grubby image will not improve without massive improvements in its governance.

A start could be made when political prisoners are released, prosecutors back off political opposition members and back off the already frail independent media, the president stops spending obscene amounts of money on his eleven palatial residences, oligarchic supporters of the ruling party stop carving up the nation's wealth in fixed privatisation 'sell-offs' etc. etc.

p.s. The London Ukrainian Institute offered a hearty welcome a few weeks ago to ex president Viktor Yushchenko, the man who, as a prosecution witness,  gave highly dubious testimony at  Yulia Tymoshenko's 2010 trial. Yet without Tymoshenko's unqualified support a few years previously during the Orange Revolution it is most unlikely Yushchenko would ever have made president.

One of the reasons Ukraine has such dreadful press is the blatant, widely recognised, politically motivated persecution of political opposition leaders like Tymoshenko by the current administration....aided and abetted, of course, by Yushchenko himself..

The Ukrainian Institute should make its position clear on this instead of 'brown-nosing' the discredited former president..

A reminder of the evil men who run Ukraine..

Over six years ago [how time flies] I posted a blog about the dreadful kidnap and murder of Roman Yerokhin who was a senior officer from the main directorate of the Adminstration for Fighting Organized Crime [UBOZ].

He had been investigating a large conversion and money laundering operation linked to a Donetsk financial establishment and its alleged links to parliamentary deputies from various political factions.

Robert Stack, in his recent brilliantly researched blog, ties Yerokhin's murder to former associates of one of Ukraine's most rapidly rising political stars, the current 36 year-old head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Sergei Arbuzov.

Arbuzov, who is tipped to become Ukraine's next PM, is universally considered to have close ties with the Yanukovych family clan.

Stack's article is a chilling reminder of the nature of the guys who run Ukraine today . They have more in common with '30's Chicago than the EU. Anyone reading Stack's article will realise how far the country's leaders are from holding normal European values, and from sincerely wishing to adhere to any possible Association Agreement rules.

Why should the IMF or any other international financial institution have any dealings with such people?
Luckily, their gigantic scams are being exposed ever-more frequently.

Another slap in Yanukovych's face

Less than 24 hours after announcing he will be meeting president Putin today, president Yanukovych's official site declares the meeting has been postponed...

Humiliating, or what?