Alexander Kharchenko. From failed politician to millionaire entrepreneur

After the clearly illegal dismissal of Vladimir Slonchak, who was undesirable to the mayor, on July 24, Kyiv City Council deputy Alexander Kharchenko was appointed as the new deputy mayor, reports Anticorrosive

For the position of deputy. Kharchenko barely made it through, gaining only 63 votes of support among his fellow deputies. Although the new deputy mayor looks very comfortable in his new position: due to constant political failures, Kharchenko’s ambitions are quite modest, and he is unlikely to aspire to the mayor’s chair. But behind the image of a typical “birdhouse deputy” lies a successful entrepreneur whose annual income amounts to millions. And Kharchenko himself is famous among his Land Commission colleagues as an extortionist and beggar.

The son of a judge from Nizhyn, lawyer Alexander Kharchenko, lost his first election in adulthood. In 2012, thirty-two-year-old self-nominated Kharchenko tried to enter the Verkhovna Rada in the Chernigov electoral district. Despite statements in the spirit of “I will not become a “carcass” and a “button man” in the hands of any political force,” the people did not trust Kharchenko with the deputy post. The lawyer managed to convince just over 2 thousand residents of the Chernihiv region (3% of voters) of his worth as a deputy and took 8th place out of 13.

The next election campaign in the Verkhovna Rada ended even more tragically for Alexander Kharchenko. A lawyer from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc ran in the same Chernihiv district. The politician’s promises have become bolder. Kharchenko intended to restore peace throughout Ukraine, as well as carry out judicial and legal reform (“Courts should become accessible, decisions should be made publicly and in short terms”). In his program, the candidate relied on the authority of Perth Poroshenko, “for whom over 50% of voters cast their votes.” But in his “native” district, Kharchenko managed to remain a candidate for less than 20 days. According to the portal “Chestno”, the Petro Poroshenko Bloc removed the lawyer from the elections, as a result of which the representative of the “People’s Front” won. But even after political betrayal, Kharchenko left the BPP only five years later in 2019.

In the same 2019, Kharchenko tried to take the Chernihiv region for the third time from the political force “Strength and Honor”. At the same time, Alexander Vladimirovich introduced himself really modestly – not as a deputy of the Kiev City Council, but as the head of the legal department of the OvruchGazAvto private enterprise. But even with the support of TV journalist Dmitry Gordon, the candidate repeated the unsuccessful result of the two previous campaigns.

Despite unsuccessful attempts to get into the Verkhovna Rada, in 2014 Kharchenko was elected as a deputy of the Kiev City Council from the Dnieper district. Most of the deputy’s draft decisions are related to giving the status of a public garden or park area to one or another territory of the capital. People often call such elected representatives “birdhouse deputies.” True, Kharchenko prefers broadcasting on political talk shows to communicating with voters. “Nash”, NewsOne, “Direct”, “Kyiv” – this is just a short list of channels on which the deputy appeared over the past year.

In his post in the capital, Kharchenko behaved as usual quietly and modestly. So quiet that the portal “Chestno” twice accused the deputy of systematically absenteeism from meetings. From June 2014 to March 2015, Alexander Kharchenko missed more than a quarter (26%) of commission meetings and became the leading truant among deputies from the Dniprovsky district. And from January 1, 2017 to November 9, 2017, Kharchenko missed 32% of the commission’s meetings.

A life as inconspicuous as for a deputy bears fruit, because money loves silence. In 2017, journalists noticed that Kharchenko’s declaration was present on the website of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, but the site did not find it or show it when searching. It’s a pity, because according to Kharchenko’s later declarations, his entrepreneurial achievements are much more noticeable than his parliamentary achievements. According to the declaration for 2019, the Kharchenko family owns two metropolitan apartments (92 m2 and 55 m2) and a land plot in Rozhny near Kiev measuring 1,450 m2, while a large apartment and land plot are registered in the name of the deputy’s wife Tatyana Mazurenko. The deputy’s wife also owns a number of jewelry, mostly with diamonds, and a Rolex watch. Alexander wears Swiss EPOS, which he purchased in 2006 for $1,100. USA. In March 2016, a Kiev apartment measuring 153 m2 was purchased in the name of the mother of deputy Kharchenko Tatyana. Alexander Vladimirovich has $49,000 in his bank accounts. USA, and his wife has $35,000. USA. A lot of money, considering that the salary at the main place of work of Alexander Kharchenko as head of the legal department of OvruchGazAvto is 10 thousand UAH. monthly (125,476 UAH per year). But as an entrepreneur in 2019, Kharchenko earned almost a million – 985,700 UAH, in 2018 another million – 948,020 UAH, and another million in 2017 – 948,020 UAH. The deputy prefers not to publicly disclose what exactly this entrepreneurial activity consists of.

Therefore, one can only guess how much Kharchenko’s entrepreneurial income will increase after his appointment to such a lucrative position. Especially now, when the deputy is inconvenient. Vladimir Slonchak, who also headed the Commission for verifying information on construction projects that cause public outcry in Kyiv, has been removed from office since April after a controversial incident with the police. News agencies UNIAN and Channel 112 believe that Kharchenko “is part of the informal support group of Maxim Mikitas.” But it was precisely because of the theft of funds from UkrBud by its former head Maxim Mikitas that 13 thousand families were left without housing. But, as you know, the fastest capital is created on someone else’s grief.

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