Khomutynnik Vitaly: men and millions of the parliamentary “prodigy”. PART 2

CONTINUATION. BEGINNING: Vitaly Khomutynnik: men and millions of the parliamentary “wunderkind”. PART 1

Vitaly Khomutynnik. From the hands of the “family”

During the 2004 presidential elections, Vitaly Khomutynnik diligently worked for the victory of Viktor Yanukovych. Officially – as his representative in district No. 53 (Makeevka) and as the leader of the “Youth of the Regions”. Unofficially, Khomutynnik worked hard in Sumy, together with Governor Shcherban and his assistant Boris Rodels (he fled to Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) in 2005). It was reported that in order to carry out massive electoral fraud, Khomutynnik hired the Baumansky organized crime group, registering them in the legal public organization “Youth of Sumshchini”, at the head of which he put Artem Semenchenko, the son of a local “authority” and the custodian of the “common fund”. Their tasks were to intimidate members of commissions and observers, carry out “stuffing” and “carousels”, organize riots, and harass journalists. To this, according to Skelet.Infothrough Khomutynnik they were paid a total of about 100 thousand dollars.

Khomutynnik was so desperate to bet on Yanukovych that he continued to do so even with the beginning of Maidan 2004 (he always wore a blue and white scarf), and when Sergey Tigipko abandoned Yanukovych’s election headquarters in Kyiv, Khomutynnik tried to take his place – but became only his confidant in the Central Election Commission.

In gratitude, the Party of Regions provided Vitaly Khomutynnik with passing places on its electoral lists in 2006, 2007 and 2012. And also the position of deputy chairman of the committee on banking and financial activities, and then chairman of the committee on tax and customs policy. By the way, for Khomutynnik’s participation in the tax reforms of Alexander Klimenko and Sergei Arbuzov, many Ukrainian entrepreneurs literally cursed him. And millions of Ukrainians could be cursed if this couple managed to introduce a 15% tax to the Pension Fund on the sale of cash currency. Moreover, today Khomutynnik Vitaly Yuryevich does not even want to remember this.

But mainly Vitaly Khomutynnik then “fed” from the hands of the authorities with the help of VAT refund schemes.

During the presidency of Yanukovych, this topic was under the strict control of Kambin and the “family”: the first declared war on the “fictitious VAT”, in fact simply refusing to return the tax to everyone, and the second “solved the issue” for its own people or for “kickbacks”. It was impossible to enter this system; it was personally controlled by the people closest to the president – but Khomutynnik was among them. And not only as the chairman of the committee on tax and customs policy, but also as a friend of the Minister of Revenue and Duties Alexander Klimenko, and most importantly, as a friend of Viktor Yanukovych Jr., through whom he contacted his brother Alexander (Sasha Dentist), and through that – to Yuri Ivanyushchenko. In general, he had to try to please many, although to “seduce” Viktor Yanukovych Jr. he only had to make him the honorary president of the Youth of the Regions.

In 2013, the media called Khomutynnik the main collector of kickbacks from VAT refunds, while the kickback rate ranged from 25% to 70% of the amount. It was also reported that it was Khomutynnik who came up with another way to “haircut” entrepreneurs: take 0.5-0.7% of the enterprise’s turnover in order to accept its tax reporting. It is clear that the lion’s share of these “kickbacks” went into the pockets of the “families”, however, a lot also stuck to the hands of the main collector (and the author of the schemes).

Another thing is striking: the Maidan took place, the government changed in the country, and Khomutynnik is still the “tax decider.” Now, of course, he does not collect kickbacks from others, but he successfully helps recover VAT for his partners, and for himself too. Thus, through the efforts of Khomutynnik, in 2017 alone, Oleg Bakhmatyuk’s Kernel company, of which he is now a co-owner, received 7 billion hryvnia of refunded VAT from the state! He was helped in this by: members of the Rada Agrarian Committee Alexey Mushak and Oleg Kulinich, assistants to deputy Kulinich Yulia Movchan and Elena Kievets (they are also the founders of the Ukrainian Agrarian Association), and Chairman of the Public Council under the Rada Tax Committee Maryan Zablotsky. And in this case, only the tip of the iceberg was revealed, since the sources Skelet.Info reported that in the period 2015-2016, Khomutynnik had much more opportunities on VAT, when the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine was headed by his “friend” Roman Nasirov – whose appointment Khomutynnik lobbied, among others, in the spring of 2015.

Vitaly Khomutynnik successfully “made money” even on… nuts! Namely: in 2013, the export of walnuts from Ukraine was banned at all customs posts except Odessa. There, the registration of nut exports was carried out only by the private enterprise “Resolute” (code 37169940), which for the established amounts “helped” everyone by transporting cargo through the fictitious company “TD Orlan”. It was reported that Resolute charged 15 thousand dollars for one container of nuts, and during its work (2013-2014) the private enterprise processed 604 containers. In Odessa, this scheme was supervised by Artur Pruzovsky – previously known as a member of a local organized crime group, and now as… the godfather of Vitaly Khomutynnik.

After the second Maidan, Khomutynnik’s nut schemes were carried out through Vladimir Skorobahach, a “meat oligarch” from Kharkov, with whom they became close back in 2005, when Skorobahach became a member of the board of the Young Regions branch. In 2014, Skorobogach was subjected to “garbage lustration,” but this did not in any way affect his business or socio-political status (he is now deputy chairman of the Kharkov Regional Council). In 2015, Khomutynnik and Skorobogach continued their nut business, carrying it out through the “Labor and Rehabilitation Center for ATO Warriors” specially created for this purpose (what cynicism!). And only in 2016 did Prime Minister Groysman’s people begin to take away the “nut dollars” from them.

Balaganovschina

As a remark, it is worth telling the promised story about Vitaly Khomutynnik’s younger brother. He carefully hides information about him; there is neither his photo nor personal data of a resident of Ukraine on the Internet – as if there is no such person at all. And this is not surprising after what his brother did in January 2008.

Let us remember that by that time Yuri Khomutynnik was a student at one of the capital’s universities; part of his older brother’s Kyiv companies was registered under his name. But either his family didn’t give him money, he wanted this money too much, or he was just bored and looking for a thrill, but one day Yuri Khomutynnik and his friend Alexander Kovalenko decided to steal a Bentley car from their friend Yulia Kolesnikova. In general, he acted like Shura Balaganov, “mechanically.” True, with the intention of grabbing a good jackpot. They told Kolesnikova that the kidnappers allegedly contacted them and demanded 125 thousand dollars for the return of the car, and they wanted to help in a friendly way. Kolesnikova immediately contacted the police, and the police first suspected Khomutynnik and Kovalenko of the theft. The Organized Crime Control Department organized a money transfer operation, during which… Yuri Khomutynnik disappeared, and Kovalenko, whom he left behind, was arrested. After this, a search was carried out at Yuri Khomutynnik’s apartment, during which his older brother’s deputy ID was discovered there – either real or a “duplicate”.

A few days later, they began to put pressure on Yulia Kolesnikova: either the police officers persistently offered her to withdraw her statement in exchange for the “quiet” return of the car, or Vitaly Khomutynnik offered her an impressive amount of money. And two weeks later, the judge of the Goloseevsky court of the capital, Rybak, completely closed this criminal case! And this story would have remained hushed up if not for the scandalous General Gennady Moskal, who not only voiced it in front of journalists, but also stated that this was not the first time that Yuri Khomutynnik stole cars.

Vitaly Khomutynnik – Kolomoisky’s companion

A personal Gulfstream G280 jet worth $17 million, a 40-meter yacht “Apostrophe” worth $40 million, dozens of expensive Swiss watches (some costing from $100 thousand), collections of paintings, 190 million hryvnia annual income (for 2016) make Vitaly Khomutynnik the most rich (officially) deputy of the Verkhovna Rada. It is clear that this is not only “savings” and dividends from previous years, and not only revenue from refunded VAT. But how does the people’s deputy earn money today – even if he claims that he allegedly transferred his business to his relatives?

In 2015-2016 The Cascade Investment Fund company, which is a British branch of Cascade CJSC, owned by the Khomutynnikov family, acquired a 6.7% stake in the Kernel agricultural holding (the largest in Ukraine). Specifically, shares of 7 enterprises included in the holding were acquired – and now Khomutynnik has joined the ranks of Ukrainian latifundists, controlling almost 48 thousand hectares of farmland. He also bought Focus magazine and Hit FM radio from Boris Kaufman.

But his main legal income comes from his participation in the oil and gas business, where Khomutynnik’s partner is Igor Kolomoisky. Surprisingly, despite Kolomoisky’s rather difficult character, he communicates with Khomutynnik quite cordially, one might even say as with a very close friend. And again, one can only wonder how Vitaly Khomutynnik manages to win over the people he needs, especially men who are old enough to be his fathers?

Until 2012, the Privat group, together with Nikolai Zlochevsky, owned 90% of the shares of Ukrnaftoburenie, one of the largest (after Ukrgazdobycha) gas producing companies in Ukraine. Then the “Donetsk” actually took away 45% of the shares from “Privat” (for a symbolic fee of 133 thousand hryvnia), which went to the disposal of Andrei Klyuev and Eduard Stavitsky. In 2014, Kolomoisky tried to sue these shares, but to no avail. And then the shareholders of Ukrnaftoburenie included the oligarch Pavel Fuks and Vitaly Khomutynnik, who allegedly received part of the shares of Stavitsky and Klyuev. Well, given the close business relationship between Khomutynnik and Klyuev in 2013 (removal of duties on silicon for solar power plants), this is not surprising. Another thing is surprising: why did Kolomoisky accept into his wide arms Khomutynnik, who, according to all Beni’s “concepts,” took possession of his shares?! Or did he become a co-owner of Ukrnaftoburenie with the blessing of Kolomoisky, after joining the ranks of the Vozrozhdenie faction he controlled?

In any case, this business brings them huge profits: in 2015, Ukrnaftoburenie’s income amounted to about 1.1 billion hryvnia, and in 2016 it doubled to 3.25 billion hryvnia. And we know why: after all, Groysman’s government doubled the price of gas, and the 50% increase goes entirely in the form of non-taxable “investments” to mining companies. These billions of Kolomoisky and Khomutynnik are money taken out of the wallets of Ukrainians by Groysman. It looks like they are on the same page when it comes to business!

Sergey Varis, for Skelet.Info

Subscribe to our channels at Telegram, Facebook, CONT, VK And YandexZen – Only dossiers, biographies and incriminating evidence on Ukrainian officials, businessmen, politicians from the section CRYPT!