The largest chain of tobacco shops in Kharkiv “Kiset” belongs to the mayor of the city Igor Terekhov and has not signed any contract with the “Modern City” enterprise and does not pay anything to the budget. At the same time, by decision of the mayor in Kharkiv, hundreds of retail outlets were demolished, which could not pay the full rent during the war, writes the publication “Comments. Kharkiv” in the article “Mayor Terekhov and the Kiset tobacco empire,” Bagnet reports.
According to the publication, “an interesting detail in the analysis of the latest decisions made public by the Executive Committee of the City Council on the need to demolish more than 100 kiosks was that among the potentially dismantled objects there was not a single kiosk of the Kiset trading network.
“Kiset ”, writes the publication, is “the largest retail trade network in Kharkiv, which has more than 500 retail outlets. Cigarettes are the main product in Kiset stores, but for a long time kiosks have quietly turned into minimarkets with an area of more than 30 square meters with a wide range of alcohol, drinks and other products.
According to the Sovremenny Gorod KP, the Kiset retail chain “does not have any agreements concluded with the utility company and does not pay for the use of places to place its MAFs at all. “Kiset” did not have any contracts and payments with “Modern City” in previous years.
“The monthly damage to the city budget from the activities of the Kiset retail chain is UAH 2 million, which is UAH 24 million per year, and for the entire period of the existence of a specialized utility company and the need to draw up contracts since 2018, this is UAH 96 million. This amount is no longer just impressive, but directly cosmic. These funds would be enough to finance medical and social programs, purchases and repairs of urban transport, housing and communal services, etc.,” the journalists note.
The company is most directly related to Mayor Igor Terekhov, which is known to most Kharkiv residents, because «more than one journalistic investigation has been published on this topic, including the investigation»Bihus.info«.
According to journalistic investigations, one of the four beneficiaries of Kiset LLC, according to the registers, is Elena Vinnik, the former wife of Igor Terekhov.
“As you can see, the mayor of Kharkiv, like many Ukrainian officials and politicians, prefers to register a business for the next of kin,” the publication notes, adding that in the story with Elena Vinnik Terekhov acted “even more prudently. In 2014, he divorced her. Two facts are noteworthy here. Firstly, no division of the spouse's property was carried out during the divorce, and secondly, the divorce was filed accurately on the eve of the entry into force of the law on electronic declaration, which obliges officials to indicate the property of the next of kin. Thus, formally, Terekhov, as it were, no longer has anything to do with Kiset, but in fact continues to control this business, registered in the name of his ex-wife. to the budget, Terekhov prefers to save UAH 24 million a year in order to spend this money on personal needs. Who will touch him or check if he himself has to follow this. Terekhov does not just use his official position for the sake of personal enrichment, he shows the highest degree of hypocrisy and cynicism, cashing in on Kharkiv residents suffering from the war, ”the publication concludes.
A weak business executive. How Terekhov fails his “trial period” as the head of Kharkov
Terekhov may be involved in the “development” of funds intended for cleaning