Ukraine, which is resisting Russian aggression, and the modern world, burdened by war, chew on informational pretexts without monitoring their consequences. High-profile detentions, unexpected or long-awaited arrests of corrupt officials create an information wave that lasts no longer than three days.
Therefore, let's refresh our memory a bit on the high-profile case of Kaufman and Granovsky. People who opened the doors to any offices with their feet, including Bankova's, held the entire business and budget of the million-strong Odessa in their fists, received colossal money and had a business of such size that Kolomoisky himself encroached on it?
The all-Ukrainian publication dealt with vicissitudes in the Odessa political community "Mirror of the Week".
To understand what is currently happening with the investigation, we talked to sources familiar with the case, studied official statements of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) and asked the lawyers of the accused.
new history on old yeast
Persistent and hardworking people are told: "When one door closes, be sure to knock on another." But if you live in Odesa, all the doors nearby are closed and there is only "one window" that accepts and issues permits. We need to build an object - please, but for a share in the project. Agree on the repair of the road for the contractor for a kickback - here you go. And all this to the detriment of the local budget and with the participation of city hall employees. At least this is what the investigation tells Odesa businessmen Boris Kaufman and Oleksandr Granovskyi (who changed his surname and first name and is now called Alex Borukhovich), as well as three more deputies of Odesa mayor Gennady Trukhanov — Mykhailo Kuchuk, Oleg Bryndak and Svitlana Bedreza — about this.
However, before diving into the murky waters of Odessa corruption, let's clarify what is there two tackle, which destroyed the usual pattern of commercial life in Odessa. The first is the case of Galanternyk, the second is Kaufman/Granovsky.
Actually в Odessa dozens of years was your shady host, which put mayors appointed security forces і knew як solve any food з by the authorities This is Alexander Angert, a businessman and criminal authority. Before the destruction of the Odesa way of life by NABU detectives, everything was fine in Angert. His two wings - one intelligent (Voladymyr Galanternyk, who was responsible for the schemes), and the other - powerful (Hennadiy Trukhanov, who controlled the "bulls" and was later promoted to mayor) ruled Odessa on his behalf. And they worked very efficiently and fruitfully, until the intervention of NABU and the impossibility of dividing the vidzhate into cities led to a conflict. The bees simply quarreled among themselves over honey. And the wings drooped.
Then, two years ago, NABU and SAP announced that they had exposed a criminal group in Odesa. It included 16 people who were charged with suspicion, including the city's mayor, Gennadiy Trukhanov, and his old friend and business partner, Volodymyr Galanternyk. The essence of the case, say the anti-corruption authorities, was that the members of the group created a scheme thanks to which they were allegedly able to take over funds from the Odesa budget and land plots for development. In general, the examination carried out by the investigation revealed losses in the amount of UAH 689 million.
The scheme was active during 2016–2019. Both Odesa City Council officials and local law enforcement officers were involved in it. Oleg Zhuchenko, the ex-prosecutor of the Odesa region, was also charged with abuse of office in the allocation of land for the prosecutor's office at two addresses in the city. There is no verdict in this case yet, it is being considered by the High Anti-Corruption Court (HCC). Some suspects, such as Volodymyr Galanternyk, have left the country and are hiding in London.
In the country, the president, parliament, two governments changed, local elections were held, Russia unleashed a full-scale war against Ukraine, but nothing changed in Odessa - NABU and SAP exposed there new criminal organization. And according to ZN.UA sources familiar with the case of Kaufman and Granovsky, it was when Galanternyk left Ukraine that business partners Kaufman and Granovsky came into play. But according to their own rules.
Theirs groups, as noted investigation, formed pattern for illegal buildings cities A new story with an old scheme, and most importantly, with some old faces, some of whom are deputy mayor Gennady Trukhanov. Trukhanov himself is currently not involved in this case. However, is it possible that the mayor of Odesa did not know about the scheme exposed by the detectives and the prosecutor's office, which confused the whole of Odesa? But we will find the answer to this question a little later.
Detention of persons involved in the case of the second "criminal organization" in Odesa
Hto such Kaufman і Granovsky
Boris Kaufman is an Odesa businessman, multimillionaire, owner of the Tedis Ukraine LLC tobacco company. Kaufman's company has a long history with the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU). In 2016, the AMCU fined "Tedis" UAH 431 million for abusing its monopoly position on the cigarette market. "Tedis" paid the fine, but, as AMCU notes, not in full, and received a new one - in the amount of UAH 274 million.
However, there was a history of a billion, or more precisely, 3,4 billion UAH in the relations between "Tedis Ukraine" and AMCU, for which the Antimonopoly Committee fined the tobacco company in the fall of 2019. The decision was overturned by the Supreme Court. But this process was initiated by the entourage of oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, who wanted to enter the attractive tobacco market. Boris Kaufman was then helped by President Volodymyr Zelenskyi through the former head of the Security Service of Ukraine Ivan Bakanov, who commissioned solve the problem On what conditions? Here we will only remind that "Tedis" had 90% distribution, a lot of cash, which could be very useful in the parliamentary program of "supporting" 20–30–50 deputies. Did he come in handy? Questions for the investigation.
Oleksandr Granovskyi is Kaufman's business partner and co-defendant in the case investigated by NABU in Odesa. But not the one who resolved issues in the courts for Bankova Petro Poroshenko. In addition, by the way, there is an appeal to VACS regarding the scheme with mineral fertilizers at the Odesa port plant. He is now either in Cyprus, as his lawyers say, or in Vienna, where he dines with the former head of the National Bank, Kyril Shevchenko (who is also suspected of corruption). Our Oleksandr Granovsky, aka Alex Borukhovich, is a co-founder of an alcohol business in Odesa, and also had a stake in Vertex Hotel Group.
"After assuming the role of "watchers", Kaufman and Granovsky had questions about ensuring business in Odesa with the guarantees that Galanternyk provided in the role of "watcher", but which Kaufman and Granovsky did not intend to comply with. Each such issue was resolved by these persons separately and individually. They actually took over the functions of maintaining political life in Odessa, because Galanternyk "in exile" was losing influence. Kaufman and Granovsky began to manage the city and part of the officials in the city council," says the source.
New beneficiaries of the city council
NABU says that Boris Kaufman and Oleksandr Granovsky created a criminal organization in Odessa to control the Odessa City Council and take money from local developers if they need to solve the issue of building new facilities in the city. Business partners allegedly created own secret office on avenues Shevchenko в Odessa, where, according to the investigation, very different people were invited. In particular, the deputy mayor of Odesa, Gennady Trukhanov.
Mykhailo Kuchuk (second from the right) and Gennady Trukhanov inspect the beaches of Odesa
One із them — Mihailo Kuchuk The long-term sphere of his influence in the city council is the department of urban construction and architecture, as well as the department of land resources. The investigation says that he controlled the activities of the subordinate offices of the main managers of funds and provided their managers with instructions to suspend the payment for the repair of roads in the city. It can be seen from the investigation materials that in March 2022, Kaufman and Granovsky agreed to pay Kuchuk UAH 300 every month. And already during the court session, SAP stated that the first deputy received UAH 900 from businessmen.
Acquainted з materials investigations source ZN.UA say, what Mihailo Kuchuk was that a person which byknitted Kaufman and Granovsky із developers. The scheme looked like this: whoever wanted to start construction in Odessa understood that it was impossible to get land in the city honestly and it was necessary to negotiate. Therefore, entrepreneurs came to the office of Kaufman and Granovsky with technical documents for the object, those independently reviewed construction plans, deducted 10% for themselves and gave permission. Kuchuk was allegedly present at one of these meetings in order to exert pressure in order to demonstrate the influence of Kaufman-Granovsky, personifying the local authorities.
Ihor Fomin, the lawyer of the suspect in the case of Boris Kaufman, claims that the report on the suspicion of his client is imprecise and unfounded, based on the assumptions of detectives, which is inadmissible from the point of view of the criminal process. He says that the version about the secret office and 10% from developers mentioned by the investigation is not true. "Let the prosecution representatives name you at least one such developer. Even theoretically during the war, this is nonsense. The construction and real estate market is generally stagnant," the lawyer adds.
We heard from a lawyer, however, according to Dzerkal Tyzhnya, with every developer who actively worked in Odesa before the war, Kaufman and Granovsky, after studying the project, signed a "memorandum" that provided for the entry of the desired company into the project and fixed the same 10%.
Ba more, copy Each from "memorandums" was як у Granovsky, so і в developers And when the searches took place, which is a rare case! - no one warned, they were so effective that in addition to tons of papers, documents and money, including stashes in garages, copies of signed "memorandums" were also taken away. Therefore, it turned out to be very easy to go after the developers, whose hands were broken by the owners of Odesa, according to the investigation. And developers are not idiots, they understand: if copies of memoranda were seized during searches, then denying it is simply pointless. And people confirmed the extortion. So the lawyer is not quite right that the investigation has nothing in this aspect of the case.
Another deputy of Trukhanov, who appears in the case, is Oleg Bryndak. Unlike Kuchuk, he did not resign after the announcement of his suspicions and continues to work in the Odesa City Council. According to the investigation materials, from November 2021 to August 2022, Bryndak received UAH 2 from Kaufman and Granovsky. The businessmen allegedly paid him this money so that he would facilitate the decision of the executive committee of the city council to be passed in their favor.
Deputy Mayor Oleg Bryndak
Lawyer and deputy executive director of the Anti-Corruption Center (CPC) Olena Shcherban considers Bryndak to be one of the main supporting actors in the case: "He was definitely a person who supported this story with his hands, and therefore he can anger many people and tell a lot. But in such matters there are always bargains." In fact, according to the investigation, Oleg Bryndak received monthly from 15 thousand dollars. for services
However, the defense of suspect Kaufman refutes this version of the investigation: "This accusation is groundless and does not correspond to reality." Also, lawyer Ihor Fomin denies the NABU's version about Trukhanov's third deputy Svetlana Bedrega, whose name appeared alongside influential Odessa businessmen.
Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov and his deputy Svitlana Bedrega
She is part-time director of the finance department of the Odesa City Council and, according to the case file, she allegedly received UAH 300 from Kaufman and Granovsky. Sources familiar with the investigation materials say that Svitlana Bedrega allegedly informed businessmen on Shevchenko Avenue about the city's budget, which was used for capital expenditures related to the repair of various social infrastructure facilities or works in the housing and communal services sector. That is, Kaufman and Granovsky knew about the contractors who planned to perform work in Odessa and with whom the city council concluded contracts, and took their "share of happiness" from these contracts. Otherwise, the financing of the works did not begin.
But lawyer Ihor Fomin rejects the following assumptions: "I am confident that NABU detectives and SAP prosecutors will objectively assess the collected evidence, will themselves come to the conclusion that Boris Kaufman is not guilty, and will close the criminal proceedings."
However, NABU has recordings of listening. Ironically, according to the sources, listening devices were installed in the office-bunker on Shevchenko Avenue in Odesa by individual employees of the private security firm Zeus, co-founded by Boris Kaufman's brother.
Seven months recorded everything, what was discussed в office, where the hosts and visitors felt completely open and protected in terms of information, although it was not so. As we have already said, money was taken even from garages during the searches, and the businessmen were, to put it mildly, shocked.
According information наших sources, as a result of searches was removed close 400 thousand USD cash The security firm itself, which was not aware of the actions of its individual employees, distanced itself from this whole story only after the arrest of Kaufman and Granovsky. But the matter was done.
Will Trukhanov be informed of the suspicion?
The specialized anti-corruption prosecutor's office refuses to comment on any questions about whether the mayor of Odesa will be charged with a new suspicion in connection with the newly created "criminal organization" of Kaufman-Granovsky. ZN.UA sources explain this by the fact that the investigation has enough records of conversations in the secret office of Boris Kaufman and Oleksandr Granovsky, but all these records must be confirmed by documents and other facts.
"During the wiretapping, NABU (openly) does not collect evidence and does not make inquiries, because that way they would betray themselves. In the case of Kaufman-Granovsky, suspicions were reported for several episodes, but now it is necessary to collect all the documents and supplement the suspicions. We need to work further. And deadlines are running out. In order for this case to be well confirmed in court, it still needs to be documented. And this is where other factors come into play. The suspects are influential people," the source clarifies.
Lawyer Olena Shcherban from the Communist Party of Ukraine believes that Gennadiy Trukhanov knew and understood exactly what was happening under his nose and to which office on Shevchenko Avenue in Odesa his deputies go. She believes that the mayor became more careful in such matters and did not enter into direct contact and communication with the persons involved, but he was definitely "on the topic and in the fate". "No one doubts this. The investigation simply cannot say about it. It is possible that if the investigation continues, someone may turn Trukhanov in," says Shcherban.
According our according to information, Trukhanov's "caution" goes back even further в the times Angerta. Trukhanov always had his own tasks, including placing Angert's and Galanternyk's people in the right positions. Plus security forces. Neither Angert with Galanternyk of their time, nor Kaufman with Granovsky actively communicated with Trukhanov. The mayor, having played the role of the wedding general, having arranged the necessary people, went to deal with mayoral affairs. And so it was convenient not only politically (Trukhanov had to be re-elected and guarantee the continuation of projects), but also economically (pawns placed in the right places are always sold cheaper).
Prospects of the case and some conclusions
Odesa is now a draw. It is not controlled by either the old or the new. Mayor Trukhanov, playing the role of a patriot, is waiting for suspicion. Kaufman and Granovsky multiplied by zero. Sources in NABU confidently say that both will sit down for a long time. In Odesa, as before, there is no prosecutor. And the Kyiv ex-prosecutor — currently the head of the Odesa regional VA Oleg Kiper — without letting go of one hand from Kyiv itself, is trying to help the curators from the OPU to gain a foothold in the fertile Odesa land with the other. How to free this city from taxes of all levels of government is a question.
Kaufman is a person who can tell a lot of interesting things about cooperation with the office of the president, from which he did not get out before the war. But is NABU interested in what business the businessman had at Bankova? And will the Kaufman-Granovskyi case, like the Tymoshenko/Holyk story, in which there are still no suspicions, be able to bring it to the top? Let's see, this is a question for the investigation.
After all, over the past two years, when competitions were held for new heads of the SAP and NABU, detectives and prosecutors of both anti-corruption bodies confirmed a simple rule: if they are not disturbed, the work will progress (now - not about signing suspicions to "big fish"). The scrupulous work of detectives in a criminal trial lays the foundation for a judicial investigation. And, as we can see from the investigation materials, the suspects become resourceful and cautious, pay attention to possible eavesdropping and use mufflers or special curtains in the office.
When this material was being prepared, NABU detained the head of the Ternopil Regional Council Mykhailo Golovko and two deputies of the Ternopil Regional State Administration. The investigation says that they allegedly demanded almost UAH 1,8 million from the director of the enterprise for signing the acts of construction and repair of infrastructure facilities by the communal enterprise of the Ternopil Regional Council. The speed is impressive, as is the arrogance and cynicism in open SAP cases, the geography of which is not concentrated in one area. The areas are different, but the schemes are similar. What, in fact, was previously confirmed by interview with ZN.UA chief detective of NABU Andriy Kaluzhynskyi.
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Higher Anti-Corruption Court
But the institutional power of NABU and SAP is not enough for the whole country. The signals sent to all branches of government by two thousand workers of the anti-corruption bloc must be supported by clear actions of the law enforcement system, which employs almost 150 thousand (!) law enforcement officers and more than 20 thousand (!) prosecutors. Such actions on their part almost never happen.
And if in recent years the public's attention was focused on the SAP and NABU, as well as on the judicial reform, which was painfully pushed in the back by the ex-head of the Supreme Court Knyazev, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor's Office — the field is unplowed. For all the contribution of the law enforcement system in confronting the aggressor, no one canceled the direct duties of policemen, investigators and prosecutors in every city of the country during the war. Without a change in the quality of the entire law enforcement system, Odesa is unlikely to light the Bickford cord of cleaning up local corruption.
This, of course, is well understood by the government, which is completely indifferent to what is happening. It is always more convenient to hold the leash of an unreformed law enforcement unit, pulling it only when necessary to rein in a recalcitrant mayor, than to sow the seeds of anti-corruption throughout the law enforcement system.
But that's not all. What happens to the cases that do get to the VAKS? Criminal proceedings against several defendants are stuck in the courtroom. Are the judges guilty of this? Not always, because the Criminal Code is on the side of the accused, and if there are more than ten of them in the case and each of them has two lawyers who do not appear in court in turn, the process will drag on for years.
Bankova knows about this as well, but she also does not react in any way. In this way, the curators of the judicial and law enforcement bloc, Smirnov and Tatarov, neutralize the influence of the anti-corruption bloc on the situation in the country at the legislative level. The discussion on amendments to the legislation continues at all levels for more than a year. Everyone knows everything and understands everything. However, draft law No. 5661 on amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of the head of the legal committee of People's Deputy Maslov was firmly stuck by his party colleague, the head of the law enforcement committee Ionushas. Therefore, Ukrainian corrupt officials of all stripes, although under arrest, do not lose faith in the power of money.
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