Kings of the Ukrainian Forest

A young fellow was walking in the center of an evening London. As of his age, he was extremely successful. Significant achievements in sports, business in different countries, studying at the prestigious English London College of Business Management.

Crossing the River Thames, something made him stop. He wanted to take a photo - he liked the view of the Tower Bridge, filled with illumination. These two towers - which seemed to symbolize the family duo - father and son.

Yuriy Kopitko posted a photo on Facebook and went further down the center of London (reconstruction of the likely event - the author).

Meanwhile, in various corners of Ukraine, timber was cut ruthlessly, which later, in thousands of cars, went to Europe through companies registered in the UK. It seems the scheme's brain and the organizer was the fellow's father - Bogdan Kopytko.

Part Three. Advocate

Scheme. Shortly

In the previous sections, I described export operations.

Hidden in the offshore, the English and Estonian companies of Nazar Lysiy and Andriy Voronovskiy, according to the court order, bought the forest from state-owned enterprises at reduced prices. And they resold forest to Europe. According to the investigation, the difference was distributed among the participants of the scheme, went to bribe management of the forest industry and "laundered" through a dozen Ukrainian-controlled companies.

As stated in the court order, the sale and purchase were carried out according to the documents, instead the wagons with the wood went from the state enterprises directly to the European processing plants. And the scheme used by intermediary companies was used solely to accumulate the price difference.

* (In the future, the criminal proceedings were closed. How it happened - it will be described in the fourth part). *

Two executors took me to a close environment of perhaps the most powerful criminal authority of Ukraine - Bohdan Kopytko.

As evidenced by the facts gathered, it was during the export forest scheme that a bloody war broke out.

Initially, an attempt was made on the Kopyko - three bodyguards were killed. The police called the organizer - Dmitry Havrylyuk. He is known as the leader of the combat wing of the Vova Morda (Vladimir Didukh) brigade, the head of another powerful criminal structure.

Subsequently, special forces apprehended a group of men who were preparing to shoot at the Vova Morda from the DShK machine gun.

The Attorney General called this planned murder a revenge in response to B. Kopitko's failed attempt.

Sources at the Prosecutor General's Office have identified the "co-organizer" of the attempt - Andriy Soltis.

It is the next link that leads the export business of Voronovskiy and Lysiy companies to the organizational “shadow” of Bohdan Kopytko.

The Golden Nine

Back in April last year, the Volyn investigator Bozhko approached the direct performers in the scheme at a striking pace.

In a matter of days, he arrived on a search of Gofer Ukraine to further confirm the evidence of The State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine on money laundering.

The association of prosecutors headed by the investigator came directly to the place of A. Voronovsky's registration.

But the second Ukrainian company - through which Biofuel Trading and Bioenergy solutions laundered money - could not be found.

After the criminal proceedings were opened, Ukreurointegration was transferred to fictitious owners.

The "new" director has not been found in many more criminal proceedings for many years.

"Ukrevrointegratsiya" was re-registered into a panel high-rise building in Kiev - with out of hundreds of a partments. Only the house number is indicated. Look for the wind in the field!

The new owners of the company were Maxim Kovalchuk and Ruslan Ts.

They are among the "golden nine" whose documents are used to register the hundreds of fictitious companies behind which the true owners are hiding.

It is a gigantic empire of conversion centers, companies for illegal VAT refunds, lower taxes and duties, and money laundering.

These nine individuals are partners in numerous businesses - with various activities and in all corners of the country. Shared phones, addresses, and dozens of criminal cases in history. While law enforcement agencies are unbundling schemes by one company, they are registering new and new ones on the "golden nine".

After analyzing from fifty court documents, it becomes clear that this conversion empire was created by a group of related persons, because in one or another criminal proceedings there is a similar phrase - "reporting is filed from the same IP address". Different areas, other activities - the same founders, phones, a ddresses and IP.

(according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs)

On the other hand, it could be assumed that the Golden Nine is a closed club of hidden oligarchs.

But…

The newly-minted co-owner of “Ukreurointegration” - Ruslan Ts. - has been convicted at least four times. He steals people's phones from time to time. He was last tried for takeing up a game console, when he visit his son. He handed it to the pawnshop.

And all this is because Ruslan Ts is a drug addict.

And yet he - in one of the criminal proceedings, confessed that he formalized the firms. He has told so far only fourteen firms. Like, he went to the notaries and signed the documents.

His partner in "business" - Dmitry Rashevsky - already has a sentence. Judged in the case of Ferumgroup LLC. Through which money was laundered. So he confessed that he had no relation to the activity of the company, and provided his documents for its registration solely for monetary compensation.

Dmitry Hetman is elusive. In partnership with the current director and co-owner of Ukreurointegration Maxim Kovalchuk, they travel the country and become a couple of owners of new and new companies. And they do it so filigree - that the criminal police of all Ukraine, in no way can catch that Hetman, neither in notaries, nor in registration services.

For the second year as a "businessman" is wanted. He was engaged in thefts in the capital. Six victims. The police are looking for him - and he and Kovalchuk are starting new and new businesses. Probably a great experience - because he has 7.2 years of conviction for a robbery with penetration into a home.

Vladislav Filonenko - and this one is not real. The company "Enter-group", registrated on Filonenko, was bought by several young men, who through the non-existent online shops, sold the technique. 56 victims.

With all the desire, neither the tax authorities, the prosecutors, nor the judges will be able to interrogate Olga Vaschak and Alla Aridin. Unless will come to the occupied Stakhanova and Donetsk, where women are registered.

Of course, it could be assumed that UkrEurointegration, with money laundering, was banally sold to the owners of the "golden nine".

And it could even be explained that after the re-registration of the company, along with the name of director Kovalchuk, Lysiy continued to be listed as an accountant. For example, he completed his previous cases.

Only - Andrei Soltis circumvented. "Co-organizer" of the assault on the criminal authority "Vova Morda".

Because Kovalchuk "has" a firm - in a high-rise apartment in Zaporozhye. In the same premises - the aforementioned Alla Aridina is doing business with her company.

A number of its organizations are under investigation. In particular - Biramstel. It's about money laundering in meat and grain sales. Investigators found that the sale was on paper. And fictitious companies that are “litigated” in criminal proceedings are linked by one IP address.

The second person involved in the case is West Woodstock. With co-owner and director - Andriy Soltis.

(court order)

Laundering. Caveron

Of course, this man has a wide range of activities and companions. Which lead to the next, an English company through which exporters of Ukrainian forest Biofuel Trading and Bioenergy solutions laundered money. Caveron L.P.

Because at the time of the active removal of the forest, Soltis' business partner for West Woodstock had a partner for another company. And he was a director at Velts LLC. The co-founders are the Polish Expotrade and the Ukrainian Trentova LTD.

At the same time, Andrei Soltis showed great business knowledge and his other company, Forest Sunrise, traded grain. Which is not completely understood, because investigators say that some sales were made on paper. And besides this Forest Sunrise, in one case, investigators are exposing Expotrade. Where the co-founder was the Polish Expotrade.

The most interesting thing is that the director of Trentov LTD (and today the co-owner) was Pavel Nesterko. Who, by a strange coincidence, was also recorded by the beneficiary of the Polish Expotrade.

For this reason, for Andriy Soltis, businessman Pavlo Nesterko should be no stranger.

But the last businessman is an extremely interesting man. On the one hand, his partners are well-known Lviv attorneys, who have a large number of real multifaceted companies that own a large number of office premises.

On the other hand - somehow it turns out that these premises are systematically housed by new and new organizations involved in money conversion and other criminal schemes. Militiamen conduct searches. Some tenants disappear, liquidate, others appear.

What I want to say? An interesting story happened with Paul Nesterko.

Valery K. was "recorded" by the owner and director of one company - Intensive.

It is during the active export of the forest by our Lviv comrades.

And Valery K. was a very “successful” businessman in five companies. He probably did not "pull" everyone, as he sold "Intensive" "Trentov LTD" with director P. Nesterko.

Meanwhile, as it looks from the processed court rulings, Valery K. companies imported goods in Ukraine from abroad. All that the soul desires. Only here is the company where they bought all goods, in many cases, the same - Caveron.

The same company which the exporters of Ukrainian forest Biofuel Trading and Bioenergy Solutions used for launder money.

And yet - there was smuggling. The Security Service of Ukraine employees came to Valery K. on a search and asked to explain how it happened that they found plasma TVs in a truck with clothes.

Valery K. sent them with this question to Caveron - they say, he knows nothing.

But more and more cases were opened because for some reason the tax authorities found that the documents that came with various products from Caveron had significantly lower prices. Accordingly, it allows Valery K. firms not to pay taxes and duties.

And the companies of Valery K. are in the business of conversion centers and so on.

But when, five months ago, the trial of a court in which the man was indicted began, it turned out that the "businessman" who brought goods to Ukraine for about 30 million in only two months - in principle, to engage in such activities can not.

For a long time Valery K. - suffers from disorders of the psyche and behavior, alcoholism. He is registered.

The candidate in the judge

However, through businessman Pavlo Nesterko (an acquaintance of Andriy Soltis), it is possible to trace not only the English company Caveron - which laundered money in the timber export scheme.

After all, Pavel Nesterko has a business partner - lawyer Alexander Kondra.

Kondra teaches at the Law Faculty of Lviv University. I. Franko.

(Alexander Kondra. photo - social networks)

He applied as a candidate for the position of judge. But there are a few things a teacher will probably not be able to explain to his students. To justify the fact that he is now the owner of the company "Intensive", where Valeriy K. previously reported - it is possible - he will say that bought it.

But the other puzzle is extremely difficult.

After all, two companies of Valery K. appear in one criminal proceeding together with JSC “Kondra and partners”, in which the teacher has 33.3%. In total, there are 72 companies under investigation. This is a conversion and tax refund for exporting businesses. Proceeding is so important - the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine directly investigates it.

By the way, he certainly does not talk about the cases in which Kondra is a lawyer. Customers aren't the ones.

For example, Kondra defended Dmitry Stepanov. Pimp. Which has already been tried for organizing a network of house of fornication in Kharkiv. And then in Lviv he set it up. He also received a sentence. Similarly - conditional.

Such is the business and affairs of a teacher, a candidate for the judge, millionaire businessman Kondra.

And the man should be familiar with the immediate surroundings of the criminal authority of Bogdan Kopytko.

Denkovich's list

In 2010, after Yanukovych's regime came to power in Ukraine and self-discrediting over the past years of the leadership of ex-President Yushchenko's political force, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko had high ratings in Western Ukraine.

One of the key areas was Lviv. In October local elections were approaching.

There was a scandal in Batkivshchyna - a political heavyweight, MP of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ivan Denkovich, head of the regional party organization of Lviv region, and one of Tymoshenko's closest associates - began to build his game.

Therefore, the party political council expelled Denkovich from the Batkivshchyna. The deputy in the courts made the decision illegal.

And before the elections - he formed and submitted to the election commission a list of candidates for deputies of the Lviv Regional Council. Which was christened - "Denkovich List". After all, the list of candidates was not agreed with the leadership of the political party.

The Batkivshchyna once again held a conference. It expelled Denkovich. Has withdrawn from the election commission the nominations of people from that list.

The courts continued again. As a result, Batkivshchyna failed to participate in the elections to the Lviv Regional Council.

According to rumors, Denkovich split to hold some of the pro-government candidates from the party. After all, in Batkivshchyna he was associated with a pro-government coalition in the Verkhovna Rada, led by the Party of Regions.

I have another version that for some reason was not officially announced - although it was lying on the surface.

8 people. This is 25% of the Denkovich List.

They can be described in three words - “Bogdan Kopitko's team”. When you get to the Lviv Regional Council - it could be a whole faction of deputies.

And the whole situation with the registration of the Denkovich List was advantageous for Kopytko.

… Alexander Kondra is Denkovich's son-in-law. In the midst of the scandal, he - as a lawyer - represented in the courts against the election commission, the interests of the people on the odious list of Denkovich ...

In the next part, how magically Ukrainian wood, when crossing the border with Europe - turn into a forbidden forest. About the "war" between customs officers and prosecutors - and what the walnuts and the forest have in common. And of course - how to "bury" criminal proceedings against influential high-ranking officials.

About all this - in part four. Soon - the Attorney General.

* Letters requesting comments were sent to persons involved. At the time of publication, no response was provided. If, however, the questions are answered, they will be published in the following sections *

Taras Zozulinskyy, 29.08.2019

This material was supported by the "OPEN Media Hub", and funded by the European Union

The investigation used a "YouControl" analytical system

The first part of the investigation - "Offshore Estonia and criminal Albion"

The second part of the investigation - "Criminal authority"