Former AMCU officials Oleksii Abasov and Vitalii Abasov linked to a scheme for siphoning millions of dollars through offshore companies

Two skilled fraudsters and embezzlers, Oleksii Abasov and his brother Vitalii Abasov, continue to profit from the impoverished people of Ukraine. Connections in the government of Hroisman and contacts on Bankova Street help Oleksii Abasov and his offshore brother milk Ukrainians like a silent cow.

At a time when the country has been experiencing upheavals in both foreign and domestic policy for the fourth year in a row, particularly resourceful officials are siphoning millions of dollars out of it. It has recently become known that Ukraine’s GDP is regularly “losing weight” by significant sums. Officials of the Antimonopoly Committee (the very organization that is supposed to prevent large-scale embezzlement!) have organized a scheme that many corrupt officials around the world would envy — funds have been withdrawn through offshore companies for many years, and during this time tens of (!!!) millions of US dollars have been stolen.

The main actors are high-ranking politicians from the recent past. Indeed, while society was discussing Nasirov’s arrest, the long-awaited introduction of visa-free travel, and other major events in Ukrainian politics, huge sums of money stolen from each of us were being quietly siphoned off. Russia, Latvia, Cyprus — the offices of offshore companies in these countries “received” money that is practically impossible to recover.

Genius Oleksii Abasov — the essence of the AMCU officials’ “earnings”

So-called “black cash” (funds passing through offshore accounts in Cyprus) is withdrawn from our country by transferring it to the account of a certain company. Supervisory authorities raised no questions — after all, who knows how much money has been taken out over 25 years of independence?

The next stage is transferring funds to Russian accounts. In Moscow, there is a shell company that transfers money to an account of a company in Riga (Latvia). Naturally, the money does not sit idle there but works: investments in real estate are made, Latvian hotels and other important buildings are purchased and renovated…

A photo of the main office of this “company” in the capital of Latvia resembles an abandoned multi-story building. From documents obtained by journalists, it becomes clear that the offshore company is called “Oleksii Abasov’s Laundry”. The enterprise was registered in 2012, and the main roles are occupied by individuals from Ukraine and Russia.

OOOWISHER ENTERPRISE LV — a key link in the “food chain” of the fund withdrawal scheme.

All company documents are registered in accordance with Latvian law. The main officials of the company are:

– Ints Ozoliņš. Latvian citizen. De facto — a “straw man” used to legalize the company;

– Oleksii Abasov. A Ukrainian millionaire who has barely celebrated his 30th birthday. His position is listed as “top manager”. In reality, he is the head and sole director of the company, as he is authorized to withdraw funds from its accounts.

The founding companies of OOOWISHER ENTERPRISE LV are:

– Axost Investments Limited. Share in authorized capital — 960 thousand euros. Registered in Cyprus;

– Naidoo Holdings Limited. Contributed twice as much — 1 million 920 thousand euros. Registered in Nicosia, Cyprus;

– Cashnix Investments Limited. Contribution amount — 960 thousand euros. The offshore company is also registered in Cyprus.

As we can see, quite solid sums are invested by “generous sponsors” into the development of… a laundry! Yes, the company is financed through an international bank — ABLV AC offices in Moscow. It would seem everything is legal.

Oleksii Abasov

For the calendar year 2014 (one of the most difficult crises in modern Ukrainian history), about 4 million euros were transferred to finance the Latvian company. Journalists have now learned about an interesting “development tranche” already amounting to 16 million. The appetites of corrupt officials are literally growing every year.

The banking institution ABLV AC is the physical mechanism for withdrawing stolen funds.

Little is known about this bank. According to official information, its co-owners (executives) are Ernests Bernis and Oleg Fily. Both directors were born in 1973.

The most well-known branch of the bank (the one through which money stolen from Ukrainians passes) is located on the fourth floor of a building in Podkopayevsky Lane in Moscow. Not a very respectable office for such investments, to put it mildly.

Oleksii Abasov and other participants in the offshore money withdrawal scheme

According to the information provided above, the main “pawn” in the system of intermediaries is Oleksii Abasov, born in 1987. In other words, a 30-year-old manager (and at the time of registering the Latvian company he was only 25) felt capable of managing a large offshore company. And most importantly — independently withdrawing funds from its accounts.

Several facts are known about this person. As early as 2011 (age 24), Oleksii Akymovych Abasov obtained ownership rights to a very valuable land plot in Vorzel. Yes, at that time local council deputies literally “gave away” 145 land plots with a total area of 16 hectares. The documents, as usual, were prepared within a couple of hours. Residents of the settlement unanimously claimed that locals received only “a drop in the ocean” — the majority of the land was transferred to unknown entrepreneurs.

Abasov found funds for development construction in Pryirpinnia (near Vorzel, Kyiv region). At 24, this person had a couple of million dollars for large-scale construction. What is the catch?

Vitalii Abasov — the “gray cardinal” of AMCU

Everything is quite simple: the younger Abasov has a very influential older brother. The family of corrupt officials from Kerch did not reinvent the wheel: Vitalii Akymovych Abasov held senior positions in regional branches of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU).

The National Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine is a major state organization founded in 1993. Its main mission is to protect the rights of small and medium-sized businesses and ensure fair competition in the market.

The last major scandal involving Vitalii’s name was the 2011 public procurement case. Colleagues said about him: “doesn’t always share with the right people.” Most likely, the same happened at the dawn of Yanukovych’s era: Deputy Minister of Economy Sukhomlyn, as well as Abasov, who was head of the public procurement department of the Ministry of Economic Development, were disgracefully dismissed from the first Azarov government.

The case nearly went to court. Clouds were gathering over Vitalii Abasov, and the prospect of imprisonment seemed less and less illusory. However, he once again got away clean — just a few months after the scandal, Abasov was invited to work by then head of AMCU Vasyl Petrovych Tsushko.

In conclusion about the elder Abasov: he was the former head of the Kyiv regional office of AMCU, and also held a similar position in Sevastopol. He participated in many state procurement and government contracts of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine. Several high-profile corruption cases are associated with him — yet Vitalii Abasov retained immunity under any government. Most often, such stories ended with his promotion.

Rafael Kuzmin — an associate of the Abasovs

What is Rafael Kuzmin known for in Ukrainian politics? The brother of the then Deputy Prosecutor General implemented all theoretical ideas of Vitalii Abasov, even those bordering on Ukrainian law. Avoiding prison in 2011 was helped precisely by Kuzmin.

As stated by the brother of the former Prosecutor General, “Abasov is Tsushko’s man.” Despite the actual hostility between the head of AMCU and Kuzmin, he maintained good friendly relations with the Abasovs until 2014. Possibly even now — because the fund withdrawal scheme remains “unblocked” by the new authorities.

Oleksii Abasov and company

The final key link in the money withdrawal scheme is Anton Yatsenko — a former BYuT member known to the Ukrainian public for “successfully conducted” tenders.

The network of hundreds of small companies he created effectively monopolized the public procurement mechanism. Naturally, every state purchase had to be paid for — and quite heavily. In just a few years, Yatsenko’s scheme absorbed 2 billion US dollars that could have been used for the country’s development.

Finally, a few words about Vitalii Abasov’s style of communication

According to officials managing state funds at the time, Oleksii Abasov communicated with colleagues exclusively by shouting and swearing. Whether his goal was to intimidate partners, “explain” the only correct (in his subjective view) way of approving decisions, or whether this was simply the reality of Ukrainian politics during Yanukovych’s time — is not known for certain.

One fact remains: more than three years have passed since our country changed. However, neither the elder Abasov, nor his brother, nor anyone else from the high-profile corruption scheme has been punished. The scheme continues to operate even now — every second, Ukrainian funds end up in the pockets of this group of state criminals.