Original article in Ukrainian by Serhiy Leshchenko, UP
Translated by Anna Platonenko
The very fact that Yulia Tymoshenko has appointed heads of Nagtogaz, State Tax Administration of Ukraine and the State Custom Service of Ukraine speaks volumes for itself.
It is all quite clear: Mrs. Tymoshenko is forming a pool of powerful businessmen, who sooner or later will stake on her and lead her to the presidency.
These three heavyweights will bear responsibility for the key Ukrainian financial streams, which will fill the budget with a view to implement Yulia Tymoshenko’s election promises.
New Nafttogaz head Oleh Dubyna stems from the Industrial Union of Donbass (IUD). Before his advent to Naftogaz, Mr. Dubyna used to work for the Dzerzhynsky Dnipro Metal Complex, which belongs to the IUD.
The head of the State Custom Service of Ukraine Valery Horoshkovsky is the shareholder of Inter TV channel and an old partner of Russian businessman Aleksandr Abramov.
Head of the State Tax Administration Serhiy Buryak represents his own business group, which, apart from a younger brother, also includes an owner of Zaporizhia Automobile Building Plant Tariel Vasadze.
Oleh Dubyna
Mr. Dubyna became Yulia Tymoshenko’s successor in 2001, right after she had been forced to resign from her post as a Vice Prime Minister in Viktor Yushchenko’s government.
The newcomer was personally introduced into big Ukrainian politics by Leonid Kuchma, who was impressed with Mr. Dubyna’s results achieved at KGMK (Mining and Metallurgy Kombinat) Kryvorizhstal JSC: back in that time the enterprise produced its first major revenue. Mr. Kuchma once stated in his interview with “Vyluchne Telebachennya” (“Street Television”) that he would place Mr. Dubyna “under his personal protection” and referred to him as an example to others.
In the mid 90’s Mr. Dubyna used to work at the Dzerzhysnky metallurgical complex. This is where he first became acquainted with Viktor Pinchuk and could not come to an understanding with Ihor Kolomoysky and his partner Vadym Shulman. And there, at the complex, according to some sources, Mr. Dubyna was once attacked with a knife, but was lucky not to receive any serious injuries.
The President’s future son-in-law took Mr. Dubyna to Alchevsk metallurgical complex, where the situation was indeed grave. Mr. Dubyna was literally accompanied by armed security personnel.
He was later transferred to the management of Kryvorizhstal JSC, the leader of Ukrainian metallurgy, and managed to succeed in overcoming the crisis owing to, as they say, a “strict financial discipline”. As a matter of fact, Kryvorizhstal JSC simply avoided paying off many creditors’ debts.
Mr. Dubyna enjoyed the support of Leonid Kuchma and from time to time, still being a director of the metallurgical complex, was called to breakfast with him. Perhaps, back then the ex-President saw his younger self 20 years ago in the red-haired manager.
In 2000 there was an incident with the participation of Mr. Dubyna and Slovyansky bank, which later fell first victim of the abolishment of the future coalition financial backing.
Slovyansky bank had been financing Kryvorizhstal JSC long before Mr. Dubyna’s appearance, and the bank had managed to return the loans before the new director was appointed. Having settled at the enterprise, Mr. Dubyna demanded that all the agreements be cancelled. On being refused, he gave a warning: “Then I will let the Father know”.
Yes, “Father” must have probably thought for the first time that Ukraine did not need such a bank as Slovyansky.
In winter 2001 Mr. Kuchma visited Kryvorizhstal JSC, where Oleh Dubyna managed to strengthen the ex-President’s confidence in the efficiency of the enterprise management. Mr. Kuchma, who was already involved in Gongadze case back in that time, was also to face a public demonstration, initiated by the enterprise workers.
Being deeply moved by such an order at the enterprise, Mr. Kuchma stated that he personally removed Kryvorizhstal JSC from the privatization list. A couple of years later Leonid Danylovych understood that Kryvorizhstal JSC was destined to collapse and eventually fall into oblivion without the financial backing of such investors as Viktor Pinchuk and Rinat Akhmetov.
When Mr. Dubyna was appointed Vice Prime Minister, Viktor Yushchenko confessed that after the personal meeting with the new deputy, he took quite a ‘shine’ to him. After Viktor Yushchenko’s resignation Mr. Dubyna was promoted to the first Vice Prime Minister in Anatoliy Kinakh’s government.
By a twist of fate, that very time Mr. Dubyna had an assistant Ihor Voronin, the present head of UkrGazEnergo Company, the subsidiary of RosUkrEnergo at the Ukrainian market.
And, by another twist of fate, it was Mr. Dubyna, who took measures in order to transfer Yuriy Boyko, the future godfather of all the further gas schemes in Ukraine, to the position of Naftogaz’s head.
Today Mr. Dubyna is at the head of Naftogaz with a mission to prevent the implementation of this company destruction scenario.
In the middle 2007, Mr. Dubyna, being head of the Dzerzhysnky metallurgical complex, was indignant over the actions of UkrGazEnergo, which consisted in increasing the gas prices without prior notification and “being practically backdated”.
The current appointment of Oleh Dubyna to Naftogaz was not supposed to meet with the resistance of Mr. Yushchenko, who is on very intimate terms with Serhiy Taruta, another shareholder of the Industrial Union of Donbass. The latter, together with Mr. Dubyna, welcomed President Yushchenko during his official visit to the Alchevsky metallurgical complex one month ago.
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| President Yushchenko met with Oleh Dubyna at the IUD (Industrial Union of Donbass) works. Photo by the President’s press-service. |
In the meantime, both Yulia Tymoshenko and Vitaliy Haiduk, who lobbied his present position of Naftogas head, do not conceal Mr. Dubyna’s role in the modern history of Ukraine: being a ‘cudgel’ (Ukrainian ‘dubyna’) for RosUkrEnergo.
Serhiy Buryak
A once popular thesis that if the rich are admitted to the authorities, they will never steal has been completely refuted right after Leonid Chernovetskyi became the mayor of Kyiv.
But this is how the only explanation to Mrs. Tymoshenko’s decision sounds: in compliance with this decision the legal millionaires Serhiy Buryak and Valeriy Khoroshkovsky have been appointed to the management of the State Tax Administration of Ukraine and the State Custom Service of Ukraine.
Though, apart from this one, there is yet another factor: it was of great importance to Mrs. Tymoshenko to show that people, who had voted for her, now have a return in the form of certain appointments to the ‘golden’ offices in the government.
So, Serhiy Buryak is the son of the last State Bank of the Ukrainian SSR head Vasyl Buryak, who is deeply respected in financial circles and considered to be a figure of Vadym Hetman’s level.
And again, by a twist of fate, it was Buryak’s father, who, as a principal banker of the Ukrainian SSR, signed protocols, in compliance with which it is now impossible to file claims to Russia on the devalued deposits to the Oshchadbank (Savings Bank) of the USSR.
Serhiy and his younger brother Oleksandr, in accordance with the BrokBusinessBank last year’s report, are the chief shareholders of the afore-mentioned financial establishment.
The elder brother possesses 44.7% of the statutory capital, whereas the younger possesses 43.3%. They both are the richest deputies according to the declared income scale. Serhiy declared UAH 521 million, Oleksandr – UAH 525 million.
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| Buryak brothers are allowed to break corporate dress code. Photo by Oleksandr Prokopenko |
In his 25 years the elder Buryak used to run BrokBusinessBank, which has a very simple explanation: this financial establishment was founded in place of Orendcoopbank in 1991, to which the father of the young bankers put his hand.
Today the Buryak bank is developing strategic partnership with the Ukravto Corporation, owned by Tariel Vasadze. According to some sources, the bank owns a minority shareholding in this corporation. Among the bank shareholders in 2005 there was also a chemical giant Styrol, situated in Horlivka.
In 2001-2002 Buryak brothers made closer acquaintance with Viktor Yushchenko. Mr. Yushchenko’s brother, Petro Andriyovych, also interceded for the brothers.
Moreover, Serhiy Buryak is Viktor Yushchenko’s godfather. It turns out that the future President together with another famous person, well-known in the Kyiv circles – Oksana Hunt, the owner of Sanahunt luxury fashion brand store, was a godparent to the banker’s child.
Finally, before the parliamentary election of 2002, the younger Buryak brother appeared in the Our Ukraine party list and by a strange coincidence the bloc’s fund increased by USD 1.5 million.
The elder Serhiy, who back in that time stood for the election in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, interceded for his brother. Our Ukraine considered this to be Buryak brothers’ intention to join Viktor Yushchenko’s faction in the future parliament.
However, these illusions faded after the first voting results had been announced. Oleksandr Buryak was excluded from the Our Ukraine faction since he went against the party line and supported the Volodymyr Lytvyn’s candidacy for the Speakership. Serhiy Buryak was not on Viktor Yushchenko faction list at all, but also voted for Mr. Lytvyn.
In the rebellious year of 2004 the Buryak brothers did not excel in anything special: for instance, both brothers supported Viktor Medvedchuk’s political reform.
After the Orange Revolution the brothers joined the Yulia Tymoshenko bloc, in which they both were directly responsible for the Khmelnytskyi oblast headquarters.
If there is truth to a certain rumor, the BYuT’s fund received USD 5 million for each brother.
After Yulia Tymoshenko failed to become Prime Minister in 2006, the brothers resisted the temptation to join the anti-crisis coalition, which made Mrs. Tymoshenko to hold them in high esteem. She even paid a special visit to the National Bank council meeting in order to defend the elder Buryak’s positions.
However, the recent appointment of the head of the State Tax Administration of Ukraine looks somewhat unfair towards Tariel Vasadze, who failed to become a Minister of Transport, most likely because of being unprepared to “completely give up the business to the country’s benefit”.
One would need to be absolutely naïve to believe that Mr. Buryak is ready for this and will actually strike his favorite financial establishment, founded by common effort of the whole family from generation to generation, out of his life.
However, it is customary among banking circles to believe that Mr. Buryak’s true purpose is to step into his father’s shoes and become the head of the National Bank of Ukraine. And the State Tax Administration is just another step on his way to the cherished ambition.
Valeriy Khoroshkovsky
If the employment of Oleh Dubyna and Serhiy Buryak provides more or less adequate explanations, then Valeriy Khoroshkovsky is a real surprise for Yulia Tymoshenko.
Mr. Khoroshkovsky is the outstanding personality of today.
His habit of taking good care of his appearance has already become an object of derision aroused by business rivals. He pays due attention to the displays of his status. For instance, during working days Mr. Khoroshkovsky drives the enhanced 6.25 m Maybach. During the weekend he drives cherry-colored Bentley sports car. Both cars have the same snazzy numbers, which only differ in one letter.
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| Mr. Khoroshkovsky’s Maybach next to the building of the Verkhovna Rada committees |
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| Khoroshkovsky takes up the main office at the Inter TV channel |
Maybe it is right now that Mr. Khoroshkovsky has got the chance to break stereotypes, assigned to him in the course of the last years.
And, at first glance, taking all the absurdity into account, there is still some logic in the appointment of Mr. Khoroshkovsky to the State Custom Service of Ukraine.
Being an ambitious person, Mr. Khoroshkovsky stakes on Yulia Tymoshenko as a possible head of state in either 2010 or 2015.
Maybe, this will make him one of her closest team-mates in the future. It is known that during the last election Mr. Khoroshkovsky had regular meetings with Yulia Tymoshenko with a view, as he says, “to be well informed of all the political processes taking place in the country”.
Taking Yulia Tymoshenko’s intention to renew the ‘Stop the Smuggling’ program into account, Mr. Khoroshkovsky’s appointment to the State Custom Service will pave the way for a) being constantly informed of the latest events; b) being in everyday touch with Mrs. Tymoshenko and c) regular being on TV in person.
It is quite obvious that such a partnership is mutually profitable.
First, Mrs. Tymoshenko will obtain the loyalty of the Inter TV channel despite the mixed-up story with the purchase of its assets. But Mr. Khoroshkovsky is its shareholder, though his rivals keep on asserting that he is not a sole proprietor.
Second, Mrs. Tymoshenko may hope that if the corruption at customs does not disappear once and for all, it will at least generate a structure, and the bribetakers’ rates will appear to be beyond the strength of the minor smugglers.
Third, the fact that Mr. Khoroshkovsky is in the money, lets us hope that the minor abuse of power (USD 1,000-2,000) will finally be eradicated.
The information that Mr. Khoroshkovsky is a member of Viktor Pinchuk’s team is some five years out of date.
The reasons, as always, lie in the money. Mr. Khoroshkovsky was forced to sell Ukrsotsbank at a lower price. He sold the bank that is now worth USD 3 billion, to Leonid Kuchma’s son-in-law for USD 80-100 million.
Today Mr. Khoroshkovsky is actually the third figure in a triangle with Vitaliy Hayduk and Yulia Tymoshenko.
It was Mr. Hayduk one year ago who brought Mr. Khoroshkovsky to Viktor Yushchenko to take the office of the first deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. And when Mr. Hayduk refused to be a tool in Viktor Baloha’s hands, they left together.
That is why, Mr. Khoroshkovsky can be considered as another proof of closer relationships established between Yulia Tymoshenko and the owners of the Industrial Union of Donbass.
However, besides Mr. Hayduk, Mr. Khoroshkovsky can be useful for Mrs. Tymoshenko as a guarantor in the relationships with another influential figure, a Russian metallurgical billionaire of ‘Eurasia Group’ Aleksandr Abramov, who once staked on Viktor Yushchenko back in 2004, but only got a headache and no benefit at all.
It seems that Mr. Khoroshkovsky himself does not consider the position of a chief customs official to be the top of his career. Once in 2002, having become a frontman in the Team of Winter Generation (Komanda Ozimogo Pokolinnja), he said that in 2004 he would reach the age which allowed him to run for the Presidency.
It is obvious that this card will be played by some other people during the next decade. But still, everybody is always free to dream of becoming a real oligarch.
Serhiy Leshchenko, UP
