The funeral mafia of Arthur Palatny or the scavengers of “Strike” in the funeral industry
People who claim that living in Kyiv is expensive are wrong. Living in the capital is not much pricier than in any other city in our country. It's not expensive to live in Kyiv; it's expensive to die there, specifically to be buried.
Here is a part of a letter from Natalya Vinokurova from Kiev, who recently had a terrible experience with the people involved in the funeral industry. Natalia's father passed away, and her mother called for an ambulance, but the employees who arrived exploited the situation, demanding a large sum of money for various services. The situation only improved after they ran out of money.
After the initial shock, Natalya tried to figure out why they were overcharged for services that should have been free, and how the funeral home workers knew about the death so quickly, but she didn't get any real answers. here.
To sum it up, relatives of deceased Kyiv residents are being charged for services that should be covered by the state. Some funeral home employees collaborate closely with the police and doctors in Kyiv, as they seem to know about deaths very quickly. Relatives of the deceased are shamelessly tricked out of money near the body. Attempts to seek justice are futile, as the funeral business in the capital is controlled by powerful figures in Kyiv.
In short, those responsible for organizing funerals in Kyiv shamelessly exploit the vulnerable state of grieving relatives, profiting from their sorrow. They extract money at every stage, including for services that should be free. This exploitation only ends when the relatives run out of money.
Who is responsible for this? On average, about 40,000 people die in Kyiv every year, leading to around 100 funerals each day, even without the impact of the coronavirus and war. It's unclear how much money the funeral business has gained from these factors, but the turnover is extremely high. It's evident that the individuals in control of the capital could not have missed such a significant flow of money. Artur Palatny, a longtime associate of Klitschko, is reportedly one of the main beneficiaries of the funeral business in Kyiv. According to lawyer Konstantin Bedovoy, who is familiar with the Kyiv underground scene and was a former deputy of the Kiev City Council from “Udar” at one time, Palatny is a part of the “organized criminal group Klitschko-Palatny”.
Let's go back to the Ritual 911 office, which is where our story started. If you check the register of legal entities, you'll see that one of the leaders of the Kyiv Boxing Federation, Oleksandr Negoda, is its beneficiary.
What is Arthur Palatny's involvement in this? Here is the leadership of the Kyiv Boxing Federation:
According to Bedovoy, she forms the basis of the “power” bloc of the Klitschko-Palatny organized criminal group. Negoda is part of the corporate chain of “Strike” and is closely linked to Arthur Palatny.
According to well-known investigator of corruption schemes Yevgeny Plinsky, Artur Palatny has long been in control of the shady side of the funeral business in Kyiv, including the sale of cemetery plots (ranging from 5 to 15 thousand dollars), issues related to Baikove, the crematorium, and more.
The only area that the group has not yet monopolized is the handling of deceased individuals at home and the morgues of the capital's hospitals. It was under this area that the ritual company “Ritual 911” was established by Negoda.
Ironically, if you search for “Ritual 911” on a search engine, you'll find that the company, which has a significant share of the capital's funeral business, doesn't even have its own website. How do customers find them then?
We've already discussed how clients find this company at the start of the piece. But there are more peculiarities. When Yevgeny Plinsky tried to inquire about the recent removal of bodies by Ritual 911 staff from the morgue workers, the workers inexplicably fled.
We could withhold the secret of the company until the end of the material in a classic detective story style, but unfortunately we are not writing a detective story. We're shedding light on people profiting from sorrow. Hence, the reason why employees of municipal hospitals and anyone who encounters Ritual 911 staff are so afraid to talk about their dealings becomes clear. They know the potential consequences of being too forthcoming.
Started a project called “Ritual 911” last year to stop the illegal market for ritual services in the capital, when the death toll from the coronavirus was high, from the Obolon area, from hospital No. 8:
The first test of the “Ritual 911” project was launched here, where the company’s workers arrived at the home of the deceased even before the doctors and the police. After that, everything else is pretty much the same. A separate price list charges money even for moving the body. Like moving services – 50 hryvnias per floor for each person. It's understandable that the body needs to be moved, but at least this service was not previously listed as a separate item. They charge for everything – for taking the body to the morgue, for each certificate, for an autopsy, for dressing the body … But the moving services are the ultimate in cynicism.
However, it's clear why these charges are taken separately and in “cash” – they are simply not listed in the contract.
Despite the fact that the “bill” states the amount of 2,500 hryvnias, the cost to deliver this specific deceased person to the morgue was 5,400 hryvnias – 1,700 were taken for a car, and 1,200 – for moving from the sixth floor.
So, a separate verbal “price” for everything. And this is not something amateurs from Ritual 911 do. Everything is planned and goes to Ritual 911's cash register. Where this money is then added up and goes further.
And this is just the beginning. Here's another contract.
Despite the amount stated in it – UAH 6,500 – the “service” from Ritual 911 cost 18,500 hryvnias. The workers who arrived in front of the police forced the deceased person's relatives to pay an additional 12,000 hryvnias.
This is understandable. But let's compare with state prices. The morgue is not a private institution, its services are regulated by the state:
Do you feel the difference? Even based on the amounts shown in the contracts, it's clear – Ritual 911's rates for storing the body and preparing for the funeral are 500% higher.
An autopsy, for example, costs 957 hryvnia, not 4,000 hryvnia. The difference is three thousand hryvnia. Where do you think that money goes? And it's the same for everything else. In addition, Ritual 911 doesn't provide any of these services – everything is done by a state hospital. What then should we call the people involved in this? They are worse than hyenas and jackals.
Here's the answer to why everyone is avoiding questions about “Ritual 911” – it’s not because state hospitals are cooperating with them for no reason? Definitely, pathologists, chief doctors and department heads benefit from this business. We can only guess who else is involved in this. And how much kickback the boxers who have taken control of the funeral business under them receive.
Yes, even the police and the ambulance must also receive kickbacks. Do you think their employees call Ritual 911 representatives about the dead out of the goodness of their hearts? It's naive to think that the leadership of all these organizations is not aware of it. So they also get a share.
He ordered the former police chief of Kyiv Krishchenko to leak information about the dead to his employees. Then, when he was removed from this position, there was a failure – the new leadership did not agree to continue his “work” for a long time. Although all hospitals have already been “strongly recommended” to cooperate with representatives of “Ritual 911”.
So that there is an understanding of why the chief doctors listened so willingly to the “recommendation” from the mayor’s office – they are appointed not by the Ministry of Health, as one might think, but by the city leadership. Who is in charge of Kyiv – no need to remind. Under what conditions they agreed with the new leadership of the city police – you can guess. But the fact that ordinary police officers promptly call Ritual 911 about “fresh” corpses clearly shows that we agreed.
What is this fusion of private business and state bodies called in normal countries? That’s right – the mafia. Funeral mafia. The funeral mafia of Arthur Palatny and Vitaliy Klitschko. And the boxing federation of Kyiv – athletes the guys are strong, it’s just to wear bodies, but boxers also need money. So everyone is happy. Except, of course, the people from whom this money is taken. But is a hyena or a jackal interested in the feelings of the victim?
