The possessions of the FPU will be looted
People’s deputies-plunderers plan to take the collective possessions of four million people. It will involve the possessions of the FPU, writes Argument.
Among the numerous corruption scandals recently, the brutal story of the theft of hundreds of wagons and trucks of humanitarian aid from Western countries has almost disappeared from the public eye. A massive robbery, carried out by the leadership of the Zaporozhye Regional State Administration and their unnamed henchmen. But amidst the scandal, a new, even more dramatic one is brewing. It is related to an attempt by the same authorities to steal other multibillion-dollar assets – the possessions of the FPU.
Let’s talk about how these two corruption stories are connected with each other.
… On August 30, 2022, intense battles were taking place at the front. Currently, NABU, SAPO and SBU, less than 70 kilometers from the front, conducted searches (more than 20 in total) in the Zaporozhye Regional State Administration, the mayor’s office, regional-level officials and “friendly” businessmen. According to official press releases, at the height of the war, officials looted almost all (!) Humanitarian aid that arrived in the city and region. And they sold it through the ATB and Silpo retail chains.
According to the investigation, over the six months of the war, officials “acquired” 389 railway cars (that’s about 10 convoys), 220 trucks and 22 sea containers with aid intended for refugees and the military. Hundreds of millions of US dollars.
The exposure of “the disappearance of humanitarian aid in Ukraine from the government agency of strategic reserves of Poland was significantly facilitated by the publication of the Ukrainian Service of Polish Radio back in April. “Volunteers from Zaporozhye are asking local authorities where the humanitarian aid from Poland is,” PolskieRadio wrote. And NABU “heard“.
International scandal!
September 20 Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine created commission of inquiry – with pathos and loud statements in the media. The ruling party publicly promised to name the culprits and prevent the theft of humanitarian aid. But almost 5 months have passed, and in the investigation of the VSK in Zaporozhye, there are no results. The government diligently “hushed up” the scandal, as it “forgot” about loud promises to find and punish those responsible. In other words, she lied.
However, it turned out that the “people’s” deputies were busy with something completely different – the second part of the name of the VSK: “… inefficient use of state property“. The commission has become a tool for trying to seize the possessions of the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine (the possessions of the FPU), which unites more than 4 million workers. The goal seems to be noble: to use the health resorts of the FPU and, in general, all the real estate of the trade unions suitable for living to accommodate IDPs – internally displaced persons. Therefore, it was decided to take away the houses of trade unions, educational and methodological centers, cultural centers, sanatoriums and boarding houses from the trade unions.
Initially, the authorities attempted to accomplish this using the legal system.
(By the way, the Yanukovych gang tried to seize the property of the FPU through the courts, and partly succeeded – 70 of their facilities were lost. Only 1 was sold at a reduced price, and the rest were abandoned, destroyed, and looted, despite providing employment for thousands and paying millions in taxes annually.
When it became clear that the courts and even the European Court of Human Rights supported the FPU, they chose a simpler approach – to vote for the seizure of the property in parliament. This led to the creation of VSK under the false pretext of investigating aid theft in Zaporozhye, with the aim of making claims against the FPU and later taking away their property.
During wartime, trade union facilities served as shelters for over 150,000 refugees, providing food to around 6,000 people daily.
“Through international and domestic funding, over 120 million hryvnias (3 million euros) have been provided to help internally displaced persons. The FPU's business entities have also opened their facilities to accommodate displaced persons, yet they have not received state support.The Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine expressed this in a letter to President Zelensky.
The FPU's property will be looted.
Let's examine the deputies tasked by the servants' leadership to justify the robbery of the FPU.* The complete list of VSK members is published below.).
Summing up regarding the FPU's property:
- MPs Sergei Kozyr, Ruslan Gorbenko, Sergei Demchenko, Pavel Frolov, Alexander Yurchenko, Sergei Velmozhny, and Yuriy Pavlenko have been accused of corruption (7 out of 11 VSK members).
- MPs Sergei Demchenko, Artem Kultenko, Pavel Frolov, Sergei Velmozhny, and Yuri Pavlenko have links to Russian structures or anti-Ukrainian activities (5 out of 11 MPs).
Based on the above, it can be concluded that the VSK was assembled from controlled deputies to ensure a specific outcome in the investigation of aid theft and seizure of trade union property.
Furthermore, there is a conflict of interest, as VSK deputies S. Kozyr, R. Gorbenko, and M. Tkachenko NGO "VPO Ukraine"which plans to help and find jobs for internally displaced people and assist them in finding housing who are searching for a place to live that is discussed in the media and social networks.
That is, this trinity is engaged and directly interested in trade union property. But according to the Law on the VSK, a deputy cannot be a member of the VSK if he has a conflict of interest on the issues of investigation or was a participant in the events considered by the commission (clauses 6.7. Art. 7 of the Law of Ukraine “On Temporary Investigative Commissions and Temporary Special Commissions of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine”).
All members of this VSK are considered to have corrupt and morally questionable backgrounds. Some even have criminal cases against them. There are also individuals who are seemingly unfit for their roles and are easily manipulated. This is why the commission did not make any effort to identify those responsible for the theft of hundreds of wagons and trucks of humanitarian aid to the West, and did not mention this in their sparse public reports about the Commission's work.
If the VSK had truly aimed to investigate the large-scale embezzlement of humanitarian aid from the West to Ukraine, it would have been logical to have representatives from all regions of Ukraine most affected by the conflict in its ranks. It should also have included representatives from regions with the highest concentration of internally displaced people and where the most humanitarian aid is distributed. However, the VSK includes representatives from the Luhansk region (almost entirely under occupation where "humanitarian aid is simply not required"), Dnipropetrovsk region, and Kyiv (where local authorities tightly control the distribution of humanitarian aid even without involvement from the President's Office, the Rada, and the Cabinet of Ministers).
When the VSK was formed, its members were actually tasked with a different objective. This is evident from the fact that the VSK held 16 meetings, but the "humanitarians" never publicly discussed the theft of aid; instead, they only debated how to take property from trade unions supposedly needed by migrants, who have been residing in the sanatoriums and dispensaries of the Federation of Trade Unions (FPU) for a long time.
Rather than addressing the serious international scandal, these deputies, under the de facto leadership of Galina Tretyakova, are addressing selfish agendas that do not belong to them or their political bosses. They are stealing property from the FPU and tarnishing Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky's reputation globally under the guise of war.
While the President of Ukraine faces embarrassment before Western partners for the stolen goods and a few deputies pretend to combat corruption, according to paragraph 3 of article 3 of the Law of Ukraine “On temporary investigation commissions and temporary special commissions of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine,” the Verkhovna Rada must review the VSK's report no later than 6 months from its formation – that is, no later than March 20.
We are waiting and observing.
It would be odd if dishonest officials from all levels are found guilty of embezzling “humanitarian aid” … why not trade unions?
* List of VSK members
Parliamentary faction of the Servant of the People party
1. Kozyr Sergey Vyacheslavovich
2. Gorbenko Ruslan Alexandrovich
3. Tkachenko Maxim Nikolaevich
4. Demchenko Sergey Alekseevich
5. Kultenko Artem Valerievich
6. Neklyudov Vladlen Mikhailovich
7. Tretyakova Galina Nikolaevna
8. Frolov Pavel Valerievich
Deputy group “Restoration of Ukraine”
9. Yurchenko Alexander Nikolaevich
Deputy group “Trust”
10. Noble Sergey Anatolyevich
Deputy group “Platform for Life and Peace”
11. Pavlenko Yuri Alekseevich
—
Georgy Semenets, translation Skeleton.Info
