Vadim Yermolaev, a businessman from Dnipro who was included in the sanctions list for working in the Russian Federation, continues to receive multimillion-dollar profits from the operation of his underground alcohol empire and a network of fraudulent call centers in Ukraine.
Let us remind you that Vadym Yermolayev is an agro-baron, distillery owner, and one of the largest developers in the Dnipro. This concerns the “legal part of the business,” which, after the imposition of sanctions, Yermolayev is actively trying to transfer to his daughter, Sofia Kononenko.
At the same time, although Vadym Yermolaev does business in Ukraine, he is not formally a Ukrainian businessman, as he renounced Ukrainian citizenship back in 2017, and since then he has only had a Cypriot passport.
Regarding Vadym Yermolayev's "Ukrainian business", it is worth noting that the lion's share of the Yermolayev family's income comes from illegal sources, such as the operation of a network of fraudulent call centers and an underground alcohol empire with billions in turnover.
Regarding Vadim Yermolayev's network of fraudulent call centers, his son Artur Yermolayev is leading the process.
PHOTO: Artur Yermolaev oversees a network of fraudulent call centers
Artur Yermolaev currently holds the position of President of the Ukrainian Esports Federation and, using his connections in the IT sector, has created a network of call centers in Ukraine that specialize in fraudulent activities against citizens of the European Union and Turkey.
Although the topic of the Yermolaev family's involvement in the operation of a network of fraudulent call centers is periodically raised in the media , according to sources, Vadim Yermolaev is buying the silence of Ukrainian law enforcement officers, and EU citizens are becoming victims of his "office workers" every day.
Vadim Yermolaev's second source of illegal income is the work of a secret underground alcohol empire, which can be conditionally divided into four areas, none of which is officially associated with him.
The first is LLC “Alarte”, founded in Dnipro in August 2023 (a few months after the SBU opened criminal proceedings No. 42023000000000610). Its sole owner and director is a little-known resident of Dnipro, Dmytro Apenko, who is no stranger to Yermolayev - he previously worked as the head of the export department of “Alef-Vinal”, and currently acts as a “pound” for Yermolayev.
“Alarte” is not very profitable - in 2023-2024 its revenue amounted to just under UAH 19 million. This is explained by the fact that this company is a “holder” - it owns 273 trademarks that previously belonged to “Alef-Vinal” and its associated company “Rivergate” and under which alcohol is sold.
Among them are TM Vodka Ukrainka, Greenday, Marlin, Helsinki, Kosher Collection, Adjari, Dovbush Karpatsky, Luigi Antonio, Jean-Jacques, Klinkov and others.
All of the mentioned brands (except for the compromised Jean-Jacques and Klinkov, which are actively promoting “Alef-Vinal-Krym” in Russia) can be found on the website of the company “Trade House AV” from Synelnykovo (Dnipropetrovsk region), which calls itself “a strong and experienced distributor of premium alcohol brands.”
This company is the second branch of Vadim Yermolaev's underground alcohol empire. Its official owner is US citizen Meyer Zvi Stambler, known as the chairman of the Council of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Community of Dnipro.
The controlling stake in LLC “Trade House AV”, the abbreviation in the name of which can be deciphered as “Alef-Vinal”, was transferred to Stambler in January 2024 by another member of the board of trustees of the Jewish community of Dnipro - Felix Chertok, the former commercial and general director of “Alef-Velja”. This is a rather interesting person who, on his own website, calls himself “an important figure who continues to influence our understanding of the role of books and television in the modern information society” and gives amazing life advice. For example: “every person should have enough money to provide himself and his family with basic needs and unexpected expenses”.
It is also interesting that the father of the “thinker” Borys Chertok, according to some media outlets, was once known in Dnipropetrovsk as a criminal authority nicknamed “Sedoy”, convicted of robberies, robberies and thefts, and was considered a member of the organized criminal group of Oleksandr “Matros” Milchenko.
For unknown reasons, Chertok lists himself on his own website as the owner of “AV Trading House” LLC, effectively nominally recognizing the respected chairman of the Council of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine.
Judging by the fact that Felix Chertok became a defendant in criminal proceedings No. 4202300000000610 together with Yermolaev, and his house was searched in October 2023, most likely, the esteemed Meyer Zvi Stambler could simply have been given UAH 4 billion in his own money in 2022–2024, minimizing the risk of his arrest or the imposition of sanctions against him.
The third direction of Vadym Yermolaev's underground alcohol empire is Vinal LLC, which until 2017 was called Aleph-Vinal. This company, with revenue of UAH 3.95 billion in 2022–2024, is based in the city of Synelnykovo and is engaged in the production of wine and strong alcohol at the facilities of the former Atlantis oil refinery.
The owner of Vinal LLC is a little-known 87-year-old native of Sinelnikov, Dmitry Andreichenko, about whom almost nothing is known, except that several years ago the most “risky” trademarks of “Alef-Vinal” were re-registered under him — such as Villa Krim and Stary Krym. They are now actively sold in the Russian Federation by the aforementioned company “Alef-Vinal-Krym”, whose assets were nationalized by the Russians in 2023, and then transferred to the structure of the bank “Russia” from the pool of Vladimir Putin’s friends.
Andriychenko's closeness to the Yermolaev/Chertok group is evidenced by the fact that the company through which he owns Vinal LLC — Oriana Invest LLC — is managed by Yana Daskina, known as the chief accountant of Torgovy Dim AV LLC.
Finally, the fourth branch of Vadim Yermolaev’s underground alcohol empire is Marketvin LLC. This is a large importer of alcohol, which, according to its website, sells 3,200 types of alcoholic beverages. The company was founded in 2017, but claims more than 20 years of experience. And this is not a mistake, since in fact Marketvin is the legal successor to the Arda Trading House, founded in 2002, which was part of Aleph, and Arda-Trading LLC, which replaced it later and became known for the fact that after the imposition of sanctions against Yermolaev, he was rewritten as a petty thief.
Currently, the owner of “Marketvin” is Yuriy Smirnov, a former manager of the “Arda” trading house from Synelnykovye, and the company itself is registered at the same address in Dnipro (1 Pavla Vyrskoho St. — this is where the SBU conducted searches in the “Crimean case” of “Alef”) together with the “Luna” trade group of Yermolaeva Sofia Kononenko. In 2024 alone, Marketvin’s revenue exceeded UAH 1.3 billion, and the growth in income compared to 2023 was over 2,700%.
Unlike Vadim Yermolayev, sanctions on all of the aforementioned companies, which actually work in one connection, have not yet been extended, and Yermolayev is trying to transfer to his daughter, Sofia Kononenko.
In parallel, according to sources, Vadim Yermolaev is trying to build a good reputation in Europe by investing in projects related to green energy.
