"In 2020, on the outskirts of Lviv, a European model service center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs suddenly opened in the village of Winter Water. A convenient location, a large parking lot, and a modern building were beyond the competition of the Lviv center on Danylo Apostol. The truth is that on the outside, it really resembled the design of MREV of the Volyn region, from where, by the way, the new manager was recently transferred. Another similarity with the Volynsky mrev is the presence of a neighbor - West auto hub. It seems that this is a mandatory addition to the new premises, which, by the way, MREV rents with state funds. The "new" Lviv leader not only worked as the head of Novovolynsk MREV in close cooperation with WAH, but also has close "interaction" with the top leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Taking into account the fact that the head of the main service center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs also changed not so long ago, there is a suspicion that WAH issues are being lobbied directly in the ministry. And such a suspicion is not unfounded)... In the next publication, I will tell in detail about "citizens of Slovakia - Volyn", such as Serhiy Mostenets and Dmytro Melnyk, as well as their patrons in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Verkhovna Rada."
the emotional post of the well-known Lviv activist Ivan Sprynsky before the start of the full-scale invasion back then, in the distant 2022. The events that have taken place in recent years simply wash away everything that is not related to Russia's war with Ukraine. This is how the reports about the abuse of the heads of the MSEK sank, and the facts of the corruption of prosecutors, heads of the TCC, and in general officials of various levels disappeared from the public view. Because "it's not on time". And only photos and videos with tens of millions of dollars and euros, spread over the mattresses of such "heroes" during searches, force the authorities to do something. But already globally. As it was at one time with the dismissal of all military commissars. Or, more recently, with the liquidation of all medical and sanitary commissions of the country.
It is certainly not easy to keep track of all the affairs in such a large country. All the more so when some law enforcement officers, who should at this critical moment show maximum principles, continue to think about personal profit. But they simply "whitewash" people who should be sitting in a prison.
In the case of WEST AUTO HUB, this principle worked. High-ranking patrons in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Verkhovna Rada, surplus profits from the trade in expensive cars from Europe, which at the height of the war were imported by the thousands under the guise of humanitarian cargo. All this made it possible for the owners of the company to encourage officials to cover up the criminal activities of the owners of the Volyn company. The appetites of Dmytro Melnyk and his partner Serhii Mostents grew immeasurably. And conscience dissolved in millions of currency. And in the end, the guys decided - why not make money by trading in blood?
REFERENCE
According to official sources, the Main Investigative Department of the Security Service of Ukraine initiated a criminal case No. 42022000000001549 dated 04.11.2022 on the grounds of the crime provided for in Part 4 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. According to the materials of the criminal case, "Invest Partners" LLC and a group of companies conducting their economic activities under the "West Auto Hub" and engaged in the sale of new and used cars, in particular: "Auto West Group" LLC (EDRPOU code 38966022, registered at: Volynska region, Rivnenska street, building 74) AVG Trans" LLC , registered at: Volynska region, Rivnenska street, building 74 " (EDRPOU code 41400897, registered at the address: Volyn region, Strumivka village, Rivnenska street, b. 74), AVG RENT LLC (EDRPOU code 43676854, registered at the address: Volyn region, Strumivka village, st. Rivneska, b. 74) (hereinafter referred to as the "West Auto Hub") and related persons implemented an illegal mechanism for the purchase of vehicles from official Ukrainian car dealers during the period of martial law in Ukraine state, and for the purpose of further sale on the territory of the Russian Federation through business entities of the aggressor state. What violated CMU Resolution No. 187 dated 03.03.2022 and the sanctions regime introduced by the USA, the European Union and Great Britain, regarding the limitation of transactions with the Russian Federation for an amount exceeding the equivalent of 50,000 Euros.
The essence of the accusations of the Ukrainian law enforcement officers is that the officials and owners of the Volyn company bought at least a dozen prestigious cars, in particular the BMW brand, and sold them to Russia through false persons. This directly violated Cabinet Resolution No. 187, which prohibits trade with an aggressor state.
JUST BUSINESS?
Before the war, the owners of "VEST AUTO HUB" always managed to avoid all accusations against them. Although suspicions about their illegal activities arose from law enforcement officers more than once. For example, as the ex-people's deputy from Volyn Ihor Lapin stated at one time, Dmytro Melnyk's company widely used the scheme of illegally importing used cars with the help of so-called "customs yards". This is when the equipment, for a moderate fee by the customs officers at the border, was imported in transit to the territory of the same West Auto Hub in the village. Strumyvka near Lutsk.
Today, this modest customs area looks like this 5 years ago.
According to information from the company's official website, such centers are located in the largest Ukrainian regions of the West and in Kyiv. And what leads to certain reflections, all these, in fact, trading platforms for the sale of cars by private individuals are integrated with the state service centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. And what is less noticeable - representatives of the Ukrainian customs are always present on the territory of these car showrooms. Yes, yes, you read that right - on the territory of a private company, in the western regions of Ukraine bordering the state borders, for the convenience of this company's business, state institutions are constantly operating. And if you look at the comments of ordinary citizens who had the carelessness to formalize the sale or purchase of a car in such regional service centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it becomes clear that they work precisely for the benefit of WAH. Company managers always have an advantage in the preparation of documents. Everyone else has a turn, waiting for several days. While VIP clients of "Vestavtohub" will be issued a technical passport and all necessary documents - turnkey.
What is the secret of such selective love of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and State Customs for this company? What makes its owners so special?
THE ROOF OF POWER?
A year before the start of the great war, interesting information appeared in the mass media. The currently imprisoned oligarch Ihor Kolomoiskyi suddenly sells one of his successful online publications "The Babel" to little-known businessmen from Lutsk. Despite the fact that it sells at nominal value. The same Dmytro Melnyk and Serhiy Mostenets became the owners of the mass media, and operational management of the resource went to a businessman from Lutsk, co-owner of the IT company "Ideil" Vadym Mahomed. Mahomed appeared in this list not by chance. According to official sources, his wife Olga is one of the top managers of the same "West Auto Hub" and companies related to Dmytro Melnyk's company. And when you look at the portfolio of successful projects of the Ideal company, which is managed by Vadym Mahomed, you will immediately see the development of the West Auto Hub portal itself, as well as a large number of companies owned by the disgraced oligarch. Including the site "1+1 media". Coincidence, I don't think so, as the Kremlin's chief propagandist Kiselyov said.
Participation in media projects now gives Volyn machinists significant advantages over their colleagues. Well-known people's deputies often appear on the pages of the now-controlled online publication and those friendly to it. Of course, in a positive sense. So everything related to the car business of these people always has the support of a part of the government. It is worth mentioning only the strange decision of the Ukrainian authorities to temporarily open the borders for the duty-free import of more than a million cars in 2022 - at the height of Russian aggression. Then it terribly outraged the authorities of our friendly Poland. It created a lot of precedents, with the delay of important cargoes, and the military too, at the border. And it ruined our image in the eyes of the Western allies.
Who profited from this? You don't need to go to a fortune teller. Just look at how during the difficult years of the war, like mushrooms after the rain, WAH offices appeared in almost every city.
HIGH TREASON?
How exactly, albeit specific, Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Melnyk decided to betray state interests? Journalists should ask him this question personally. Because the SBU is not commenting on the official proceedings of his company. Mr. Dmytro always says when trying to contact him that he cannot speak and will not comment on anything to the media. And, of course, he has such a right... - as a citizen of another country. As it turned out, the owner of several successful Ukrainian companies has had a Slovak passport for a long time. He is officially registered in the city of Zhilin, who are members of his family and co-owners of his companies.
This, obviously, became a loophole for trade with the aggressor state. Formally, Dmytro Melnyk and his friends are citizens of a country known for its lenient attitude to business with eReFia. And in fact, the same company officially operating in Ukraine was caught by the Security Service of Ukraine supplying expensive Mercedes, BMW and Bentley with Maserati to Russian officials. Apparently, it would be more comfortable for them to give orders about the daily killing and torture of Ukrainian citizens.
For reference, so that there is no doubt about what has been stated. From the extract of the SBU proceedings :
At the time of the crime, the officials of the legal entities, as well as their beneficiaries, were:
LLC INVEST PARTNERS (LLC INVEST PARTNERS)
During the period of violation of the sanctions regime, the head of the company was:
Dmytro Oleksandrovich Melnyk,
beneficiaries:
Mahomed Olga Volodymyrivna
Yulia Oleksandrivna Mostynets
Yanina Evgenivna Melnyk
"Auto West Group" LLC During the period of violation of the sanctions regime, the head of the company was:
Vadim Ivanovich Boretskyi
Iryna Oleksandrivna Melnyk (representative)
beneficiaries:
Melnyk Dmytro Oleksandrovych
Slovakia, city of Žilina
Inesa Vasylivna Zinchenko
LLC AWG TRANS (LLC AWG TRANS).
During the period of violation of the sanctions regime, the head of the company was Drala Davyd Andriyovych.
Will Volyn businessmen be punished? Because now they are, as it were, reliably protected from Ukrainian law enforcement officers by the passports of EU citizens. But is it so? This time, Dmytro Melnyk, Serhiy Mostents, and their accomplices were not pleased. Because they have already committed a crime even according to EU laws. And all because the European Union has long introduced sanctions restrictions on residents of the Russian Federation and their operations and property. In particular, luxury items are expressly prohibited for export from the EU to Russia, which, among other things, include luxury cars with a value of more than 50,000 euros.
