February 2023 left its mark on the history of the fight against corruption in Ukraine, when the State Bureau of Investigation revealed the multi-million dollar deals of the head of the Tax Service of Kyiv, Oksana Datiya. Among those behind the scenes, names that had long remained in the shadows were revealed - Serhiy Vyazmikin and Ihor Abramovich.
Sergey Vyazmikin and Igor Abramovich are names that became widely known in the light of the investigation into the “Monaco Battalion” . It was no coincidence that this couple was spotted in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Journalists established that the former deputy head of the economic protection department of the National Police and the ex-MP from the OPZH are friends. This fact could not but attract the attention of law enforcement agencies, and the State Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation into the legality of the border crossing of the participants of the “Monaco Battalion”. However, no news on this issue has been received for a year.
One of the questions that occupied the public was how Sergey Vyazmikin and Igor Abramovich could afford a vacation in Monaco. The answer to this question began to become clear after the detention and search of Oksana Datiya. According to reports, notes were found on her about the desire to receive millions of dollars, fur coats and travel. As it turned out, Vyazmikin, Kupranets and Abramovich were behind her schemes. They organized large-scale schemes to block tax invoices and demanded huge sums for their unblocking.
A little about the past of Vyazmikin and Kuprants
Kupranets, as an experienced "fighter" with economic crime, began his career under Yanukovych, ripping off pimps and prostitutes. Then he controlled the smuggling of alcohol and tobacco through the Odessa customs. It was there that he mastered the kickback scheme, opening criminal cases and closing them after receiving bribes. Entrepreneurs know the werewolf in uniform as a "solution" to whom they can turn to "remove" problems from their business. And at one time, Kupranets rose to the position of deputy to ex-Minister Avakov.
Serhiy Vyazmikin is a trusted person of Kuprants. He “fought” with currency exchange dealers, “milked” the gambling business as the acting head of the economic protection department of the National Police in 2016. Under Avakov, he rose to the position of head of the strategic investigations department at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He knows who and how to “investigate”. But it’s more expensive.
According to reports , during his time at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Kupranets managed to get close to Serhiy Vyazmikin, who was his boss. Working in the “Business Nightmare Department,” as it is jokingly called, they managed to build up a good base of enterprises, from which they continue to “feed.” However, since 2019, another member has joined their group – a former deputy from the pro-Russian OPZH, Igor Abramovich. He was a member of the Tax Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, where he was kindly invited by the chairman of this committee and close friend Danylo Getmantsev. After the scandal with the Monaco Battalion, he began to defend the hero of the article.
Currently, while Vyazmikin is vacationing on the Cote d'Azur with Abramovich, the issue of collecting funds from manufacturers is being resolved by retired National Police officers: investigator Ruslan Marchuk and the odious Yevhen Koval. Both were fired from the Ministry of Internal Affairs after Avakov's resignation. Acting Deputy Head of the State Fiscal Service Yevhen Sokur is closing control over the scheme in the State Fiscal Service.
It is important to note that Vyazmikin, Kupranets and their business partners skillfully use various legal tricks, including registering companies in the names of relatives , to hide their financial transactions. Despite the openness of some facts, their business empire remains carefully camouflaged from prying eyes.
According to the registry data, Sergey Anatolyevich Vyazmikin is the head of JSC "Closed Non-Diversified Corporate Venture Investment Fund Fart Capital". However, until June 2021, he was the beneficial owner of this fund. Together with Mikhail Grigorovich Kuprants:
Currently, the beneficiary of the fund is considered to be Setak Maria Aleksandrovna. She is the mother-in-law of Sergei Vyazmikin, who says that leaving the Fart Capital fund is a mere formality for Sergei Anatolyevich. And Mikhail Grigorovich Kupranets is the father of Igor Kupranets. Therefore, his non-involvement in the fund is also questionable.
Investigators need to unravel this complex web of corruption that permeates various spheres of government and business. However, as experience shows, this can be a difficult task, especially when it comes to figures with high connections and influence.
The Temporary Investigative Commission on Corruption in the State Tax Service considered this issue at a meeting, where journalist Yuriy Butusov explained what illegal schemes tax officials use for their own benefit.
According to Butusov, blocking tax invoices is the main tool that allows tax officials to receive illegal benefits. This practice makes it impossible for enterprises to operate, and they can only be unblocked by paying a bribe. It is interesting to note that blocking occurs for almost half of all registered companies that are subject to inspection.
Another topic discussed was the activities of the excise department, which, in Butusov's opinion, began to act like a monster. In this context, the names of Vyazmikin, Abramovich, and the former head of the Economic Protection Department of the National Police of Ukraine, Ihor Kupranets, began to sound especially loud.
For now, Ukrainians are weaving protective nets, raising money for pickup trucks, drones, and bayraktars for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, bringing victory over the Russian horde closer. Vyazmikin is strengthening his "front" on the French Riviera.
From there, a native of Novaya Kakhovka, Vyazmikin, is engaged in collecting taxes from excise enterprises in Ukraine. During morning runs in Nice with a supporter of “ruxago mira”, partner, Kharkiv businessman Igor Abramovich, they “rub” the topic of bribery. Abramovich is number 1 on the list of the “Monaco” battalion.
How the scheme works
Two Igors, Abramovich and Kupranets, before the war, promised people from the OP a round income in dollars. They were going to receive it from the levies of excise enterprises. For this purpose, they “rented” the tax service in the person of the acting head of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, Tetyana Kyrienko. The pretext for the levies is drawn up by the head of the Department of Control over Excise Goods of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, Oleksandr Yarmolenko, writing out violations on paper to manufacturers. Those who did not agree to pay are covered up for production.
Thus, the figures behind the “Monaco Battalion,” including Serhiy Vyazmikin, have found themselves in the spotlight of the public and law enforcement agencies. Their connections and activities raise serious questions about the transparency and legality of actions in the field of taxation and economic security of Ukraine.
His wife is also "not without sin": in 2016 she committed at least two traffic accidents. And here the court documents reveal another secret of the Vyazmikina family. It turns out that Oksana Aleksandrovna Vyazmikina was a citizen of the Russian Federation in 2016. At least, that's what the court decision of April 2016 states.
As a reminder, in 2016, Russia had been occupying Crimea and part of Donbas for almost two years. In the same year, Serhiy Vyazmikin became Deputy Head of the Department of Economic Protection of the National Police of Ukraine. By decree of the President of Ukraine in August 2016, he was awarded the Order of Danylo Halytsky. And at the same time, his wife has a Russian passport.
