February 2023 left a mark in the history of the fight against corruption in Ukraine, when the State Bureau of Investigation revealed the multimillion-dollar deals of the head of the Tax Service of Kyiv, Oksana Datiy. Among those who stood behind the scenes, the names that remained in the shadows for a long time - Serhii Vyazmikin and Igor Abramovych - appeared.
Serhiy Vyazmikin and Igor Abramovich are names that became widely known in the light of the "Monaco Battalion" investigation . It was not by chance that this couple was spotted on Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. The journalists established that the former deputy head of the Department of Economic Protection of the National Police and the ex-deputy from OPZZH are friends. This fact could not fail to attract the attention of law enforcement agencies, and the GBR began an investigation into the legality of the border crossing of the participants of the "Monaco battalion". However, there was no news on this issue during the year.
One of the questions that occupied the public was how Serhiy Vyazmikin and Igor Abramovich could afford a vacation in Monaco. The answer to this question began to become clear after the arrest and search of Oksana Datia. According to the data, she had notes 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 Kupranets
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 Odesa customs. It was there that he mastered the kickback scheme, opening criminal cases and closing them after receiving bribes. Entrepreneurs know a werewolf in shoulder straps as a "solver" that can be turned to to "remove" business problems. And at one time, Kupranets rose to the position of deputy of ex-minister Avakov.
Serhii Vyazmikin is Kupranets' confidant. He "struggled" with currency exchangers, "milked" the gambling business in the position of acting director. head of the Department of Economic Protection of the National Police in 2016. Under Avakov, he rose to become the head of the Department of Strategic Investigations at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is known who and how to "investigate". But more expensive.
According to the media, Kupranets managed to get close to Serhiy Vyazmikin, who was his boss, while working in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Working in the "Department of Business Nightmare", as it is jokingly called, they managed to develop a good base of enterprises from which they continue to "feed". At the same time, in 2019, another member joined their group - Igor Abramovych, a former deputy from the pro-Russian OPZZH. He was a member of the Tax Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, where he was kindly invited by the chairman of this committee and a close friend, Danylo Hetmantsev. After the scandal with the Monaco Battalion, he began to fence off the hero of the article.
At the moment, when Vyazmikin is vacationing on the Cote d'Azur with Abramovich, the issue of collecting funds from manufacturers is being resolved by retired members of the National Police: investigator Ruslan Marchuk and the odious Yevhen Koval. Both were kicked out of the Ministry of Internal Affairs after Avakov's resignation. Acting Deputy Head of the SFS Yevhen Sokur closes control over the scheme at the SFS.
It is important to note that Vyazmikin, Kupranets and their business partners skillfully use various legal tricks, including registration of companies for relatives , to hide their financial transactions. Despite the openness of some facts, their business empire remains carefully disguised from prying eyes.
According to the data of the registers, Serhii Anatoliyovych Vyazmikin is the head of JSC "Closed Undiversified Corporate Venture Investment Fund Fart Kapital". However, until June 2021, he was the beneficial owner of this fund. Together with Mykhailo Hryhorovych Kuprants:
Currently, Setak Maria Oleksandrivna is considered the beneficiary of the fund. This is the mother-in-law of Serhii Vyazmikin, who says that leaving the owners of the Fart Capital fund is a mere formality for Serhii Anatoliyovych. And Mykhailo Hryhorovych Kupranets is the father of Ihor Kupranets. Therefore, his non-involvement with the fund raises doubts.
Investigators must deal with this complex network of corruption, which permeates various spheres of government and business. However, experience shows that this can be a difficult task, especially when dealing with highly connected and influential figures.
The temporary investigative commission on corruption in the DPS considered this issue at a meeting, where journalist Yuriy Butusov explained what illegal schemes tax officials use for their own benefit.
According to Butusov, the blocking of tax invoices is the main tool that allows tax officials to receive illegal benefits. This practice makes it impossible for enterprises to work, and they can only be unlocked by paying a bribe. It is interesting to note that blocking occurs for almost half of all registered companies subject to inspection.
Another topic that was discussed was the activity of the excise department, which, according to Butusov, began to act like a monster. In this context, the names of Vyazmikin, Abramovich and the former head of the Department of Economic Protection of the National Police of Ukraine, Ihor Kuprants, began to sound especially loud.
So far, Ukrainians are weaving protective nets, collecting money for pickups, drones and bayraktars for the Armed Forces, approaching victory over the Russian horde, Vyazmikin is strengthening his "front" on the Cote d'Azur of France.
From there, Vyazmikin, a native of Novaya Kakhovka, engages in extortions from excise enterprises in Ukraine. During morning jogs in Nice with a supporter of "Ruxago Mir", partner, Kharkiv businessman Igor Abramovych, they "discuss" the topic of bribery. Abramovich is number 1 on the list of the "Monaco" battalion.
How the scheme works
Two Igors, Abramovych and Kupranets, before the start of the war, promised people from OP a round income in dollars. It was collected from levies of excise enterprises. For this purpose, they "rented" the tax service in the person of Acting Head of the Federal Tax Service of Ukraine Tetyana Kiriyenko. Oleksandr Yarmolenko, the head of the Excise Goods Control Department of the Federal Tax Service, writes out violations to manufacturers on paper. For those who did not agree to pay, production is covered.
Thus, the figures, including Serhiy Vyazmikin, behind the "Monaco Battalion" found themselves in the center of attention 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 to us another secret of the Vyazmikin family. It turns out that Oksana Oleksandrivna Vyazmikina was a citizen of the Russian Federation in 2016. At least this is what is stated in the court decision from April 2016.
We will remind you that in 2016, Russia occupied Crimea and part of Donbas for almost two years. In the same year, Serhiy Vyazmikin became the 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 Halytskyi. And at the same time, his wife has a Russian passport.
