Oleksandr Gennadiyovych Shutskyi is a Ukrainian ex-officer who, thanks to his Napoleonic ambitions, was unscrupulously enriched in positions in the customs office and found himself in the field of view of the SBU and the SBU. Therefore, in this article, we decided to investigate the blatant episodes of Shchutskyi's corrupt activities, which got him into trouble.
Oleksandr Shutskyi started his career at the customs office in September 2016, assuming the position of head of the "Lutsk" customs post of the Volyn customs office. Already in October 2017, he participated in the competition for the post of head of Volyn Customs, but this position was taken by Viktor Kryvytskyi, who was closely connected with the team of the then Prime Minister of Ukraine, Volodymyr Groysman. Subsequently, Shutsky was offered to head the Sumy Customs of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine as acting chief.
Since November 22, 2019, Oleksandr Shutskyi has been acting head of the Black Sea Customs Service of the State Customs Service of Ukraine. In this position, he continues work on strengthening border control and combating smuggling.
As part of his political career, Oleksandr Shutskyi was an assistant to People's Deputy Mykhailo Apostol from 2012 to 2014, and later an assistant to Ihor Brychenko on public grounds.
Back in 2016, Oleksandr Shutsky, who was one of the deputy chiefs of the Volyn customs office, was in the spotlight due to his significant financial position, which raises questions about his sources of income and the work system of customs officials in general. At a time when the average salary of customs officers in Ukraine was several thousand hryvnias, the declarations of officials show luxury cars, expensive houses and significant amounts of cash. Shutsky is no exception to this trend.
One of the most high-profile cases related to Shutsky was his declaration, where he listed luxury cars, including a Bentley Continental GT, a BMW X5 and a Mercedes GL 350. Such luxury does not quite correspond to the official salary of a customs officer. Shutsky confirmed that the Bentley really belongs to him, but explained that the Mercedes was "gifted" to him by a friend due to technical problems with the car, which partially burned down. This explanation, however, did not dispel doubts about the sources of financing for such purchases.
Shutskyi's property includes not only a luxurious car fleet, but also elite housing in Kyiv. For example, his apartment in Podil, one of the most expensive areas of the capital, is valued at about a quarter of a million dollars. This property is surprising to many, because the official income of the customs officer does not allow such purchases without attracting additional sources of financing. And this is still in the first year of work at the customs office.
The next episode of Shutskyi's dishonest activity was exposed in 2017, when Yuriy Lutsenko, the former Prosecutor General of Ukraine, was going through difficult and troubling times.
On August 15, Lutsenko took a significant step in favor of Vadym Alperin, known as "the king of Odessa smuggling." He transferred Alperin's case from NABU to the National Police, which gave Alperin a chance to return $20 million seized in 2017 during a special operation. This money is currently in the National Agency for Tracing and Asset Management.
How did it happen? NABU claims that on May 24, the case was transferred to the SBI, but at the end of June Lutsenko canceled this decision and on August 15 unexpectedly transferred the case to the National Police "without studying the case materials." This could render evidence in the case inadmissible in court, which in turn could allow Alperin to recover his funds.
Interestingly, in 2017, Alperin tried to bribe an NABU agent in the amount of $800,000 so that his case would be transferred from the NABU to the National Police, but he failed. Obviously, Lutsenko knew about this and, apparently, deliberately made an illegal decision with obvious consequences.
To better understand the situation, it is worth mentioning Alperin's "Article 55" smuggling scheme, which operated in 2017. The scheme consisted of creating "paper companies" that received large batches of goods from China at discounted prices. When the goods reached the customs, their value was adjusted to the real level, but thanks to "Article 55" companies could put the goods into free circulation, and then the importers went to court, which obliged the customs to clear the goods at a reduced price.
Fiscal authorities could not cope with this scheme on their own, since judges of the Odesa District Administrative Court participated in it. As it turned out, Alperin systematically filed lawsuits to get the right judge, which gave him results. As a result of the special operation of NABU and GFS, 450 million UAH of financial guarantees were seized from the deposit accounts of the Kyiv Customs.
Alperin tried to get his money back, to look for ways to influence the case. On November 30, 2017, he was detained for attempting to bribe an NABU agent. The Pechersk Court made a decision on the arrest with the possibility of a bail of 20 million UAH, but already in January 2018, the Court of Appeal of Kyiv reduced the bail to 140 thousand UAH.
Oleksandr Shchutsky, who had close ties with Lutsenko, played an important role in this situation. Shchutskyi, Serhiy Serdyuk's partner, worked at the Sumy customs office and was a close friend of Lutsenko's eldest son, Oleksandr Lutsenko. Shchutskyi was appointed to the position in the customs office in 2016, which coincided with the appointment of Lutsenko to the post of Prosecutor General. In June 2018, 37 containers with goods worth a total of 15-20 million dollars were detained at the Odessa customs, which led to a big scandal. Lutsenko was forced to remove Serdyuk, admitting that he worked with a person whose group was among the largest smuggling clans.
Thus, together with Poroshenko's trusted representative, People's Deputy Oleksandr Granovsky, all these high-ranking officials formed an office that controlled customs and all related schemes. It is difficult to imagine how much money was stolen from the state.
However, at that time Oleksandr Shutsky did not bear any responsibility and continued to work until journalists exposed his schemes in 2021.
According to media reports, Oleksandr Shchutsky is a key figure in customs schemes that bring monthly losses in the amount of 30 million hryvnias. The amazing schemes of minimization of customs payments implemented by Shchutsky allow a number of firms to reduce the cost of imported goods, which leads to significant losses for the state budget.
It is known that companies managed by Oleksandr Shchutsky, such as "Ukrtorgpromsnab" LLC and "Arker Trade" LLC, are actively working under this scheme. They systematically understate the customs value of imported products, which allows them to avoid paying full customs payments. Instead of replenishing the country's budget, millions of hryvnias end up in the pockets of businessmen.
Researching this material, it also became known that Shchutskyi became famous thanks to his schemes even while working at the Sumy Customs. It was then that the first accusations against him regarding the evasion of anti-dumping duties on Russian fertilizers and other products began to appear. Even Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman was contacted for his activities, but the results of the inspections were never made public. However, while collecting material for this investigation, there were no reports in the media about such schemes by Shchutsky, perhaps this is slander, but the situation was clarified by this link https://www.fttc.com.ua/2021/01/aleksandr-shhutskij-i-shematoz -chernomorskoj-tamozhni-bolee-30-mln-v-karman-ezhemesyachno/ , which contains a headline about Shchutsky, but when you click on it, a completely different article is highlighted. Evidently, Oleksandr Shchutsky uses money or his own connections to whitewash himself in the information field.
So, after moving to the Black Sea Customs, Shchutskyi continued to work according to the old schemes, which immediately affected the plan of revenues to the budget. In January, the customs under his leadership fulfilled the plan by only 51%, which was the worst indicator in the country. Due to such "results", the state did not receive billions of hryvnias.
A bribe to Shchutsky
In the summer of 2021, 700,000 dollars were found Most of the amount could be assigned to the acting director of the Department of Risk Profiling of the Customs Service, the former head of the Volyn Customs Service, Oleksandr Shchutskyi.
On June 4, employees of the State Security Bureau detained the head of the department of the "Yagodin" customs post of the Volyn Customs Service, Mykhailo Burdeyny, while transporting a bribe. 700,000 dollars were found in his car - it was the May monthly delivery of "cash" for a group of government structures involved in a number of corruption schemes. As the editor-in-chief of the publication "Censor. NO" Yuriy Butusov, a significant part of this amount could be assigned to the acting director of the Risk Profiling Department of the Customs Service, Oleksandr Shchutskyi.
According to Butusov, the bundles of money were tied with rubber bands, and the addressees were written on them: "SB Lyub", "Prosecutor's Office", "Deputy".
"SB Lub" can mean the Security Service of Luboml — a district department that deals with the fight against smuggling at the "Yagodin" post. "Prosecutor's office" — the addressee is not specified. "Zam" - it is difficult to understand exactly where the money is intended, but it is likely that it is some kind of customs chief. There is also information about money for the police and structures responsible for registration of vehicles. The total amount of money for the control bodies is about 100 thousand dollars," writes Butusov.
According to him, the main part of the money was intended for the management of the Risk Profiling Department of the Customs Service.
"To whom exactly was most of the sum intended? According to sources close to the investigation, the bulk of the money was to be transferred to the management of the Department of Risk Profiling of the Customs Service. The acting director of this department is Oleksandr Shchutskyi," Butusov emphasizes, adding that the investigation should establish the involvement of the former head of the Volyn customs office.
The editor-in-chief of the publication also emphasizes that the amount of the bribe — $700,000 in cash — is impressive, as it is only for one month and from one customs post.
"Perhaps we do not know the entire scheme of distribution of funds. It is likely that this is not the only channel for collecting money at Yahodina. If you calculate the amounts on a national scale, it becomes clear that such schemes can exist at all customs and posts. The recently appointed head of the customs service, Pavlo Ryabikin, estimated the state's losses from smuggling at approximately 100-150 billion hryvnias... Unfortunately, systemic reforms of law enforcement agencies are not being carried out, and therefore, probably next month, when transporting "cash" to Kyiv from other posts and customs, no one will will not be detained, the "watchers" will be replaced, and the new heads of departments, appointed by the right people, will once again carry money in trunks," Butusov concluded.
Of course, after the scandal involving a bribe of 700,000 dollars, the customs officer Oleksandr Shchutsky began to cover his tracks thanks to his favorite media technologies.
After a "run-in" with the Volyn customs office, which, according to many, was going to him, Oleksandr needed to clear his name a little.
He did not invent anything better than placing classic "jeans".
But even this he could not do well.
What is not a sentence is a pearl.
"They took advantage of the situation. Obviously, in their understanding, the fact that I once worked in Volyn should have become a certain argument in my alleged participation in the corruption scheme. According to this logic, I could be accused of setting fire to the synagogue in Kherson last year, because I was working in that region at the time."
However, the jeans did not help, and customs officer Oleksandr Shchutsky, who was to receive a bribe of 700,000 dollars, was searched.
The investigative actions took place in accordance with the court order (a copy of which was handed over to Shchutskyi) within the framework of the criminal case of "the cashier of the Volyn Customs Mykhailo Burdeyny".
"The case of the "cashier Burdeyny" and his alleged patron Shchutsky is now one of the most revealing - both for the State Security Bureau and the State Customs Service. We are convinced that an honest investigation of Burdeyny and Shchutsky can lead to very scandalous details of corruption at the customs during Mr. Ryabikin's time," writes "Anti-rating".
Already in the fall, Burdeyny's case was extended by the decision of the Prosecutor General's Office, on June 22, 2021, the case of "Volynska Kasa" was separated into a separate proceeding and transferred to NABU. And in 2023, the case was closed . And of course, Shutsky did not even appear in it.
Friendship with a Ukrainophobe
Every time the mass media published materials about Oleksandr Shchutsky, the topic was raised that the hero of the investigation did not indicate in his declaration the two luxury cars he uses, and did not reveal the real owner of these cars. And yet in the same summer of 2021, the reason for this became known. According to the investigation of the "Money" program, the cars are formally registered to Sumy resident Maryna Wegmann, who actively supports separatist sentiments and anti-Ukrainian propaganda.
Groshey journalists discovered that Shchutsky regularly drives an Audi SQ7 with the number ВМ5000ВМ, which was produced in 2017 and costs about 100,000 dollars. This car is not listed in Shchutskyi's declaration. Also missing from the declaration is another Audi car – Q7 with the same license plate, on which Shchutsky was spotted last year, when he was fined for speeding on the Odesa highway.
Instead, the official stated in the declaration that he is renting an Audi A7, the owner of which is allegedly Marina Wegmann. Despite the fact that Shchutsky incorrectly indicated Wegmann as his middle name in the declaration (instead of Valeriivna, he wrote Serhiivna), the journalists were able to find her.
It is known that Marina Wegmann, born in 1980, used to live in Sumy, where Shchutsky worked as the head of customs. In recent years, she has probably been living abroad, working in Duty Free and showing open dislike for Ukraine and Ukrainians. In social networks, she publishes posts with anti-Ukrainian content, in particular: "My country did not give me anything. I would never go to fight for her! My country is Orthodox Russia. I love her and I love her president! And you will disappear in your so-called anti-terrorist operation".
Wegmann's page on social networks shows that she openly supports Porechenkov, who shot at Ukrainian soldiers. Wegmann praises Putin and speaks negatively about Ukrainians, calling them miserable and poor people who suffer from a lack of intelligence.
The authors of the investigation emphasize that for Wegmann even "Gyvy" is a real idol, about which she writes: "And Gyvy is my idol."
Shchutsky did not provide to journalists regarding his connections with a person who openly promotes anti-Ukrainian ideas. The journalists of "Groshey" officially appealed to the special services, which oppose separatism, with the question of Shchutskyi's possible connections with a person who conducts anti-Ukrainian propaganda, and whether this constitutes financing of subversive activities and treason.
Such a number of scandals cooled Shchutsky, and for the next 2 years he did not get into scandals or very carefully cleaned up the negativity about himself in the media, but already in the winter of 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers dismissed the acting head of the State Customs Service, Vyacheslav Demchenko, and two of his deputies, including and the hero of this investigation.
According to Yaroslav Zheleznyak, the first deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Tax and Customs Policy from the "Golos" faction, the new acting chairman of the State Customs Service will be one of the deputies, Serhii Zvyagintsev.
And already on February 10, the SBU and the SBU announced a new wave of searches , which affected both the central apparatus of the State Customs Service and nine regional customs offices in the north and west of Ukraine. The reason for the new searches were numerous accusations of corruption and participation in smuggling schemes, which were of a systemic nature.
At the beginning of 2023, large corruption schemes within the "grain corridor" were recorded. SBU and BEB conducted searches in the administrative premises of the Hospitality Service and in the residences of some high-ranking officials. Special attention was paid to the activities of Oleksandr Shchutskyi, who at that time was already under the crosshairs of the investigators.
On February 1, after a series of high-profile investigations, the government decided to conduct personnel changes in the Guest Service. Oleksandr Shchutskyi was dismissed from the post of first deputy head of the customs service "by agreement of the parties". At the same time, another deputy, Ruslan Cherkasskyi, was temporarily suspended from his duties due to a disciplinary investigation.
The scandals did not subside, and from February 3 to 9, the SBU and the SBU reported new revelations of corruption schemes in the Odessa and Chernivtsi customs offices. It was noted that the search and investigation were the result of long-term preparatory work, in the framework of which about 50 economic entities were identified, which helped the customs officers to implement shadow schemes.
Studies have shown that such schemes withdraw up to UAH 10 billion from the state budget every month. This caused outrage among society and politicians, in particular, People's Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak emphasized the importance of eliminating not only individuals, but also all corruption schemes.
In this context, the role of Oleksandr Shchutsky, as the former first deputy head of the customs service, becomes clear. His involvement in systemic corruption schemes was obviously an important part of this situation. After his dismissal from office, questions began to arise about whether enough will be done to eliminate all corruption schemes at the customs office, because the detection and elimination of corruption requires not only personnel changes, but also systemic political decisions.
