Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine came as a shock to the whole world, leading to a humanitarian crisis that Europe has not seen in the 21st century. Millions of Ukrainians were forced to flee to the West, in particular to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Since March, almost a million Ukrainians have been added to the Central Register of Foreigners in Germany. Despite such mass migration, no significant conflicts between refugees and local residents have been recorded.
However, the event that took place at the end of May in the center of Vienna caused a stir and forced attention to possible criminal elements among migrants.
A group of men who ran out of cars with Ukrainian license plates attacked two taxi drivers near the Bristol Hotel in Vienna. This incident attracted the attention of Austrian politicians, who decided to investigate the situation and bring the perpetrators to justice. Deputy of the Vienna city council from the FPÖ party, Dominik Knepp, contacted the mayor of Dnipro, Boris Filatov, because the cars were registered in this Ukrainian city. According to part of the correspondence available to the editors, Filatov provided information about the suspects, which Napp passed on to the criminal police.
In an interview with the Austrian journalist Christian Vershütz, Boris Filatov stated that the attackers were guards of fraudulent call centers that deceived Ukrainian citizens. The mayor of Dnipro claims that these call centers are controlled by a businessman with a criminal past — Oleksandr Petrovskyi, known as "Narik".
In recent years, Oleksandr Petrovsky tried to create the image of a philanthropist and patriot, building churches and supporting Ukrainian football. He actively donated funds to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which received recognition from the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople. Petrovsky was even present at the Tomos presentation ceremony in Istanbul together with the then president Petro Poroshenko.
However, when "Narik" began to appear in photographs with famous Ukrainian politicians, journalists investigated his past. It turned out that his biography is full of criminal episodes that caused concern even in a society accustomed to corruption.
Born in Georgia under the surname Nalekreshvili, Oleksandr moved to Dnipropetrovsk with his mother. According to the media, in the late 1980s, he created a youth gang that engaged in racketeering in the markets and among small businessmen. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, criminal groups began to fill the power vacuum, and Petrovsky quickly expanded his influence.
A distinctive feature of "Narik" was that he invested the proceeds from criminal activities in legal business. He expanded his activities to import metals, trade in petroleum products, agricultural goods, cars, restaurant business, construction and production of mineral water. Part of the assets was registered to the mother and wife.
Petrovsky established contacts with influential politicians, in particular with Pavlo Lazarenko, the former head of the Dnipropetrovsk region and the future prime minister of Ukraine. Although Lazarenko was later accused of money laundering and spent more than 10 years in an American prison, in the 1990s his support helped Petrovsky strengthen his position.
Despite this, he could not avoid the criminal wars in the Dnipro in the late 90s. After an unsuccessful attempt on his life, Petrovsky temporarily moved to Israel, where he purchased real estate and transferred part of his assets.
Upon returning to Ukraine, Petrovsky retained his business interests and political connections. Numerous criminal cases were opened against him, in particular, on suspicion of murder, kidnapping and forgery of documents. However, these cases were often closed due to lack of evidence or disappearance of witnesses.
His daughter married the son of Andrii Pavelek, an influential MP from Petro Poroshenko's party and president of the Football Federation of Ukraine. Joint photos with Pavelko, in particular with the UEFA Champions League cup, drew the attention of society and journalists to Petrovsky.
Active participation in church affairs and assistance in obtaining Tomos strengthened his influence among the political elite. He can boast of acquaintance with Petro Poroshenko and Speaker of the Parliament Andriy Parubiy.
Despite the attempt to legalize himself, Petrovsky did not cut ties with the criminal world. His relationship with Serhii Oliynyk, known as "Umka" — "a thief in law," is especially close. They have known each other since the early 90s. In 2014, Oliynyk was crowned in St. Petersburg, despite tensions between Ukraine and Russia.
Oliinyk controls the fuel business, markets in Central and Eastern Ukraine, gambling business, operations with cryptocurrencies and smuggling. There is an assumption that funds from his activities were laundered through Petrovsky's legal business.
newspaper Novaya Gazeta called Oliynyk a "thief in law" and Petrovsky's right-hand man, while Narik himself was the head of the largest criminal group in Dnipro.
With the beginning of a full-scale war, Petrovsky moved to Vienna together with his associate Emil Aryutyunyan.
According to Dnipro journalists, they organized the illegal export of Ukrainian men of conscription age abroad, using the ban on the departure of this category of citizens from Ukraine. This activity has become extremely profitable as many are willing to pay large sums to avoid mobilization.
After the incident with the fight in Vienna, Petrovsky, according to our information, decided to move to Germany. He was already spotted in Berlin with his entourage.
On September 16, 2022, German law enforcement officers searched Petrovsky's residence in Berlin.
During the search, more than 450 thousand dollars and a collection of expensive chronographs of such brands as Parmigiani, Bovet, Zenith, Bregeut were seized.
According to German investigators, "Narik" is the leader of the largest organized criminal group in Dnipro, which is engaged in violent and economic crimes. Petrovsky is also associated with a network of fraudulent call centers, illegal extraction of amber, oil and gas, use of corruption schemes to appropriate state resources, and participation in the legalization of criminal proceeds. At the time of the search, Petrovskyi was not found because, according to the investigation, he left for Slovakia the day before, where he applied for a residence permit.
In addition, it became known that in 2015, Petrovsky received a Cypriot passport.
In November, two members of Narik's OZU, Serhii Svodin (Svodik) and Serhii Shuvaev, were detained in Dnipro and accused of creating a criminal group and stealing 70 hectares of land in the Samara floodplains. Later, it turned out that Shuvaev was also involved in a fraudulent call center scheme that defrauded Ukrainian refugees, swindling up to two million hryvnias every month. Thirteen members of this organization were detained, including the "watcher".
While the country was watching the news about searches and detentions, Petrovsky had his own event: the wedding of his daughter Yulia took place in an Italian castle, which cost about 60 million hryvnias.
It reminded me of the magnificent wedding of his other daughter, Bohdana, who married the son of the notorious Andriy Pavelek. Despite his escape from Ukraine, Petrovsky continues to conduct his official and unofficial affairs in Ukraine.
Oleksandr Petrovsky's daughter demonstrates a luxurious life at the resorts, publishing photos from elite places, including the Rolex tennis club in Monaco.
The situation with Oleksandr Petrovsky raises serious questions about the effectiveness of international cooperation in the fight against organized crime. His story demonstrates how criminal elements can integrate into political and business circles, using corruption and powerful connections.
The public has the right to know about possible threats and to demand transparency and decisive action from the authorities. Only joint efforts can stop the spread of criminal influence and ensure the safety of citizens both in Ukraine and in Europe.
