Lviv "businessmen" Oleksandr Svishchev and Hryhoriy Kozlovskyi, who are responsible for the production of more than 60% of illegal tobacco products in Ukraine, continue to smuggle cigarettes to Europe, under the guise of connections to the ex-president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko.
The illegal "business" of producing illegal tobacco products and smuggling cigarettes to Europe was organized by long-time partners Oleksandr Svishchev and Hryhoriy Kozlovsky on the basis of Vynnykiv Tobacco Factory LLC in the Lviv region.
Although on May 19, Kozlovskyi and Svishchev officially left the list of founders of Vynnykivska Tobacco Factory LLC, and the company formally belongs to ex-founder Ruslan Bytskyi, the position of director at the company is held by Kozlovskyi's business partner Rostyslav Pavliv.
In general, a number of companies belonging to Hryhoriy Kozlovskyi and his business partners operate on the territory of the Lviv Tobacco Factory in Vynnyky. The production departments of the factory belong to the daughter of Grigory Kozlovsky, Sofia Maksimets, and the owner of the Marvel.Strong and Lifa cigarette brands, which are manufactured at the factory, is the daughter of Oleksandr Svishchev, Viktoriya Svishcheva.
"Vynnykivka Tobacco Factory" and "Marvel International Tobacco Group" sell products through "Marvel Trading House" LLC, which belongs to the deputy of the Lviv City Council from "European Solidarity" Oleksiy Riznyk, who was listed as the director of the factory until May 19, 2024.
Recently, there was an attempt to search the territory of the tobacco factory by detectives of the Bureau of Economic Security together with the police, but they were forced out by young men with a sporty appearance, who were later identified as "fighters" of Hryhoriy Kozlovskyi.
So, as we can see, Kozlovskyi and Svishchev continue to carry out the operational management of Vynnikov Tobacco Factory LLC, although they have officially left the founders, probably for fear of becoming the main suspects in the already opened criminal cases for the production of illegal tobacco products and the smuggling of cigarettes to Europe.
To avoid responsibility, including criminal, Oleksandr Svishchev and Hryhoriy Kozlovskyi are helped by connections in Petro Poroshenko's closest circle.
In the context of the relations between Oleksandr Svishchev and Hryhoriy Kozlovskyi, it is worth recalling that in 2015-2020 Kozlovskyi was a deputy of the Lviv City Council from the political party Petro Poroshenko Bloc "Solidarity", and in 2020-22 - a deputy of the Lviv Regional Council from "European Solidarity".
A less obvious connection between Svishchev-Kozlovskyi's illegal business and BPP can be traced through the " handy activists " of the Lviv tobacco mafia of the NGO "Life" and the Director General of the Directorate of Public Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, and in the past the head of the same NGO "Life" Andriy Skipalsky.
It is worth noting that Andriy Skipalskyi received his position in the Ministry of Health during the tenure of Petro Poroshenko. Also, Skipalskyi is the best man of Volodymyr Vyatrovych, a People's Deputy from "European Solidarity", who, like Hryhoriy Kozlovskyi, also hails from the Lviv region.
Let's not forget about the wife of Volodymyr Vyatrovich - Yaryna Yasynevich, who is friends with the second wife of Andriy Skipalskyi and, as she herself indicated on her Facebook page, "takes care of public health at the Center of Civic Representation "Zhyttia".
But let's return to the background of Oleksandr Svishchev and Hryhoriy Kozlovskyi, which they diligently "clean" from the Internet.
Lviv businessman Oleksandr Yuriyovych Svishchev, known in criminal circles as Sasha Sedoi, in 2014 took an active part in theft schemes at the State Enterprise "Ukrspirt" and alcohol smuggling to Europe and Crimea. Moreover, at the behest of the former head of the alcohol monopoly Mykhailo Labutin and his "partner" Oleksandr Svishchev, the directors of the distilleries in the regions were quickly changed, appointing "their" people to the positions, who were supposed to establish the production of the counterfeit product. Moreover, in volumes exceeding 60% of the total production of alcohol in Ukraine.
Oleksandr Svishchov was part of the so-called "Lviv mafia", an important figure of which is still the sponsor of "Svoboda" VO Ihor Kryvetskyi. After a criminal case (No. 12014000000000444) was opened in connection with embezzlement at Ukrspirt, it became clear that at least 250 million hryvnias were stolen from the company, and during the investigation this amount increased to 1 billion.
The investigation confirmed the fact of the production of unaccounted for alcohol. But after a criminal case from the proceedings of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was demanded from the GPU, which was then headed by a "libertarian" - Makhnitsky, the investigation was quietly covered up. Oleksandr Yuriyovych Svishchev was able to avoid criminal liability.
And in 2017, Oleksandr Svishchev, also known as Sasha Sedoi, a respectable Lviv businessman, started cleaning the Internet of all mentions of his tumultuous criminal past by filing a lawsuit with the Pustomytiv District Court. Svishchev asked, in particular, to oblige several domestic publications to remove materials that "disgrace his name." The court listened to the plaintiff's arguments:
As follows from the court's decision, Oleksandr Svishchev did not like that he was called "one of the Lviv criminal authorities, originally from the stormy 90s." But were these words the only ones that embarrassed Svishchev so much? Here's what the journalists of our publication found: Oleksandr Yuriyovych Svishchev took an active part in theft schemes at the state-owned enterprise "Ukrspirt" and smuggling of the same alcohol to Europe. Not by himself, of course, but as part of the so-called Lviv mafia, the main figure of which was and is the well-known sponsor of Freedom, Ihor Kryvetskyi-Pups.
In addition, part of the alcohol went to the Crimea, to the plants of the then General Director of Ukrspirt Mykhailo Labutin. Svishchev's role was reduced to controlling the "watchers" of Laboutin, who instructed the latter how much and where to send products and how to distribute the stolen money.
After a criminal case (No. 1201400000000444) was opened for embezzlement at Ukrspirt, it became clear that at least 250 million hryvnias (in 2014 prices) were stolen from the enterprise. However, during the investigation, the figure increased to a billion.
There was also talk of an attempted raider capture of the state-owned enterprise "Zirnensky Distillery". The result of the criminal case was the escape of Labutin and his accusation of embezzlement of over one billion hryvnias. Oleksandr Yuriyovych Svishchev and Hryhoriy Petrovych Kozlovsky appeared in the case, but over time their names disappeared from the materials. But in the articles that Oleksandr Sedoi so painstakingly cleans, the following photos have been preserved:
It was signed as follows: "June 11, 2014, Kyiv str. Pylypa Orlyka, "Meat and Fish" restaurant, in the photo Labutin (red) is being instructed by Oleksandr Svishchev (Sedoy, green), Oleksiy Shevchenko (Chef, blue), surrounded by security."
The next photo was named "October 22, 2014, Kyiv, St. Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, 23-B, in the photo Labutin (red) teaches instructions from Svishchev (Sedoi, green), Shevchenko (Chief, blue), surrounded by guards:
As for more recent stories, let's return to the tobacco factories controlled by Svishchev-Kozlovsky. As it turned out, they got into smuggling.
Information about this became the property of the general public in March 2020, in connection with the appointment of Ihor Vistak, a native of Lviv region, as the head of the Volyn customs office. Here's what "Volyn News" wrote about this: "at the end of February, one of the Telegram channels reported on the possible appointment of a Lviv native to Volyn. It was noted that his candidacy is being lobbied by the cigarette mafia of the Lviv region. The owner of the Lviv Tobacco Factory, Hryhoriy Kozlovskyi, is said to be behind Vestak. And also the co-owner of the factory Oleksandr Svishchev, a former member of an organized criminal group nicknamed "Sedoi", he is also the owner of the construction company "Avalon Inc." These businessmen, in turn, lobbied for the appointment allegedly through another influential Lviv businessman and politician, Igor Kryvetsky, nicknamed Pups."
The Lviv newspaper "Forpost" reported that the Lviv and Vynnykiv tobacco factories are driving contraband to the European Union. According to the publication, these cigarettes are made on the left lines and are not accounted for by anyone except the owners of the production: Jin Ling cigarettes. These Camel-like cigarettes, originally of Chinese origin, with a mountain goat on the label, literally flooded the European "black market", becoming one of the leaders among smuggled tobacco brands. At the same time, according to the assurances of the European customs services, no legal deliveries of "Jin Ling" were made to the countries of the European Union.
According to "Forpost", production and smuggling are managed by factory owners with the active assistance of the security forces, which Kozlovsky established during Yanukovych's reign. And among the business partners are Oleksandr Svishchov and several other no less odious persons:
Another cigarette smuggling scheme with the participation of Svishchev-Kozlovsky became known to the general public, one might say by accident, since the Hungarian law enforcement officers had already started the investigation.
At the beginning of October 2021, a crane broke down at the Chepel wharf in Hungary. Because of this, the barge, which was allegedly carrying Artemsil brand salt from Ukraine, was sent to the city of Paksh for unloading. During the removal of the cargo, one of the containers was damaged, and cigarettes spilled out of it. It could not fail to attract attention.
A full inspection of the cargo began, and it testified: a record batch of contraband cigarettes for Hungary was disguised under packages of salt - according to the Hungarian side, 2,375,465 packs. If you sell each of them even for a modest 3 euros, the total will be about 7 million euros (over 214 million UAH). However, in Hungary, cigarettes are usually sold even more expensive - from 5 euros per pack in retail.
The smuggling party was immediately arrested by local law enforcement officers. They also established that only in 2021, three such barges were sent from Ukraine - in April, June and July. In Hungary, they believe that this was also contraband.
The recipient of contraband cigarettes is the Polish company Crystal Invest with Ukrainian owners. It was founded by the son of the former Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Volodymyr Badagov - Vyacheslav Badagov.
Not only the recipient is famous, but also the brand of cigarettes - Marvel. Their producer is the Vynnykiv tobacco factory in the Lviv region.
As we can see, the background of "bandits from the 90s" does not prevent Oleksandr Svishchev and Hryhoriy Kozlovsky from conducting business with Petro Poroshenko's close entourage, and with the help of the "brothers" Kozlovsky completely realistically fend off the BEB inspections.
