Volodymyr Omelyan
Official biography
Date of birth: 30.01.1979
Place of birth. Education.
Born in Lviv. In 2000, he graduated from the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, and in 2001 — from the Lviv Polytechnic National University. He majored in finance, international relations, economics and entrepreneurship.
Career. He began his career in 2000 as a second-category specialist in the NATO and Foreign Affairs Department of the Euro-Atlantic Integration Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
In 2001, he was appointed Attaché of the NATO and European Security Division of the Directorate for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation of the Department for Political and Security Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
In 2001-2002 — Attaché of the Planning, Coordination and Control Group of the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
2002-2004 — Third Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
2004-2006 — Second Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2006-2007 — Deputy Director of the Department for Support of the Minister of Economy of Ukraine (patronage service).
2007-2008 — First Secretary of the Analytical Division of the Department of the Secretariat of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
2008-2009 — Head of the Department for Organizing the Work of the Minister of Environmental Protection of Ukraine.
2009-2010 — Director of the Department of the Secretariat of the Minister of Environmental Protection of Ukraine (patronage service).
2010-2011 — Advisor to the Department of Documentation Processing and Control at the Secretariat of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
In 2011, he was an advisor to the Analytical and Image Division of the Department of the Secretariat of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, then an advisor and acting head of the Russian Federation Division of the First Territorial Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2011-2012 — Head of the Russian Federation Division of the Russian Federation Department of the First Territorial Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, then Deputy Director of the First Territorial Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine — Head of the Russian Federation Division of this Department.
2012-2014 — Deputy Director of the Department for Supporting the Activities of the Minister of Finance of Ukraine (patronage service).
From March 2014 to December 2014 — Head of the Service of the Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
From December 2014 to April 2016 — Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine (Andriy Pyvovarsky).
From April 14, 2016 to August 29, 2019 — Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine in the government of Volodymyr Groysman.
He is married for the second time. His wife is Svitlana Bevza, a designer of the Ukrainian women’s clothing brand Bevza. The couple has a son and a daughter who were born in the United States and are U.S. citizens. He also has a son from his first marriage.
Awards
May 2, 2017 — Patriarch Filaret of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine awarded the Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr the Great, III degree, for his personal contribution to the revival of the Ukrainian state and spirituality, and for enhancing the role of the Ukrainian Church in the life of society and Ukraine.
Compromise
On January 1, 2017, the Road Fund was established in Ukraine. It is planned to accumulate UAH 40 billion from the road tax, which is included in the excise tax on fuel. Given the total length of the roads and their deplorable condition, it is clear that all this money should be immediately used for repairs.
But Omelyan does not think so, he is more interested in making money. That’s why he announced that the first toll road, Kyiv-Odesa, would soon appear in Ukraine. The most interesting thing is that the cost will be 2 UAH per kilometer. That is, to travel to Odesa from the capital or vice versa, you will need to pay more than 1000 UAH. This is with an average official salary of no more than 8000.
In addition, such “innovations” will provoke a rise in bus fares.
But it seems that Omelyan is not very interested in this.
In addition, Omelyan recently made a statement that made everyone laugh quite a bit. In February of this year, the head of the Ministry of Infrastructure made a loud announcement: a test site for the Hyperloop ultra-fast transportation system developed by Elon Musk will be built in Dnipro.
Even the laziest of us reminded the minister about the metro to Troieshchyna.
Uber
Volodymyr Volodymyrovych was one of the main initiators of the opening of the American Uber project in Ukraine. At the same time, experts have come to the conclusion that the money earned does not go to the state treasury. On the contrary, it goes to foreign countries. Therefore, the official’s motivation was unclear. Rumor has it that the minister lobbied for this issue for personal gain.
“Ukrzaliznytsia”
After receiving the ministerial post, the politician said that he planned to reform the state-owned company Ukrzaliznytsia. To do this, he invited Polish specialist Wojciech Balczun to become the CEO. However, the minister did not get along with the new CEO. Wojciech even sent a complaint to the Prime Minister that Omelyan was exceeding his official powers. Namely, that Volodymyr Volodymyrovych had created two provisions that gave him the right to make changes to the organization’s work. In effect, he became the head of Ukrzaliznytsia. In addition, he appointed his deputy as director of the supervisory board. In 2017, a scandal erupted: The Cabinet of Ministers took away Omelyan’s right to run Ukrzaliznytsia. According to the new rules, the company reported directly to the Cabinet of Ministers. A few weeks later, the Polish boss reported on the work done, but Omelyan sharply criticized the work of the CEO, calling his activities ineffective.
For his part, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman defended Wojciech Balczun and recommended that Volodymyr Omelian better monitor the condition of the railway stations.
In addition, the Minister of Infrastructure filed a lawsuit to return Ukrazaliznytsia to his subordination. In 2017, a judge granted Omelyan’s claim in a ruling.
Scandal with the birth of his second child
In 2018, there was another scandal related to the birth of the minister’s second child. In February, Svitlana Bevza flew to New York while pregnant to show her own brand’s collection at Fashion Week. However, the woman fell ill there, and the doctor allegedly forbade her to fly home because there was a threat to the fetus.
The politician said that childbirth in the United States of America was free for his family due to state laws. According to the official, the law provides for free insurance.
However, it later turned out that the story of unpaid childbirth was a lie. Ukrainian journalist Kateryna Panova, who lives in America, explained that without money, you can give birth in the country only with Emergency Medicaid insurance. It is provided only to poor Americans. In this case, all costs are covered by the state budget. According to Panova, Omelyan’s family cannot be called poor. Therefore, we can conclude that either Mr. Omelyan lied or violated American law.
Fraud by Omelyan’s wife
Journalists found out that the minister’s wife Svitlana Bevza uses fraudulent schemes in her business. It turned out that the woman violates some Ukrainian laws. For example, she takes money for her clothes in cash in euros. This means that she does not pay taxes. The journalists concluded that the businesswoman can conduct such activities with impunity thanks to the support of her brother and husband, who are directly connected to the Cabinet of Ministers.
NABU completes investigation into Omelyan’s “illicit enrichment”
According to a journalist of Slovo i Dilo, the case file includes about 40 volumes.
As you know, on September 13, NABU detectives notified Omelyan of suspicion of illicit enrichment and declaration of false information. According to the investigation, from 2008 to April 2015, Omelyan spent at least UAH 3.45 million, which does not match his income. According to the Bureau, the Minister received UAH 2.17 million in official income between 2000 and April 2018.
NABU detectives also found out that in 2015 Omelyan acquired assets, the legality of the grounds for which was not confirmed by evidence and the value of which significantly exceeded his legitimate income. These assets included a new 2015 BMW X5 SUV, cash in the amount of 90 thousand dollars and 25 thousand euros. The total value of such assets at that time amounted to UAH 4.23 million. In addition, the investigation established that the Minister of Infrastructure had entered false information in his electronic declarations. Thus, in the electronic declaration for 2015, the value of assets owned or used by the Minister, as well as expenses, undeclared by him, amounted to at least UAH 3.034 million, and in 2016 — more than UAH 8.024 million.
Court releases former Infrastructure Minister on personal recognizance
The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine has imposed a preventive measure on former Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan in the form of a personal commitment, TASS reports.
Omelyan is suspected of illegal actions that resulted in the budget losing about $1.1 million.
The court ordered the ex-minister to appear before the investigator at the first request, report any change of residence and surrender his passport.
The criminal case against Omelyan was opened because in 2017 he signed an order to reduce port fees by 20%. One of these fees is a revenue stream of the state budget and is regulated by a decision of the parliament, not the minister.
Internet users ridiculed the words of the Ukrainian minister about raising the flag over Vladivostok
Internet users reacted with irony and laughter to the words of Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan, which he expressed about Vladivostok. This was reported on Twitter.
One of the users joked on the social network that Ukrainians built the city of Vladivostok, but then the Mummy Troll came and took down the Ukrainian flag.
Another user said that we should be afraid of Ukrainians just in case.
Earlier, Omelyan said that he would raise the Ukrainian flag over Vladivostok, as he believes it was a hundred years ago.
Omelyan vs. Kolomoisky
The confrontation between Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan and Ihor Kolomoisky’s UIA has become one of the country’s most high-profile scandals. Recently, UIA filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Infrastructure, accusing officials of creating discriminatory conditions in the market and losing profits as a result. In response, Volodymyr Omelyan promised to consider a lawsuit to terminate UIA’s contracts with airports and reminded Aaron Mayberg of the UAH 400 million in aviation tax that UIA allegedly failed to pay to the budget.
Focus asked the head of the Ministry of Infrastructure about the details of the negotiations with Ryanair and his vision of UIA’s role in their failure. In a conversation with a Focus correspondent, the official was not shy in his statements. In particular, Omelyan suggests that the head of the UDP development company, Vasyl Khmelnytsky, who has the Kyiv (Zhulyany) airport under concession, and the Privat group may be colluding. The minister also claims that Boryspil’s top management is directly connected to UIA.
Focus is ready to give UIA and UDP shareholders and management the opportunity to express their position on the negotiations with Ryanair.
Omelyan’s salary has been revealed
Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan earned UAH 103,116.42 in July (he received UAH 83,008.71).
This is stated in the ministry’s response to a request from Slovo i Dilo.
The minister’s salary is UAH 8,347.83 (the same amount for intensity), UAH 4,173.92 for length of service, UAH 1,669.57 for the allowance for experts on secrecy (the same amount for work under regime restrictions), UAH 1,689.56 for business trips, vacation pay — 26 thousand 479.46 UAH, financial aid — 42 thousand 379.13 UAH, bonus for May and June — 3 thousand 796.36 UAH and 4 thousand 124.44 UAH, indexation — 438.75 UAH.
The politician’s wife, designer Svitlana Bevza, earned UAH 1.1 million over the year.
Volodymyr Volodymyrovych has 181 thousand hryvnias and 130 dollars in his bank accounts, while his wife has 1 thousand hryvnias, 272 dollars and 82 euros.
Omelyan’s wife indicated in the declaration a 269-square-meter house that she rents. She also listed a land plot near Kyiv. In addition, Bevza uses BMW and FORD cars for free.
Omelyan explains why he failed most of his promises
In the elections, Ukrainians passed a verdict on the “old system”. Volodymyr Omelyan, the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, is part of this system. He was not afraid of criticism, came to the Hromadske studio and answered questions from the host Danylo Mokryk on the air of the Mokryk Po Zhyve program, mostly about the promises that the minister had failed. By the way, the journalist took the promises from the Slovo i Dilo website.
The conversation began with reflections on why the people passed such a ruthless verdict on the government and “old” politicians during the elections. According to Omelyan, there is an extremely high demand for promises in society today.
“It happened as it happened, but I believe that I managed to open the sky over Ukraine, and now many Ukrainians have the opportunity to travel at the lowest prices. We started building roads. No one had built so many before us. And this is an objective picture. Maybe we should have promised miracles, I’m not sure,” he said.
The minister said that during his personal deep crisis in 2016, when he was facing tremendous resistance and thought about resigning as another honest, non-corrupt official, he eventually decided that it was irresponsible. “Because I am sure that without me, there would be no Ryanair in Ukraine. There is also a big question of how the roads would have been made,” he said.
Omelyan also admitted that he was glad to be remembered by Ukrainians as the minister who promised hyperloop: “It is much more pleasant for me to go down in history with a hyperloop, not as a huckster or a clown.”
He told us what will happen next with the hyperloop: “We clearly announced the stages of how we would do it. We have gathered a good pool of companies that are now developing this project. Now we have a fully prepared project proposal, a scientific assessment from the Ukrainian side, and we have applied for funding from the European Commission.”
He emphasized that he had never expected it to be a state project that would involve taxpayer money. “We immediately realized that it would be a commercial project. If we manage to get the first money to launch it, I think we will be able to participate in a pool with other companies,” Otmelian hopes.
In response to Mokryk’s remark that this looks rather illusory, especially when the much-touted train to Boryspil Airport stopped several times in the middle of the road and people were late for their flights, Omelyan said: “Whatever the case, this train has already carried more than half a million passengers.”
Omelyan said he was offered a “good” position if he did not criticize Zelenskyy.
Volodymyr Omelyan said that during the first week when he was served with a suspicion notice in the case of illegally setting a 20% discount on port tariffs, he was offered a “promising” position with a proposal to stop “political persecution” if he stopped criticizing Zelenskyy and Yermak, but he refused.
The former Minister of Infrastructure wrote about this on Facebook.
“The funniest and saddest thing about this story is that within the first week of being served with a suspicion, I was offered a very good and promising position with excellent financial support, as for me. The package with the position included a proposal to stop the political persecution of law enforcement agencies if I stopped criticizing Zelensky and Yermak.
I rejected the offer, and the case went ahead. And again, I am the only former minister whose case is being considered by the HACC,” Omelyan commented on the referral of the case on the illegality of the 20% discount on port tariffs and fees in 2018.
Omelyan also notes that the reduction of these tariffs led to an increase in cargo transshipment in 2018 by several percent, and in 2019 — by almost 20%.
“And the maritime industry is the only one that continued to grow in the crisis year of 2020. That is, the decision was correct, economically and politically justified,” the former minister says.
Volodymyr Omelyan became a member of Poroshenko’s party and joined its governing bodies.
Former Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan posted the news that he was becoming part of the European Solidarity party on his Facebook page.
On December 10, at the party congress, Petro Poroshenko introduced new members of the party. Among them was Volodymyr Omelyan, who headed the Ministry of Infrastructure in the Groysman government from 2016 to 2019.
“Well, today is the end of my carefree, cheerful, full of bright adventures life as a homeless single oppositionist,” Omelyan began his post with these words.
In his post, he explains his decision by the fact that the party has gone through two election cycles, showing better results each time. In his opinion, the party has an idea and an ideology.
“The journey of a thousand steps begins with the first one,” the former minister summarized.
Earlier, a criminal case was opened against the former Minister of Infrastructure for the budget’s shortfall in port dues.
Ex-Minister Omelyan promoted the deaths of people in road accidents and blamed Zelensky for everything
On Sunday, July 12, 4 people were killed in a terrible car accident caused by a drunk driver near Kyiv. Unfortunately, this newsworthy event did not go unnoticed by unprincipled politicians who decided to promote themselves on it.
One of them was former Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan. The former official could not resist directly blaming President Zelensky for the deaths of an entire family.
“From July 1, there was supposed to be criminal liability for driving under the influence of alcohol. But President Zelensky decided otherwise and vetoed this law — “just an administrative matter.” On Sunday, on the Obukhiv highway from Koncha Zaspa, a drunken scoundrel killed a family: both parents and their two children. The third child is in a very serious condition in the hospital. Even if he survives, he will be an orphan. Over the past few days, more than a dozen people have been wounded and killed at the front. Because President Zelensky decided to play another “peace”. When you hear that an incompetent government is killing, in most cases it is not just criticism from the opposition. This is a sad reality! The actions of idiots are killing us and depriving us of our future!” the populist wrote, mixing everything up.
At the same time, the “father of hyperbole” forgot to mention that Zelensky did not veto anything, but signed another law that repealed the previous one. Moreover, the law signed by Zelenskyy, which came into force on July 3, was passed by the Verkhovna Rada — deputies from all factions, including the party that Omelyan now sympathizes with, Poroshenko’s European Solidarity, voted for it (although Poroshenko himself was not present at the vote). In total, the result of the political party is as follows: “for” — 20 votes, ‘against’ — 0, ‘did not vote’ or were not at work, and voting is work — 7.
Thus, if Omelyan wanted to impose full moral responsibility for the deaths of people, he should have shared it among all branches of government. It would have been even better for the ex-official to keep silent and not try to gain immediate political advantage from the blood.
In his comments, Omelyan was instantly shamed and shamed, but he has decided not to resign his post for now.
Omelyan considers the search a “greeting” from Zelensky
On June 12, at 6:30 a.m., SBI officers came to the house in Kyiv region, which Omelyan rents, to search it.
According to the UP, the reason was a court ruling in the proceedings on crimes against Maidan — namely, the actions of former MP from the Party of Regions Gennadiy Bobov: he is considered to be involved in the murder of journalist Vasyl Sergienko on April 4, 2014 and in an attempt to destroy Prykhodko’s property on July 11, 2015 in Cherkasy region.
According to the register of property rights, the house that was searched is registered to both Svetlana Bobova and Khrystyna Bevza. It is from the latter that Omelyan rents his home.
Vacationing in Zanzibar
Omelyan’s posts about Zanzibar unexpectedly sparked a wave of quarrels on Facebook between him and former Minister of Economic Development and current advisor to the head of the OP Tymofiy Mylovanov.
Milovanov published an ironic post in which he wrote that Omelyan had gone to Zanzibar and Fursa (an investment banker and economist) had gone to the Emirates. He wrote about himself that he was staying in Kyiv, even though he had been traveling to America for many years.
Milovanov’s explanation of his position. Summary While the people are suffering, Infrastructure Minister Omelyan is vacationing in Tanzania at our expense. And unfortunately, for a «hole» in the treasury of 30 million hryvnias. Omelyan got off very lightly. His passport was taken away, so now he won’t be able to vacation in Zanzibar. Now that Volodymyr Volodymyrovych has joined Poroshenko, apparently, European Solidarity smells like honey.