Kolikhayev Igor Viktorovich — “Satan of Kakhovka”
Official biography
Born on May 8, 1971, in Kherson, he is a Ukrainian politician and entrepreneur. Member of Parliament of Ukraine of the IX convocation (since 2019). Member of the Kherson Regional Council (2015-2019). He was a member of the party . He is an honorary citizen of Beryslav.
He has been acting mayor of Kherson since November 27, 2020.
Education
1988 — graduated from the Popov Naval Institute of Radio Electronics (St. Petersburg, Russia). A.S. Popov (St. Petersburg, Russia).
studied at the Ukrainian-American humanitarian institute “Wisconsin International University (USA) in Ukraine” — Ukrainian-American Concordia University.
Career
2006 — Together with Yuriy Bokalo, he created a futsal club, which was named after Igor Kolikhayev’s company Prodexim.
In October 2015, he was elected to the Kherson Regional Council on the list of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc Solidarity political party.
Since July 2019, he has been a Member of the Parliament of Ukraine, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Agrarian Policy.
Family.
Kolikhayev has never been officially married. He has two children: son Sviatoslav and daughter Anastasia.
Regalia.
Medal of Merit of the Football Federation of Ukraine.
Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Agrarian Policy and Land Relations in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the IX convocation
Dirt on him
Agrarian businessman and de facto latifundist Ihor Kolikhaiev “sowed” money in the constituency.
Last year, the owner of an agricultural holding (several agricultural enterprises in several districts of Kherson region) became a member of the Verkhovna Rada from the 184th constituency. Is it a coincidence that this constituency is home to the farmland cultivated by Kolikhayev’s holding?
He was supposed to run in the 184th district for the Servant of the People party, and was even on the list for the congress, where he was supposed to be nominated as a candidate for the presidential party that was fashionable at the time. But at the last minute, Kolikhayev was removed from the list and ran as an independent. “Most likely, the Servants did not accept Kolikhayev because he was then a deputy of the regional council from the BPP, and at that time it was already very strange to take such a guy to the Ze-Rukh.
Kolikhayev: a dark horse or a ray of light?
Kolikhayev ran for mayor of Kherson as an independent, although in the parliament he was a member of the For the Future party, which is considered a political project not only of Ihor Palytsia but also of his business partner Ihor Kolomoiskyi. Interestingly, Kolikhayev was elected to the Verkhovna Rada in the 184th majority constituency, which does not include Kherson.
Blogger Schneider: Kolikhayev manipulates facts to win Kherson mayor’s seat
Kherson mayoral candidate and MP from the For the Future party, Ihor Kolikhayev, is manipulating facts to win the second round of elections, journalist and blogger Mykhailo Schneider said on his Facebook page.
He noted that Kolikhayev promised that he had “booked” funds in the 2021 state budget for the completion of the bridge crossing in Kherson.
He recalled that during his visit to Kherson in August, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited this bridge crossing and promised that the subvention would be allocated, and the first phase of the bridge would open by May 1, 2021. And all this is part of the presidential project “Big Construction”. This was reported on August 20 by the President’s website.
“And now Ihor Kolikhayev is simply “anointing himself” to the president’s initiative. Knowing full well that Zelensky is a man of his word.
In Nova Kakhovka, before the election, Kolikhayev promised to get funds for the modernization of sewage treatment plants. In the second, he lobbied for funds to build a swimming pool. As a result, a new swimming pool never appeared in Nova Kakhovka. Beryslav’s wastewater flows untreated into the Dnipro River. And this is not to mention the broken roads, devastation and general neglect of the district, which is described by local residents and reported by local media. Frankly speaking, people there are completely disappointed in their candidate. But Kolykhayev doesn’t care anymore — he has set his sights on the mayor of Kherson. However, this figure uses the same methods as in the elections to the Rada — manipulations, lies and unrealizable promises,” Schneider summarized.
Cynical to the point of absurdity
During the election campaign, the civil society election observation network “OPORA” named three candidates in Kherson region who, in their opinion, were most actively bribing voters. The first place was taken by the candidate of the Verkhovna Rada, Ihor Kolikhayev, who held 20 charity events within 2 weeks.
In their opinion, he is the leader in the number of charity events. He distributed blankets in the Zolotoy Klyuchik kindergarten in Nova Kakhovka, tents and boots to the winners of the Dzhura military game in Novovorontsovka, ice cream in Velyka Lepetytsia, financed the equipment of a sports ground, repairs to educational institutions, gave balls, sports uniforms, tennis tables, meat grinders, etc… Gifts to children are distributed in bags with the symbols of the charity fund. We also provided free medical examinations, paid for medical specialists and free consultations for residents of Gornostayevka, made visits to Novovorontsovka, cardiac surgeons to Nova Kakhovka, and provided free medical examinations in Velyka Lepetysa.»
Kolikhayev did not limit himself to handing out elephants and orders. In order to secure the result, Kolikhayev and his team created a so-called grid (for the settlements of the 184th constituency), which provides for bribing voters by paying for their work as campaigners and for the final result.
The deputy is on the contrary
Ihor Kolikhayev also opposed the free sale of land.
Transnational agroholdings that have stretched their hands towards Ukrainian black soil is, of course, an interesting topic, but one for a separate discussion.
Ukraine has its own landlords with sweaty palms.
For example, Ihor Kolikhayev, who voted against the law on the land market, became the rightful owner of 11 fields with a total area of almost 100 hectares in 2019 alone. And he did not hesitate to reflect all this in his income declaration, says authoritative journalist Denys Kazansky.
The MP received all of these plots as gifts (generous, isn’t it?) or as an inheritance from people with whom Kolikhayev has never been related, not to mention friends. So we can safely assume that this is a hidden purchase of shares. And most likely, for a pittance. A pittance for Kolikhayev, not for poor old ex-collective farmers in equally poor villages in the 184th constituency in Kherson Oblast.
That is why the MP opposed the land market. It is better to buy land for a penny than at a competitive price, right?
Is a landlord mayor cool?
The fact that the land market will be opened is almost a given. As well as the fact that the owners of land shares will sell them. And, accordingly, they will terminate lease agreements with agricultural enterprises such as Kolikhayev’s agricultural holding. Unless, of course, these holdings refuse to pay an adequate price for the shares.
Currently, experts estimate the price at $2,000 per hectare. Kolikhayev has about 35,000 hectares under lease. Of these, 15 thousand hectares are state land. The owner of the agricultural holding hoped to privatize it, which is why he became a member of the Verkhovna Rada.
And having a mandate did not prevent Ihor Kolikhayev from participating in the local elections, shortly before which he became the founder of the We Live Here party. According to Ukrainian law, he will have to resign as an MP.
If farmers sell their shares to competitors and the state puts their land into free circulation, the latifundist MP will be out of business. Of course, he will still have money for bread and caviar, but he will no longer have the same scale of flight.
According to basic estimates, it will cost about $70 million to keep the business going. In this regard, the MP begins to frantically look for a way out of the situation. Obviously realizing that, not being a member of the parliamentary majority, he would not be able to recoup such a sum with the help of his constituency alone, he decided to find a richer fiefdom.
Forgetting about the promises he made to the villagers in 2019, MP Kolikhayev buys a political party. More precisely, not even a party, but registration documents for it.
Thus, the Revival of Ukraine party, previously controlled by MP Arseniy Pushkarenko from the Servant of the People party, was renamed We Live Here.
It was with this old-newborn party that Kolikhayev ran for mayor of Kherson. The MP seems to see our city as a source of the very $70 million he needs to maintain his position in the agricultural business.
To get the desired result, he uses the same tactics as in the rural 184th constituency: he hangs his billboards all over the city and delivers handouts to budgetary institutions.
How much can be stolen in Kherson?
Kherson’s budget for 2020 is approximately UAH 2.5 billion. The bulk of the money is the so-called protected items that go to pay salaries to state employees and maintain various budgetary institutions — schools, hospitals, kindergartens, etc. It is difficult to steal these funds. But there is another resource — funds allocated for the maintenance of housing and communal services, as well as the so-called development budget, the spending of which is directly controlled by the mayor and his team. The 2020 budget provides about UAH 400 million for housing and communal services. The development budget (the name speaks for itself — it is money for the development of the city) is another 140 million UAH. That is, UAH 540 million a year is a resource controlled by the mayor’s office. This is not counting the own funds of various utility companies whose directors are appointed by the mayor.
It can be argued that these amounts will not decrease over the next five years. That is, the future mayor will have access to 2.7 billion hryvnias. This is about $100 million, which is exactly the money Kolikhayev needs to solve his business issues.
Kolikhayev did not show up for the debate
Yesterday, on November 12, Ihor Kolikhayev did not come to the studio of the Suspilne Kherson TV channel for a debate with his rival in the mayoral race, Volodymyr Saldo. And while previously Ihor Kolikhayev refused to participate in debates invited by his opponent, this time he ignored the invitation not of Saldo, but of the TV channel and, accordingly, of the Kherson viewers, who were interested in comparing the two candidates with their own eyes.
In general, Igor Kolikhayev was angry about this.
But this is not the only very uncomfortable situation he found himself in.
His image as a politician suffered an equally serious blow when he announced his intention to run for mayor of Kherson. By doing so, he ignored his voters, who entrusted him to represent their interests in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as a member of parliament. If he is elected mayor of Kherson, he will inevitably have to resign from his parliamentary powers early and, accordingly, fail to fulfill his promises. He who has betrayed once will betray again. Having betrayed the residents of Nova Kakhovka, Beryslav, Velykolepety, Velykolepety, Vysokopil, Hornostayevka and Novovorontsov districts, he will betray the residents of Kherson as well.
Declaration
According to his declaration for 2019, Ihor Kolikhaiev does not own a home and rents a 168.3-square-meter house in Kherson and a 110-square-meter apartment in Kyiv. By the way, the millionaire MP received compensation from the state budget for renting this apartment.
The MP owns 14 land plots in different districts of Kherson region with a total area of 811,536 square meters and a value of UAH 1 million 576 thousand 732.
Kolikhayev also leases two cars — a 2016 Lexus LX 570 made in 2016 (leased on August 16, 2019, worth UAH 1 million 864 thousand 006) and Volkswagen Tuareg made in 2019 (leased on October 25, 2019, worth UAH 2 million 097 thousand 860).
The total income of Ihor Kolikhaiev for 2019 amounted to UAH 13 million 938 thousand 998, of which the MP’s salary was UAH 150 thousand 836. In addition to the Verkhovna Rada, Ihor Viktorovych earned a total of UAH 228,824 thousand at his main place of work and part-time jobs during the year.
Ihor Kolikhayev’s total income from entrepreneurial activities amounted to UAH 3 million 441 thousand 443.
Kolikhayev also inherited UAH 1 million 271 thousand 275.
In 2019, Kolikhayev received UAH 6 thousand 867 for renting his own property.
As cash income, the MP also registered the allocation of a land plot in Kakhovka district worth UAH 163,891 thousand, income from the alienation of movable property in the amount of UAH 200,873, repayment of receivables in the amount of UAH 6 million 880 thousand, dividends in the amount of UAH 1 million 469,999 thousand and the return of the “green tariff” in the amount of UAH 124,990.
In 2019, self-nominated MP Kolikhayev kept UAH 3,894 and $882,700 in his hands. The MP kept a total of UAH 478,340 and $111 in his bank accounts.
The total amount of loans granted by the MP during 2019 is UAH 7 million 130 thousand 572.
Ihor Kolikhayev is finishing a luxurious renovation of his office in the Kherson City Hall.
Judging by the photos that were leaked online, the renovation cost more than one million hryvnias. It should be noted right away that the mayor of Kherson did it with his own money.
Not only the office and reception area were renovated. It will have a glass door so that everyone can see who is sitting for hours waiting for the mayor and admiring the panel on the wall.
The furniture in the mayor’s office is strikingly different from that of his predecessors. There are modern tables and leather chairs, a few tables and tasteless paintings. The recreation room has been transformed into a cozy living room with a sofa, TV and wardrobe. The glass door of the latter has the chapel of St. Catherine’s Cathedral engraved on it. It is obvious that Ihor Klykhayev can afford this good and expensive renovation. But the resonance with what is happening in the city is so striking that it all looks just wild.
Kolykhayev was named among the main customers and distributors of jeans in the regional media, as well as among the customers of smear campaigns against rivals.
Kolikhayev is also accused of hypocrisy and attempts to buy land from owners at a bargain price before the launch of the land market. The MP, who voted against the legalization of the right to sell land, was accused of re-registering the land of residents of Kherson region, including those who have recently died, for years.
Kolikhayev’s company, Prodexim, manages 908 land plots, the area of which cannot be calculated. All of these lands have been subjected to the alienation procedure, despite the moratorium on land sales.
Investigative journalists note that Ihor Kolikhaiev has concentrated thousands of hectares of land in his hands through fraud, in collusion with officials of the State Geocadastre, and registered them in the names of front companies. It is also alleged that the MP’s company conducted these transactions in order to avoid paying taxes.
The local press also accused Kolikhayev of running for mayor without a program, noting that he had forgotten about previous promises he made to the public during the 2019 parliamentary elections. The team of the future mayor has not yet been presented to the public.
Some authors of the network call the politician and MP Satan Kakhovska, accusing him of corruption, fraud, murder, tax evasion, lies and manipulations at all levels.
Kherson Mayor Ihor Kolikhayev appointed the unemployed son of his assistant as director of the municipal utility. This was reported by the Kherson 24 website.
Bohdan Musiyko is the son of Vadym Musiyko, an assistant to the mayor of Kherson, who was appointed director of the Kherson City Center for Land and Property Relations.
According to the social media group “Kherson and the surrounding area,” this is stated on the website of the Kherson City Council:
“By the order of the mayor, Bohdan Musiyko was appointed director of the Kherson City Center for Land and Property Relations of the Executive Committee of the Kherson City Council on March 24, under a contract.”
Bohdan Musiyko is 28 years old, lives with his parents and is not officially employed. He is an environmental engineer with a degree in hydroecology. His father, Vadym Musiyko, was Kolikhayev’s assistant in the Verkhovna Rada. He positions himself as the “right hand of the mayor” and is a member of the executive committee of the Kherson City Council. In his declaration on the eve of his appointment, Bohdan Musiyko indicated that his father was a private entrepreneur, but he did not show his income. He did not indicate his own income either.
Kherson regional authorities had fun with half-naked girls again
The head of the Kherson Regional State Administration, Serhiy Kozyr, the mayor of Kherson, Ihor Kolikhayev, and other officials attended a private party where half-naked girls were dancing.
The party was organized by Kherson Regional Council deputy and theater director Oleksandr Kniga.
The participants of the event posted a video on Instagram, calling it a “private party” in honor of the Theater Day.
Among the guests were the head of the Kherson Regional State Administration Serhiy Kozyry and his wife, Kherson Mayor Ihor Kolikhayev, City Council member Andriy Dmytriyev, Regional Council member Viktoria Havrenkova, Director of the Humanitarian Policy Department of the Regional State Administration Mykhailo Linetsky, businessmen Sadiar Mamedov and Valeriy Borzhkov.
Summary
Despite the crazy election campaign, which directly shouted to the citizens that the party “We Live Here” would work honestly and for the benefit of the city, Igor Kolikhayev did little good in reality. Residents of Nova Kakhovka nicknamed him “Satan of Kakhovka” for his unfulfilled promises, corruption, and raiding.