Vadim Vladislavovich Novinsky (Vadim Rudolfovich Malkhasyan)
Official biography
Born on March 3, 1963 in the city of Stara Rusa, Novgorod Region (Russia).
Education In 1985, he graduated from the Leningrad Civil Aviation Academy with a degree in control systems engineering.
Career
1985-1989 — work at the Petrozavodsk Aviation Detachment.
1989-1991 — employee of the Department of Control Systems and Computer Engineering at the Civil Aviation Academy (Leningrad).
1991-1996 — employee of the Center for Advanced Studies (St. Petersburg).
1996-1998 — worked at the representative office of Lukoil-North-West (St. Petersburg).
1998-2002 — worked at the Lukoil-Severo-Zapad Trading House (later — North-West Oil Trading House).
2004-2007 — Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Ingulets Mining and Processing Plant (Kryvyi Rih).
Founder and main beneficiary of the Smart Holding financial and industrial group. Since 2006, he has been President of Smart Holding Group of Companies and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Smart Holding CJSC.
He lives and works “two places” — in Kyiv and St. Petersburg.
On July 15, 2013, following the results of the mid-term elections, he was elected to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in the single-member constituency No. 224 (Sevastopol) as a self-nominated candidate. The elections in this constituency were held on July 7, 2013 due to the early termination of the powers of the MP (Party of Regions) Pavel Lebedev, who was appointed to the post of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine.
On July 23, 2013, the CEC registered Vadym Novynskyi as a Member of Parliament.
Since November 2014, he has been a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the VIII convocation.
On July 21, 2019, Vadym Novynskyi was elected to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the 9th convocation in the majority constituency No. 57. He was nominated by the Opposition Bloc political party.
Family.
For a long time, he has been married to Maria Leonidivna Matvienko (Novynska), who has a great influence on her husband regarding the church and religious views.
Children — Daria Novynska, Mykhailo Novynskyi, Viktoriia Novynska, Anastasiia Novynska
Father — Rudolf Malkhasyan
Brother — Ashot Malkhasyan
The businessman, who is now a Ukrainian MP, raised and educated his stepson Mikhail Matvienko in London, who, according to Russian media, is the founder of several companies in St. Petersburg: Insurance Technology LLC, Metamorph Arredi Iprogetti LLC, and Inconfidence LLC.
Novinsky’s stepson is said to be a major and a nightclub enthusiast. For example, in 2010, Fontanka.ru wrote about an unpleasant incident that occurred with 24-year-old Mikhail Matvienko, who drove into the window of a lingerie store and, after the accident, introduced himself as the son of the then-governor Valentina Matvienko.
About Orthodoxy
Vadym Novynskyi is a deacon of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He was ordained by Metropolitan Onufriy of the UOC (MP). Novynskyi held his first public service as a priest on July 7, 2020. In 2018, he actively lobbied for the rejection of the UOC’s autocephaly, and he criticized it not only in the Verkhovna Rada but also online.
State awards
Order of Merit III degree.
. On May 29, 2012, by the decree of President Viktor Yanukovych, he was granted Ukrainian citizenship for special services to the country. On July 7, 2013, he was elected as a deputy from the 224th majority constituency (Sevastopol) and joined the Party of Regions.
— He holds a patent for the Ukrainite explosive.
Assets
Smart-Holding owns a 25% stake in the Metinvest metallurgical group (the rest is owned by Akhmetov). The agricultural company NARVEast Holding is also a joint venture of Novinsky (25%) and Akhmetov (75%) and is among the ten largest agricultural holdings in the country in terms of arable land.
Other assets of Smart Holding Group:
— Kherson Shipyard;
— Black Sea Shipyard (BSZ) (Mykolaiv)
— Veres (agriculture and food production)
— Kalytyansky Bacon (agriculture and food production)
— Construction company Kryvorizhaglobud;
— Development company “Eugene” (Kyiv)
— Insurance company “Industrial Insurance Alliance”
— Unex Bank
— Dnepropress plant (machine-building business)
— OJSC Balaklava Ore Mining Department named after Gorky, OJSC Balaklava Ore Mining Department named after Gorky. Gorky, OJSC Balaklava Ore Mining Company,
— CJSC Yevpatoria Building Materials Plant
— CJSC Saki Building Materials Plant;
— Zaporozhnerudprom OJSC (production of building materials)
— Turbud CJSC, which holds licenses for the development of several granite and sand deposits; (production of building materials).
Despite this number of businesses, Novinsky’s wealth has decreased by as much as 22% compared to last year. This is directly related to the operation of one of Ukraine’s largest private holdings, which has seen its profits decline due to the fall in global prices for steel products.
Moreover, Novinsky owns distressed assets. One of them is the Black Sea Shipyard, which was deliberately driven into bankruptcy by the Balaklava Ore Mining Department, also owned by the oligarch. As of November 1, 2019, according to OpenDataBot, Chornomorsk Shipyard’s tax debt amounted to UAH 116,696,160.
Also, on October 3, 2019, the businessman’s structure, which owns the Amstor retail chain, was declared bankrupt by the Economic Court of Dnipropetrovs’k Region and owes UAH 1.52 billion to the state-owned Ukreximbank and another UAH 1.74 billion to Akhmetov’s FUIB bank.
Compromising material
Vadym Novynskyi’s biography contains many white spots.
In the early 1990s, he started a business: he bought newsprint in Karelia, sold it in Bulgaria, and used the money to buy Ukrainian Cossacks and transport them to Karelia. Later, he began supplying diesel fuel and fuel oil to Zaporizhstal and Kryvorizhstal, and the metallurgists paid him in rolled metal.
Under Kuchma, several influential Russian groups entered the Ukrainian economy and diversified their risks by internationalizing their capital. At the same time, in the late 1990s, a Russian mid-level entrepreneur, Vadim Novinsky, appeared in Ukraine. An unremarkable businessman from St. Petersburg, who has Chernomyrdin’s patronage in Ukraine, was able to acquire a significant part of assets in Ukraine on very favorable terms in a fairly short time, i.e., “for free.” Today, Vadym Novynskyi owns a number of industrial assets in Ukraine.
Novinsky positions himself as a religious parishioner and is famous for his loyalty to the Moscow Patriarchate, which he actively sponsors in Ukraine. It was the church that became the center of the scandal. In 2013, Vadym Novynskyi, together with former President Viktor Yanukovych, former Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko and former Kyiv police chief Valeriy Koryak, attempted to usurp power in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP).
Moreover, they contributed to the abduction of Archbishop Oleksandr (Drabynko). At the time, he was an assistant to the late head of the UOC-MP, Vladimir Sabodan. According to the PGO, Novinsky was a negotiator during the attempted illegal imprisonment of the archbishop. The conflict became the subject of a criminal investigation.
In December 2016, the case came to life on a large scale, which led to the deprivation of Vadym Novynskyi’s parliamentary immunity. He is still a defendant in the case of pressure on Metropolitan Vladimir, but he has not been charged with any crimes.
Amstor, Forum Bank
Since 2014, the Forum Bank, which is part of Vadym Novynskyi’s fortune, has been on the verge of destruction. Also in the same year, the Amstor retail chain suspended its operations. This situation arose because Novinsky and his competitor began to accuse each other of trying to dominate Amstor alone. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine launched several criminal proceedings in this case. For abuse of power and official position; embezzlement of public funds, forgery and use of forged documents and other valuable items (stamps, forms and seals). Vadim Novinsky himself is summoned for questioning.
“dictatorial laws”
As a member of the Party of Regions, on January 16, 2014, he voted for the “dictatorial laws” — a package of anti-democratic laws that significantly restricted the rights of citizens and freedom of speech.
Novinsky and “Uzbek”
The media has plenty of information about Vadim Novinsky’s ties to Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov.
In neighboring Moldova, Novinsky became a co-owner of the Moldovan Metallurgical Plant. A number of media outlets reported that Novinsky himself and Alisher Usmanov were mentioned among the owners of MMZ (the latter owns a minority stake in the Corus Group steel company and Lebedynsky GOK).
It can be assumed that Novinsky and Usmanov’s joint activities began in the late 1990s. In 1997, the company Interfin, controlled by Usmanov, took over a 9.6% stake in the oil production company Arkhangelskgeolvydobuvannya (Arkhangelsk region). It managed to convince other shareholders to transfer the controlling stake in the company to Interfin. In the same year, the controlling stake in the company was sold to V.A. Invest, a company controlled by LUKOIL.
At the same time, Usmanov managed to get a seat on its board of directors. And a new player in the market of transit, refining and sale of petroleum products appears in St. Petersburg: “LUKOIL-North-West Oil Product. Vadim Novinsky is the permanent manager of its assets. The following chain is being built: “LUKOIL-North-West-Nefeprodukt is a co-founder of the Dnipro-based Smart Group. “Smart Group is the actual owner of the Ingulets Mining and Processing Plant.
Novinsky and Chernomyrdin
It is also worth noting that the main lobbyist for the interests of LUKOIL-North-West Oil Product in Ukraine is none other than Viktor Chernomyrdin, formerly Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Ukraine. The interests of Russian businessman Vadim Novinsky. Behind him were the interests of Uzbek or the new owners of LUKOIL-North-West Oil Product.
Novinsky, the St. Petersburgers and the FSB
A number of media outlets refer to Vadim Novinsky as a representative of the “St. Petersburg group”. In the early 2000s, this was the name of Vladimir Putin’s “St. Petersburg team”.
It is known that Vadim Novinsky’s main business partner is St. Petersburg businessman Andrey Klyamko, who avoids publicity.
And today, Novinsky’s partner Klyamko is one of the sponsors of Putin’s wrestling school.
To all of this, we can add that Klyamko’s biography before his partnership with Novinsky was a blank slate. It was as if the man had never existed. The owners of such biographies in Russia usually work for the special services.
Partners Novinsky and Klyamko are the owners of Ukraine’s major iron ore assets: InGOK and PGOK.
Novinsky’s firm privatized the Sport Hotel through a competitive tender, which the SPFU refused to disclose to the public.
On April 2, 2012, the press service of the State Property Fund of Ukraine announced that the winner of the tender for privatization of the Kyiv state enterprise Hotel Sport was Eugene, a company belonging to Vadym Novynskyi’s Smart Holding. However, the State Property Fund refused to disclose who, apart from Eugene LLC, participated in the tender for the privatization of the Sport Hotel in the center of Kyiv, Ekonomichna Pravda reports.
At the same time, the State Property Fund’s website did not contain any information about the results of the tender or its participants. “Based on the Law on Access to Public Information, Ekonomichna Pravda asked the Fund to provide a list of the tender participants.
The response from Tetiana Burtniak, Head of the Office for the Sale of Small Privatization Objects and the CEC, stated that, according to the Regulation on the Tender Commission, information on the composition of the commission, tender participants, their number and the content of their proposals is not disclosed. According to the SPF’s letter, the minutes of the tender committee meeting contain “information with limited access”.
“The Fund has no grounds to provide information about the participants who took part in the tender for the sale of the integral property complex of the state enterprise Hotel Sport,” the SPF said in its response.
According to clause 5 of Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine “On Access to Public Information”, access to information on the management of budget funds, ownership, use or disposal of state and municipal property, including copies of relevant documents, conditions of receipt of these funds or property, surnames, names, patronymics of individuals and names of legal entities that received these funds or property, cannot be restricted. Subject to the requirements provided for in part two of this Article, this provision shall not apply to cases where the disclosure or provision of such information may harm the interests of national security, defense, investigation or prevention of a crime.
Novynskyi does not declare his advertising and party expenses
Vadym Novynskyi is likely to violate the anti-corruption legislation on declaring reliable information… Thus, in the declarations of income and expenses of MP Novynskyi there is not a single word about his advertising expenses, the CHESNO public movement reported.
The civic movement notes that Vadym Novynskyi congratulates citizens on religious holidays. In addition to outdoor advertising, the MP records videos with congratulations on Christmas and Easter and Victory Day. The party assured that Vadym Novynskyi’s congratulatory messages are not paid for from the party budget. Novynskyi confirmed that he had no need to ask the party for funds:
“I see no point in asking the party for help in a situation where I want to personally congratulate people on a particular holiday.”
In addition, the CHESNO movement claims that Vadym Novynskyi is a sponsor of the central office of the Opposition Bloc. However, the MP does not disclose these expenses in his income tax returns.
MP Vadym Novynskyi may have misrepresented his property in his 2015 and 2016 declarations.
The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption has revealed facts of declaring false information by Vadym Novynskyi, a member of the Opposition Bloc MP.
The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption found that Vadym Novynskyi failed to indicate in his 2015 and 2016 declarations the value of shares in four companies he owns and parts of two premises he uses.
“In each declaration, the information differs from the true information by more than UAH 8600,000. Relevant substantiated conclusions have been sent to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau,” the statement said.
As a reminder, according to Article 366-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, submission of knowingly false information in a person’s declaration… is punishable by a fine of two thousand five hundred to three thousand tax-free minimum incomes or community service for a term of one hundred fifty to two hundred forty hours, or imprisonment for up to two years, with disqualification to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years.
Criminal liability under this article for submission by a declarant of knowingly false information in a declaration regarding property or other object of declaration that has value occurs if such information differs from the true information by more than 250 subsistence minimums for able-bodied persons.
A shipbuilding firm associated with Novynskyi participated in anticompetitive concerted actions at public tenders
According to the Nashi Hroshi publishing house, it became known that in 2017 the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine recognized a violation of the legislation on the protection of economic competition during a public tender, namely, regarding concerted anti-competitive actions of shipbuilding companies.
These companies are the Southern Shipyard Company (SSK) and Smart-Meritime Group (SMG), which is owned by MP Vadym Novynskyi (Opposition Bloc faction) through Smart-Meritime Active LLC, which participated in five auctions of the state-owned Olvia Stevedoring Company with a total expected value of UAH 20 million. Based on the results of the study of the degree of competition at the tenders, the Committee imposed fines of UAH 340 thousand each on the companies.
The AMCU’s actions were challenged in court, where the first instance upheld the claim of Pivdenna Shipyard Company LLC against the AMCU, but the Odesa Court of Appeal overturned the first instance decision and found the actions of Pivdenna Shipyard Company LLC (PSC) and Smart Meritime Group (SMG) anticompetitive and the AMCU’s decision lawful.
According to the court’s decision of July 30, 2018: “Given the long-term cooperation between the plaintiff and the third party, the existence of economic relations between them in the period before, during and after the bidding, the involvement of PSK as a subcontractor of SMG in the execution of the procurement contract, which indicates the intention of these entities to obtain mutual benefit as a result of coordinating their actions, regardless of the outcome of the procurement procedure.”
Mykolaiv-based Pivdenna Shipyard Company LLC is registered to Serhii Burkovets and Yevhen Symchenko. The company is registered in an apartment owned by Burkovets. Kherson-based Smart-Meritime Group LLC is owned by MP Vadym Novynskyi through Smart-Meritime Active LLC.
MPs are likely to use their reception offices to hide their business
According to part 2 of Article 27 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Status of a Member of Parliament of Ukraine” and the decision of the Constitutional Court, a search, inspection of personal belongings and luggage, and the office of a member of parliament are allowed only if the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has given its consent to bring him or her to criminal responsibility.
As part of the criminal proceedings, NABU detectives found that the premises under the sign “Reception of the People’s Deputy of Ukraine Oleksandr Romanovych Onyshchenko” actually housed the offices of business entities controlled by the criminal organization — Nadra Geocenter LLC, Firm Khas LLC, Karpatnadrainvest LLC, Gaztransproekt LLC, said Alisa Yurchenko, a journalist of the program “Our Money with Denys Bihus”.
The journalists’ investigation revealed that Onyshchenko is not the only one who is likely to use his reception offices to “protect” his business. The reception of Vadym Novynskyi, an MP from the Opposition Bloc, is located in the office of the Smart Holding industrial and investment group (7-A Ihorivska St., Kyiv).
Searches are conducted in another company of Novynskyi’s
Searches are ongoing in the offices of Smart Energy and the apartments of its managers.
Smart Holding spokesperson Yevhen Zahorulko said this on his Facebook page, according to Slovo i Dilo.
“Searches are ongoing in our Smart Energy offices and in the apartments of managers throughout Ukraine (Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava region, etc.),” he wrote.
Zagorulko also said that the company’s business activities were blocked.
“This is a continuation of the case of the so-called ‘fictitiousness’ of Smart Energy. One of the companies of the Smart Energy group, Ukrgazvydobuvannya, is directly embedded in the Kharkiv gas ring. Blocking its business activities could lead to a halt in gas production and transmission, a decrease in system pressure and paralyze the city of one million people for the entire winter,” Zahorulko said.
Smart Energy is the management company of Vadym Novynskyi’s Smart Holding Group.
“The PGO, together with the SFS, is conducting searches as part of the investigation into the criminal proceedings on tax evasion,” she said.
Sargan did not name the addresses where the searches are taking place, but noted that “there are many of them.”
Prosecutor General Venediktova opens case against Novinsky
Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova has opened a criminal case against non-factional MP Vadym Novynskyi.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the response of the Prosecutor General’s Office to the publication’s request.
It is noted that the criminal proceedings were opened on September 24 in pursuance of a decision of the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv.
“The pre-trial investigation in the said proceedings is carried out by the territorial department of the State Bureau of Investigation located in Kyiv,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said in a response.
The application to the court to open a case against Novynskyi was filed by Gratant LLC, which claims that the member of the Verkhovna Rada illegally seized the property of the Amstor supermarket chain, including the mortgage and mortgage property of Ukreximbank.
As a reminder, in September 2019, the Verkhovna Rada abolished parliamentary immunity, but only the Prosecutor General can now open criminal proceedings against an MP.
MP Novynskyi acquires a company involved in the NABU case
The British company Regal Petroleum, the ultimate beneficial owner of which is the Smart-Holding business group of MP Vadym Novynskyi, has acquired Arkona Gas-Energy LLC, a company involved in the National Anti-Corruption Bureau investigation.
This is stated in the press release of Smart-Holding.
Currently, Regal Petroleum has already paid $4.31 million of the first tranche for the acquisition of 100% of Arkona Gas-Energy. The company will transfer another $2.15 million to the former owners of the company if certain conditions of the transaction are met. In case the second payment is made, a year after it, the third tranche of the same amount will be made.
“Thus, under the agreement, the total value of the asset may be up to $8.63 million,” the holding emphasized.
As you know, Arkona Gas-Energy LLC is involved in the criminal proceedings of NABU detectives regarding the alleged abuse of office during the issuance of a special permit to the company for the development and production of gas at the Svystunkivsko-Chervonolutske field in Poltava region. The company acquired this special permit for only UAH 3.86 million, although according to estimates of gas reserves in this field, the amount should have been 10 times higher.
Another 50% of Arkona Gas-Energy was owned by the Belizean offshore Ashburi Universal LTD (now owned by Oleh Olkhovyi, who was a director of the 5th Element club of Poroshenko and BPP MP Ihor Kononenko).
Get away from me, evil spirits: Parubiy kicked the MP out of the presidium
During the consideration of the bill on changing the subordination of religious communities, a confrontation between the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Andriy Parubiy and the head of the Opposition Bloc faction Vadym Novynskyi had a conflict.
This was reported by Slovo i Dilo on Thursday, January 17.
During the voting, Novinsky went up to Parubiy in the presidium and demanded that the document be withdrawn from consideration. The speaker reacted emotionally: “Get away from me, you evil one!”
Smuggling and drug trafficking
In May 2011, a scandal involving Novynskyi broke out — the businessman was accused of being involved in illegal operations and drug smuggling: allegedly “since 2001, Novinsky has been developing his market in Europe, Russia and Libya through smuggling heroin, cocaine and methamphetamines, sharing new smuggling routes (and protection and supply networks) in this lucrative market, ‘laundering’ the proceeds of his illegal enterprises through Russian channels at home and abroad” and allegedly “personally meeting with lawyers of the Juarez cartel (drug cartel — ed. ) Juarez cartel lawyers in El Paso, Texas”.
As it turned out later, Novinsky was a victim of black PR, and the information was fake.
Trade wars between Ukraine and Russia
In early September 2013, when the “customs war” between Ukraine and the Russian Federation was already in full swing, the Russian oligarch turned Ukrainian MP Vadim Novinsky admitted that he too had problems with the trade conflict: “They started looking more closely at certificates of origin issued in Ukraine, analyzing rolled steel products, and, as a result, goods were detained at the border and not cleared.”
According to him, the Ukrainian government has now begun to help solve such problems.
«Olimpiyskiy and preparations for Euro 2012
In the summer of 2007, the businessman decided to take part in Ukraine’s preparations for Euro 2012 in a very original way. He acquired 50% of Eugene LLC, which owns the unfinished Troitsky shopping center, because of which Kyiv’s Olimpiyskiy Stadium was going to be deprived of the right to host football championship matches.
In February 2008, Novinsky personally signed a commitment to dismantle the unfinished buildings. But the businessman won rather than lost: under the terms of the agreement, the authorities would compensate him for his losses either in cash or with an alternative land plot. Meanwhile, Vadim Novinsky is conceiving a new, much larger project. His plans are to create a shipbuilding holding company in 2008-2009, which will be based on the 61 Kommunar Shipyard, as well as the Kherson and Black Sea Shipyards. Novinsky managed to gain control over the latter through the courts, ousting the former owners of ChSZ, brothers Ihor and Oleh Churkin. It was planned that the holding would also include a shipping company engaged in international cargo and passenger transportation and several Ukrainian commercial seaports.
FC Sevastopol
Since 2010, Smart-Holding Group has been a sponsor of FC Sevastopol, with Vadym Novynskyi as its honorary president (previously, Viktor Yanukovych Sr. was the honorary president of the club).
And in June 2014, after the Russian occupation of Crimea, the honorary president of FC Sevastopol, Member of Parliament of Ukraine (Party of Regions faction) Vadym Novynskyi stated that his company Smart-Holding was ceasing to finance the Crimean football club.
“After negotiations and consultations with the fans of FC Sevastopol and the city authorities, I regret to inform you that Smart-Holding is suspending its financing of the football club. This is due to the impossibility of the team’s participation in the 2014-2015 season. Premier League of the Ukrainian Championship,” he said in a statement published on the club’s official website on Thursday.
Novinsky noted that there was and still is an opportunity to create a base for Sevastopol in another city of Ukraine, but the team plays primarily for its fans. “The history of FC Sevastopol began long before we started supporting the club, and we do not want to deprive the city of its sporting pride. I am very sorry, but the decision is final. The team will not play in the Ukrainian championship. I do not rule out that the situation may change in the future, and we will return to supporting Sevastopol football,” he explained.
Novinsky noted that the club’s management and its president, Oleksandr Krasilnikov, have the right to determine the future of the team.
First mentions and privatization of InGOK
The first references to Russian businessman Vadim Novinsky in the Ukrainian media appeared during the presidency of Leonid Kuchma. They appeared in early 2000, in connection with the privatization of the Ingulets Mining and Processing Plant by Vadim Novinsky’s Dnipro-based metal trader Smart Group, which was transferred to the authorized capital of Ukrrudprom, when he received permission from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine to manage a 50+1% stake. Soon after, through an additional share issue, the state’s stake in InGOK was reduced to 37.57%. And on July 19, 2004, Smart Group bought out the state stake for $30.74 million, which was essentially a “takeover” for a pittance.
The plant was bought out along with all of its huge ore reserves. Experts appreciated Novinsky’s “luck” and commented on the deal in the opposition media: “A steal!”
For comparison, the real market price of this stake was undervalued “as for Novinsky” by at least 5 times, as many experts claimed. And if we take into account that the stake could not have been sold in a non-alternative tender and amounted to 50%+1 share, its value could have increased several times more. As an example, Mikhailovsky GOK in Russia, which is comparable to InGOK in terms of production, was sold at the same time for $1.7 billion.
The privatization of InGOK itself was made possible by a special law passed by the Verkhovna Rada on the specifics of privatization of Ukrrudprom, the state-owned company that included InGOK.
In addition, the sale of Ukrrudprom’s shares in general and 37.57% of Ingulets GOK in particular was authorized by orders of the government of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.
A number of media outlets claim that Novynskyi paid $50,000 to each MP for the “correct” vote. And on the day of the vote, Novinsky even personally came to the Verkhovna Rada and watched the vote…
In the summer of 2004, when the smell of “fried” was beginning to grow and the chances of Kuchma and Co.’s supporters in the upcoming presidential election became unpredictable, Novinsky withdrew his assets from Ukraine in a simple way. Officially, Smart Group remained the owner of a controlling stake in InGOK. But the company itself changed some of its nominal founders (Ukrainian) to other (foreign) ones. Thus, the company managed to avoid the attack of the persons involved in the scam with the mining plant and retain control over it. The new owners of Smart Group, and thus of InGOK, are essentially buyers of stolen goods, and they are a number of companies registered abroad: in England, Holland, and Russia.
For all this goodness, not a penny out of his own pocket! Novinsky was talked about with renewed vigor. In 2005, when Viktor Yushchenko came to power, the government made a sluggish attempt to re-privatize InGOK, along with a number of other properties that had been handed out on the cheap to businessmen “close to Leonid Kuchma.” “Today, we are studying the circumstances of privatization or fulfillment of investment obligations of these 29 enterprises. And after these circumstances have been studied in a short time, we will submit the issue to the National Security and Defense Council,” Petro Poroshenko, then Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said in 2005.
In the “list of 29” spread by the media, the top five included InGOK.
However, the scandalous topic was never developed. And the personality of the Russian businessman remains a dark horse for the media today. Everything that sheds light on Novinsky’s biography in terms of his commercial endeavors is described even in specialized periodicals in monosyllables: “the first companies were created in Russia, the Baltic States and Ukraine…”
Novinsky and Yushchenko
Novynskyi has been heavily involved in various charitable projects, including those initiated by former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. These include the Ukraine 3000 project (financing the construction of the Children’s Hospital of the Future) and the Warm a Child with Love project (supporting large families in Ukraine), as well as funding for the restoration of the Cossack capital of Ukraine, Baturyn. In addition, Smart Holding supports several sports teams, including women’s handball and men’s basketball.
Novinsky and Akhmetov
The mining and metals monopoly Metinvest announced that as part of the ongoing business restructuring envisaged by the agreement between Rinat Akhmetov’s SCM and Vadym Novynskyi’s Smart, Metinvest has been transferred shares in 5 companies. This is stated in the press service of Metinvest.
According to the press service of Metinvest, the main purpose of the transfer of shares is to fulfill the terms of the agreement between SCM and Smart on the consolidation of their mining and metallurgical assets, as well as to form the target structure of Metinvest Group and increase transparency and efficiency of the business.
In fact, it is not a transfer of the above-mentioned stakes, but their sale.
For reference: Metinvest Group is a leader in the mining and metals sector of Ukraine and one of the leading players in the global steel industry. The Group’s enterprises produce about 10.8 million tons of steel, more than 11 million tons of rolled metal products, more than 5 million tons of coke and more than 40 million tons of iron ore per year, not only fully meeting their own needs but also being a key supplier to steelmaking companies in Ukraine and Europe.
Metinvest Holding LLC (the management company of Metinvest Group) was founded in 2006. The company provides unified management of coal, mining, coke, steel and pipe companies controlled by System Capital Management (SCM). SCM is owned by Ukrainian businessman and member of the Ukrainian parliament from the Party of Regions Rinat Akhmetov.
The Group includes 23 Ukrainian and foreign enterprises. In Europe, Metinvest is represented by Ferriera Valsider, Trametal (Italy), Promet Steel (Bulgaria) and Spartan UK (UK).
The Group’s steelmaking companies produce a wide range of steel products used in almost all metal-consuming industries.
With the merger in September 2007 of SCM’s mining and metallurgical assets with Smart Holding (the main beneficiary and president is Russian businessman Vadim Novinsky), Metinvest Group included Ingulets Iron and Steel Works, Makiivka Iron and Steel Works and Promet Steel[14].
Novinsky and Yanukovych
Even before the last presidential election, businessman Vadym Novynskyi stated that President Viktor Yanukovych would be more beneficial for Ukraine’s economy than Yulia Tymoshenko. “Yanukovych has a more liberal attitude to the economy than Yulia Tymoshenko. She is like a Bolshevik towards the economy: when there is a revolutionary need, she has to produce results. Viktor Fedorovich is more of a liberal. And Tymoshenko is like Hugo Chavez,” he said. And when asked whether Russian business would be better off under President Yanukovych, he replied: “Russian business was already protected. Have you seen anyone here being taken away from their business just because they have a Russian passport?”
It should also be noted that it was President Yanukovych who granted Ukrainian citizenship to businessman Vadym Novynskyi.
Moreover, just before the election, President Yanukovych personally praised and promoted Novynskyi in his constituency, instructing the businessman, honorary president of FC Sevastopol, to resolve the issue of building a new stadium in Sevastopol.
…The Ukrainian billionaire with a St. Petersburg residence spent all the May holidays of 2013 in the company of President Yanukovych in Crimea. Viktor Yanukovych advertised Novinsky everywhere, clearly making it clear to the Crimean “cream of the crop” at various events who was now “the boss of Crimea.” The Crimean managerial and business elite had the impression that Yanukovych had destined Novinsky for the fate of the Russian Abramovich. The Russian president had “driven” him beyond the Kolyma to “raise” the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug: he said that your wealth would not be lost if you took on the job of overseeing a problematic region and instilling the sprouts of civilization.
After being elected to the Rada, MP Vadym Novynskyi officially joined the Party of Regions parliamentary faction, although the day before he had said that he was not ready to vote in the parliamentary hall against the will of Sevastopol residents and was in no hurry to join the PR faction, although he would most likely be there: “As for joining the Party of Regions faction, I will most likely be there. The Party of Regions supported me in the elections when I was running in Sevastopol, and many of the party’s ideological norms are close to me, but I am not going to join anything yet and, most importantly, not to get involved in anything.”
Novinsky was also one of the sponsors and participants in former President Viktor Yanukovych’s pilgrimage to New Athos in 2012.
Novynskyi and the UOC MP
Novinsky is quite active in supporting the Moscow Patriarchate of the UOC in Ukraine, and also provides material and moral support to Russian centers in Ukraine and all the events they hold.
In early 2013, Novinsky was involved in a scandal involving the appointment of the rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary, a bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, Anthony (Pakanych) as metropolitan, thus becoming the “right hand” of His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr of Kyiv and All Ukraine. According to media reports, the main lobbyist for the appointment of Bishop Anthony was, in particular, businessman Vadym Novynskyi, who is close to church circles.
Ukrainian businessmen received flight permits during the quarantine
During the quarantine, when airports were shut down and borders were closed, some Ukrainian businessmen and politicians continued to fly on private jets and charters, both within Ukraine and abroad. This is the subject of an investigation by the Schemes: Corruption in Detail program (a joint project of Radio Liberty and UA:Pershyi TV channel).
During the quarantine period, Cabinet of Ministers Resolution 228 banned the operation of all Ukrainian airports for the reception and departure of passengers (except for the airports in Boryspil and Lviv). It was also forbidden to receive and depart aircraft carrying passengers and tourists.
However, as the journalists found out, some Ukrainian businessmen and politicians circumvented these bans. For example, on June 5, journalists recorded a non-factional MP Vadym Novynskyi arriving at Boryspil Airport from Vilnius. The plane was flying to Ukraine from St. Petersburg, making a stopover in the Lithuanian capital.
Oligarch and MP Vadym Novynskyi is diagnosed with coronavirus
Today, on April 15, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has detected another case of coronavirus in a member of parliament. This time, the COVID-19 virus was found in the body of a financial magnate and one of the leaders of the Opposition Bloc Vadym Novynskyi. This became known from his post on Facebook.
The MP noted that, as required by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, he had been tested for the presence of coronavirus due to contact with certain people and had tested positive. Based on the journalists’ investigation, Novynskyi did not comply with the quarantine restrictions, and despite the complete ban on flights to other countries and the closure of airports, Novynskyi continued to fly to Russia by private jet and, as seen in the video, communicated with people without a mask upon arrival.
«Chesno claimed that Novinsky was pushing buttons.
“Chesno recorded that during registration, Novynskyi pressed a button on his own console, and then pressed a button for non-factional MP Musa Magomedov. Magomedov approached the seat, but the Rada voting board showed that he had already pressed the button, the journalists said.
Raider scam
In 2013, Novynskyi was involved in a de facto raider apartment scam, where the customer was the state-owned Ukrtelefilm. Already in March 2014, the Kyiv Commercial Court fully satisfied the claim of Ukrtelefilm to invalidate the contract between Siltek LTD and Interinvestservice (Novynskyi’s subordinates).
Declaration
Vadym Novynskyi has been among the top 10 richest Ukrainians for the past ten years. In 2018, he ranked third in the ranking of Ukrainian oligarchs. His wealth is estimated at two billion three hundred million dollars. Only Rinat Akhmetov and Victor Pinchuk have more.
In March 2019, the MP published an electronic declaration of his income for 2018. The oligarch politician declared seven apartments. Two of them are located in Kyiv, five more in the Russian Federation. Novynskyi personally owns two of them, his eldest daughter Victoria owns two more, and his wife owns one.
The businessman has three land plots in Kozyn village, Kyiv region, with a total area of four and a half thousand square meters. In the same village, Vadym Novynskyi rents a residential building of one thousand eight hundred square meters.
Maria Novinska has four land plots in Russia. Their total area is almost eleven hectares. The MP also declared real estate such as garages, offices and non-residential premises. The MP has a collection of thirty icons, one hundred and eighty-five paintings, antiques, Swiss watches, jewelry, weapons, and other movable property.
The car fleet of the MP and his family consists of eleven cars. Nine of them are Mercedes-Benz, and one each are Audi and Range Rover.
The oligarch owns shares in five companies with a Cyprus registration. In one hundred and eleven companies located in Cyprus, the British Virgin Islands, Austria and Ukraine, Vadym Novynskyi is the ultimate beneficiary.
The MP’s salary is almost four hundred thousand hryvnias. Four hundred and twenty-two thousand are charges related to the performance of parliamentary powers. Three million hryvnias are listed in the declaration as «fees and other payments under civil law contracts». Dividends brought the Russian Ukrainian three hundred and twenty-nine million hryvnias. One hundred and twenty-five million was borrowed by Vadym Novynskyi. The oligarch has «only» three hundred and eighty-three thousand hryvnias in his bank accounts. Novinsky has almost three million hryvnias, one and a half million dollars, and six hundred thousand euros in cash. He has a private jet
Conclusions
Vadim Novinsky, despite his “piety”, clearly sins to this day. Raider seizures, hired “black registrars”, money laundering through offshore companies, friendship with Rinat Akhmetov, black PR… This list can go on for a long time. Against this background, all these trips to church, collection of expensive icons, and love for God look ostentatious and insincere.