Borislav Solomonovich Rosenblatt
Official biography
Born on May 25, 1969, in Kyiv.
- 1984-1988 — studied at the Zhytomyr Automobile and Road Technical College, specializing in Construction and Operation of Highways.
- March-July 1988 — works as a technician at the Zhytomyr branch of Ukrbuddorproekt.
- 1988-1992 — studied at the Kamyshyn Higher Military Construction School, specializing in the construction of buildings and structures.
- 1992-1994 — served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a commander of an airfield company in Ozerne, Zhytomyr region (reserve captain)
- 1994-2012 — works as a manager, CEO, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Assistant to the Chairman of the Board of JSC
“Favorit”
- Since 2012 — Deputy Chairman of the Board of Favorit-Company PJSC
- 2013 — becomes the head of the Zhytomyr Regional Organization of Employers, on a voluntary basis
2014 — studies at the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School (MBA) - Married to Zhanna Leonidivna Rosenblatt (born in 1969), with whom he has three sons — Oleg (born in 1991), Arthur (born in 1997) and Oleksandr (born in 2009).
- During the 2014 elections, he was a trustee of Petro Poroshenko, a member of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc party.
- He is a co-author of the Law of Ukraine “On the Extraction and Sale of Amber” (№1351-1)
“Amber case”
In 2016, Rosenblatt negotiated with an undercover NABU agent, who introduced herself as a representative of the UAE-based Fujairah Company, regarding the development of the territory, extraction and export of amber by this company from the territory of Zhytomyr region in Ukraine. During the negotiations, MP Rosenblatt promised to assist in obtaining the appropriate license for the use of subsoil and to organize the introduction of appropriate amendments to the Customs and Tax Codes of Ukraine in order to facilitate the activities and cost of official payments for the activities of Fujairah in Ukraine. In return, Rosenblatt estimated his services at a six-figure sum of USD 285 thousand.
The amounts representing the income from the sale of amber extracted by Fujairah were also to be withdrawn through the accounts of an American company, co-owned, at Rosenblatt’s insistence, by his sister, now a member of the Zhytomyr Regional Council, Alyona Solomonivna Rosenblatt.
On June 19, 2017, during the implementation of operational information, while receiving a part of the bribe of $200 thousand for MPs Rosenblatt and Polyakov, Rosenblatt’s personal bodyguard Bohuslav Yaroshchuk and two representatives of a public organization headed by Tetiana Liubonko were detained in a Kyiv restaurant.
On June 21, Rosenblatt came to Kyiv’s Solomyansky District Court to take his bodyguard and assistant on bail, while Polyakov appeared in court with his assistant, Tetyana Lyubonko.
At the same time, the deputies themselves, despite the existence of video materials and agreements, deny any involvement in the case and call the video a «movie with actors.»
Thus, law enforcement officers see Rosenblatt’s actions as abuse of influence and bribery, while another person involved in the case, MP Polyakov, is accused of receiving undue benefit for submitting bills to parliament and other actions related to amber mining.
At the same time, when considering the sufficiency and correctness of the qualification of the actions incriminated to these MPs, the MPs rejected all charges against Rosenblatt and Polyakov. And in July 2017, the Parliament’s Regulatory Committee called the motions against the Poliakovs insufficiently substantiated and decided to send them to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Andriy Parubiy.
Departure
The defendant in the “Amber case”, in which in 2017 he was deprived of immunity at the request of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, and then received corruption charges from the Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine.
Thus, as a result of an investigation into a bribery case, an investigator of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office summoned Rosenblatt to officially serve him with the decision. In his turn, Rosenblatt ignored the summons, saying that he was on a business trip outside of Ukraine. Until that moment, Rosenblatt could not leave the country due to restrictions imposed by the criminal case. At the same time, he repeatedly tried to obtain permission to leave the country to participate in business meetings, a woodworking industry forum, undergo a medical examination, etc. Before attempting to leave the country, he even informed the NABU, insisting that his actions were legal.
In October 2017, while under investigation, Rosenblatt attempted to leave Ukraine on flight W67307 Kyiv-Cologne, and was detained by law enforcement officers. During a search conducted by law enforcement officers on board the aircraft, they found and seized Rosenblatt’s cell phones, a tablet, jewelry with precious stones, foreign bank cards, Ukrainian passports and a diplomatic passport. According to investigators, these items contained information about previous crimes. By the way, Rosenblatt flew out on a diplomatic passport, in his private interests, which is a violation.
Rosenblatt filed a complaint with the prosecutor’s office against the actions of law enforcement officers, but was not recognized as a victim until the Pechersk Court of Kyiv intervened and ordered that Rosenblatt be recognized as a victim of the plane incident.
Contrary to the logical development of the situation with the Burshtyn case, in April 2018, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv recognized Rosenblatt as a victim in the bribery incident: “Guided by Article 376, Part 2 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, the investigating judge ruled: to satisfy the complaint of lawyer Globa K.V., acting in the interests of Rosenblatt Boryslav Solomonovich, against the investigator’s decision to refuse to recognize him as a victim in criminal proceedings No. 420170000000002187. To cancel the decision of the investigator of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine Hryhoryshyn R. M. of October 19, 2017 in criminal proceedings №420170000000002187 on refusal to recognize Rosenblatt B. S. as a victim. To oblige the investigator in criminal proceedings №420170000000002187 to comply with the requirements of part 2 of Article 55 of the Criminal Procedure Code in relation to Rosenblatt B. S. The decision is not subject to appeal.”
This decision was made in the context of the case initiated by the Prosecutor General’s Office on provocation of a bribe, based on information provided by Rosenblatt’s lawyer.
In 2018, Rosenblatt filed a lawsuit in the European Court against Ukraine for violation of his rights during the collection of evidence (wiretapping) in the “amber case” and illegal detention and search during his flight to Germany.
As part of this case, Rosenblatt was also granted bail in the amount of UAH 7 million, which was easily paid by his relatives.
In 2019, the 6th Administrative Court of Kyiv ruled to recognize the actions of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine
The High Anti-Corruption Court only started hearing the Rosenblatt-Polyakov case in mid-June 2020.
Business.
Since 1994, Rosenblatt has held various management positions in Favorit JSC, which was a family-owned financial and industrial group (CEO, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Deputy Chairman of the Board), and was engaged in trade in food, building materials, construction, transportation, and activities in the agricultural sector. During the company’s operations, a number of its activities were suspended due to bankruptcy, but a number of organizations continue to make a profit and are owned in various shares by the Rosenblatt family. These companies include: “Haliyivskyi Butter Plant, Favorit-Company, Oberih, Miropilskyi Bacon, Koretskyi Agrarian, I.S.R.-International (registered in Dortmund, Germany), Comfort Plus, Favorit Dairy, Favorit Development Company, Amos, Favorit-Opt, Favorit Trans.
Another scandal arose with Favorit-Opt, which is owned by Favorit Company, represented by Rosenblatt’s father, sister and wife. This company became a contractor for the construction of housing for military personnel using money confiscated from Yanukovych. Out of the three projects under construction in Zhytomyr region, the company completely failed to meet the deadlines and standards for two of them. There is information about the embezzlement of funds allocated for the construction of these facilities through fraud with construction materials.
In 2018, Rosenblatt was among 56 MPs who filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court challenging the work of the National Agency for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption Crimes (ARMA). This agency has confiscated a number of properties in which the signatories of the appeal have business interests.
In the summer of 2018, another scandal arose around the Rosenblatt family business. Thus, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine decided to purchase two HAWK unmanned aerial vehicles.
The manufacturer of this unmanned system is the Zhytomyr-based Ukrainian Aviation Systems LLC, co-owned by Rosenblatt’s wife, and her business partners are Konstantin Pozhidayev and Roman Didenko (Moldova).
In April 2016, these unmanned systems were tested, which did not confirm their airworthiness. The Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that the drones had successfully passed the tests, but the protocol with the results is a state secret. The difference is allegedly that the Ukrainian design of the complex differs from the unusable Moldovan one, but the photo of the unusable drone is exactly the same as the one posted on the Rosenblatt family’s website, and the manufacturer bought components for the Ukrainian HAWK after testing the original. And, of course, an important fact is that the Moldovan company that designed the HAWK belongs to the father of one of the co-founders of Ukrainian Aircraft Systems.
In turn, the Ministry of Defense denies the purchase, while confirming that the Ukrainian HAWK successfully passed tests to the satisfaction of the Ministry of Defense.
Political career
In his political career, Rosenblatt steadily sought to achieve the status of a member of parliament, being a person focused exclusively on solving financial issues and making a profit, the role of a simple businessman was not enough for him. In addition, the most important advantage was obtaining parliamentary immunity.
In 2000, Rosenblatt joined the ranks of the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine, under the leadership of Viktor Medvedchuk. On the list of this political organization, Rosenblatt stormed the parliamentary elections for the first time, but to no avail. Having lowered the bar a bit, in 2010, having previously changed his political party to the Party of Regions, he ran for the Zhytomyr Regional Council, and again without any results.
In 2014, Rosenblatt became a member of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc party, as well as a confidant of Poroshenko himself, and was finally elected as a member of the Ukrainian parliament in the single-member constituency No. 62 in Zhytomyr region.
In the light of the events surrounding Rosenblatt’s numerous scandals, it was natural that in 2019 his next attempt to run for the Verkhovna Rada in the same single-member constituency No. 62 in the Zhytomyr region was unsuccessful.
The German part
In addition to his Ukrainian biography, Rosenblatt also has another role as a modest German citizen. He owns an average, neat house on the outskirts of Dortmund in Bennigof.
In addition, this real estate is on credit, which the «modest» Rosenblatt is struggling to pay. At the time of filing the declaration, the house is occupied by a laborer from Romania who uses several rooms of the house for a rent of 350 euros per month. Another part of the house is used by Rosenblatt himself, who travels around Germany in a white Mercedes jeep, which, of course, is registered in his wife’s company.
In 2017, according to the filed declaration, Rosenblatt received UAH 400 thousand as a fee from Büroservice-71UG, a company registered in Dortmund, allegedly for «scientific activities», and also leased certain property from Rosenblatt for a similar amount of UAH 400 thousand. The purpose of obtaining these funds in the amount of several tens of thousands of euros in Germany is only that they are not subject to verification of origin, unlike Rosenblatt’s Ukrainian millions, which he would have to transfer through offshore companies. As for the company that paid Rosenblatt’s research and rent, it consists of two people — director Iryna Kondrasheva. She lives in Dortmund and its nominal founder, Dmytro Liakhovetskyi, who lives in Kharkiv. In addition, this company has no contact details, so any contacts and communication with its employees are possible only during a direct visit to its office, which is located on the same territory as Rosenblatt’s house in Germany and shares a mailbox with him.
Rosenblatt himself does not comment on his German income, but the amount of it, together with the rent paid by the tenants, roughly corresponds to the payments made by Rosenblatt and his wife on loans for two properties in Dortmund. The couple took out the most recent loan, 650 thousand euros, from Sparkasse Dortmund at the end of 2016.
The declaration
According to Rosenblatt’s 2016 e-declaration, he kept $2 million and €1.4 million in cash and UAH 1 million in cash alone, with $51 thousand and €14.5 thousand in bank accounts.
As real estate, Rosenblatt owned a house in Zhytomyr with a total area of 700.6 square meters, 2 more houses in Zhytomyr region with an area of 225.4 and 74.6 square meters, as well as a house in Germany with an area of 270 square meters, located on 12 acres of land. Rosenblatt owned more than 39 thousand square meters of land in the Zhytomyr region and Germany. His family used Mercedes-Benz S (2010) and Jaguar XK 8 Coupe (2007). As income, he indicated a salary of UAH 171 thousand, UAH 98 thousand from dividends on bank deposits and UAH 683 thousand of profit from the company “I.S.R. International” registered in Dortmund, Germany. Instead, his wife Zhanna received UAH 1.3 million from entrepreneurial activities, up to UAH 1.2 million from the alienation of movable property, part-time work and dividends on deposits.
In 2019, Rosenblatt listed the same houses with a total area of more than 1,250 square meters, 6 land plots in Ukraine and Germany, only 3 of which are worth more than $1 million, and a rented apartment in Kyiv with an area of 51.9 square meters. Rosenblatt’s cars are a 2008 LAND ROVER DEFENDER and the same 2007 JAGUAR XK 8 COUPE. Rosenblatt also indicated his corporate rights in his wife’s companies worth about UAH 6 million, which, in turn, is a very low figure. As for his income, Rosenblatt earned UAH 397 thousand in the Verkhovna Rada, UAH 208 thousand in his wife’s companies, and received UAH 580 thousand in interest, as well as various reimbursements related to his deputy activities in the amount of UAH 519 thousand.
Mr. Rosenblatt preferred to conceal his wife’s numerous incomes and profits.
Of the cash savings, the amount of USD 1.571 million is indicated, as well as UAH 243 thousand and USD 3 thousand in bank accounts. Rosenblatt’s wife has some cash in euros, an amount in euros deposited in Sparkasse Dortmund, an amount in dollars and euros in Oschadbank, a certain amount of debt with Favorit Development Company, Galiyivsky Butter Plant, «Favorit Company to third parties, a certain amount in cash in UAH, accounts in UAH for certain amounts with PJSC State Savings Bank of Ukraine, Privatbank, a certain amount in dollars with Ukrgasbank, and a certain amount in cash in dollars.
In this case, we are not talking about a couple of thousand, since Zhanna Rosenblatt’s contribution to Bank Sich PJSC in the amount of 79 UAH and 42 EUR was cynically declared open.
Rosenblatt’s son Oleh lives in the UK and is the director of I.S.R. International.
In 2017, Rosenblatt was accused of declaring almost UAH 109 million in cash and bank accounts, while, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office, between 1998 and 2015, the former MP paid taxes on only UAH 3.3 million. Rosenblatt reacted to this accusation very calmly and said that he would cooperate with the investigation.
Due to his activities, Rosenblatt periodically gets involved in confrontations with competitors in the «amber business».
In February 2021, an unknown person threw a grenade into the yard of his house in Zhytomyr at night. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident.