Ukrainian officials became involved in a global scandal about money laundering through the purchase of luxury real estate in Dubai.
According to a leak of data on the owners luxury Dubai property obtained by the Washington Center for Defense Studies (C4ADS), two Ukrainian customs officers invested millions of dollars in luxury real estate in the United Arab Emirates and hid the proceeds to avoid paying taxes in Ukraine.
Radio Liberty writes about this.
The luxurious city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, which is considered a “safe haven for dirty money” because of the ability to purchase apartments there without further explanation of the origin of the money, has found itself at the center of a global scandal. The uproar was caused by the results of the journalistic investigation Dubai Unlocked, which was carried out by the Norwegian financial publication E24, the OCCRP project to investigate corruption and organized crime and more than 70 media from around the world, including journalists from Radio Liberty.
The “heroes” of the Ukrainian part of this investigation were a number of former and current officials, in particular, the former deputy chairman of the State Customs Service Ruslan Cherkassky and the state tax inspector from the Lviv region Andrey Konanets.
“Symbol of corruption at customs”
Journalists noted that Ruslan Cherkassky is called “one of the symbols of corruption” of Ukrainian customs. He worked in the service from the early 90s until 2023, rising through the ranks to the position of deputy head of customs, and in fact led it. As in a classic novel, the official's bright rise ended in an epic fall – Cherkassky was fired with a scandal after he refused to resign from his post of his own free will amid corruption reports.
“Ruslan Cherkasky said: “I will not write a statement. Fire me.” And we, as the Ministry of Finance, initiated an investigation. And as a result of this investigation, Cherkassky was fired,” said then Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergei Marchenko.
Regarding the property of Ruslan Cherkassky, his declarations indicated that he owned two apartments in the UAE. He bought one of them in 2008 together with businessman Vitaly Kiro, a defendant in another scandal with fake excise stamps at the United Tobacco tobacco factory in Zheltye Vody. Cherkassky invested $162 thousand in real estate, and after leaving office in June 2023, he sold his share to a co-owner.
Cherkassky sold his second apartment at the beginning of 2021 for 224 thousand dollars. Over the years of owning real estate, the rental of these apartments brought a total income of almost 200 thousand dollars, but for some reason Cherkassky did not declare them.
In addition, according to transaction data from the Dubai registry, Cherkassky, together with Kiro, in 2009-2010 invested $24 million in apartments with a total area of 1298 sq.m in the ambitious Pentominium tower project and a huge office space in the Dubai complex Pearl. However, both projects are currently unfinished. There is also no information about these investments in the declarations of the former customs officer.
Journalists were unable to contact Ruslan Cherkassky for comment about his Dubai property.
How life has improved for the Cherkassky family
After the dismissal of Cherkassky, NABU opened two proceedings – on illegal enrichment and on money laundering. Both feature Cherkassky along with his closest circle and his partner Maria Trifonova.
“She took funds abroad in cash. And provided documents that were very… dubious,” said Oleg Novikov, a journalist for the Slovo i Delo publication.
According to investigators, in 2022, Trifonova took 1.645 million euros abroad, which significantly exceeds the family’s total monetary assets. In addition, in court Trifonova gave a dubious explanation of the origin of the money. According to her, about 500 thousand of this amount is business income for four years, and the rest is a loan that she took out back in 2016 and has not yet repaid at the time of the case.
Journalists noted that Trifonova’s financial situation improved significantly after she appeared in Cherkassky’s declarations as a common-law wife:
Maria’s mother, Taisiya Storozhuk, refused to talk to journalists about her family’s property. And Maria Trifonova herself stated that she could only talk to the press on the topic of her professional activity – aesthetic medicine.
It should be noted that Maria Trifonova founded the cosmetology clinic “Trifonova MD” in 2020, runs social networks, gives lectures and hosts talk shows on beauty secrets, anti-age therapy, aesthetic medicine and cosmetology.
In numerous photos and videos from her social networks, Ruslan Cherkassky’s common-law wife flaunts herself in precious jewelry, branded clothing and accessories. Her favorite brands include Cartier, Chanel and Ferragamo. In one of the videos, journalists noticed a watch on Trifonova’s hand that was very reminiscent of a gold Rolex Rainbow with sapphires worth more than 30 thousand dollars.
Property in the Emirates – “this is a misunderstanding”
Investing your “surplus profits” in real estate in the UAE has obviously become a fashionable trend among Ukrainian customs officers. According to a Dubai data leak, in 2010, state customs inspector Andrei Konanets became the owner of apartments in the Lakeside complex.
According to the declaration for last year, Konanets holds the position of chief state inspector of the customs clearance department No. 2 of the Smolnitsa customs post in the Lviv region. He previously held similar positions at the customs posts “Yavorov” and “Krakovets”.
Compared to Cherkassy, Konanets' property is much more modest – 34 sq.m. worth 175 thousand dollars. Maybe that’s why the official did not consider it necessary or “forgot” to declare real estate in Dubai and income in the amount of 36 thousand dollars received from renting it out.
To questions from journalists about property in the UAE, Andrei Konanets replied that “this is a misunderstanding” and he does not have any real estate in Dubai. Konanets refused further communication with journalists.
Recall that the ex-member of Ukraine from the banned party OPZZH, Nestor Shufrich, suspected of treason, hid his property and family abroad. A journalistic investigation found that a number of assets to which the politician was involved became the property of foreign companies.
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