Table of Contents
See previous part: How Russia prepared to seize Ukraine’s nuclear energy. Part 1: Derkach’s Twelve
The Mafia Structure: Family Ties and Shared Crimes
Let’s start with the fact that Derkach has been a member of Parliament since 1998 (III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, and IX convocations) representing a single-member district (Hlukhiv, Putyvl, Krolevets, Yampil, and Seredyna-Buda districts of the Sumy region) – and this is not a coincidence. In addition to obtaining parliamentary immunity for “covering up” and forming his anti-Ukrainian team, it gave him the opportunity to control and influence the local self-government bodies (in the Sumy region) through a series of levers by delegating supervisory functions to Oleg Boyaryntsev.
The small town of Hlukhiv in the Sumy region became the main center of Derkach’s interests, specifically the Hlukhiv Quarry. Under Derkach’s patronage, the extraction of high-purity quartzite, silicon, and ferrosilicon from the Banychi deposit took place there. And one might think that there is nothing unusual about it, just a typical scheme for many Ukrainian politicians, but that’s not the case. The extraction was carried out through a Cypriot offshore company called United Company Rusal Silicon Limited, owned by the well-known Russian entrepreneur Oleg Deripaska. It is evident that the valuable minerals were exported beyond Ukraine’s borders, but what is not widely known is that they were directly supplied to Russian military-industrial complex enterprises for the production of tactical missile systems. Therefore, Derkach, being a long-time Ukrainian politician, directly contributed to the preparation and military strengthening of Russia, as well as its formation of a strategic reserve of missiles of various types that are now targeting Ukrainians.
If only that were the only intermediation of Derkach between Ukraine and Russia.
The Center: Shadow Control Over Ukraine’s Nuclear Empire
Through individuals under his control, Derkach has full control over the acting Minister of Energy, German Galushchenko, and the entire top management of Ukraine’s nuclear-industrial complex. Additionally, through a “shadow office” (the Center), he coordinates the decision-making and implementation of strategic initiatives regarding the sector’s enterprises in the interests of Derkach’s team.
The acting President of the National Nuclear Energy Generating Company Energoatom, based on Derkach’s recommendation and with the support of certain officials from the Office of the President, appointed Petro Kotin in 2020. Kotin fully and unquestionably subordinates himself to the Center, lacking any personal ambitions.
Decisions that are coordinated by the Center are implemented through Jacob Hartmut (Vice President of NAEK Energoatom) and Oleg Boyaryntsev (Executive Director of Personnel at Energoatom). Together with Minister German Galushchenko, they submit “schemes and proposals” to the Center regarding the activities of energy sector enterprises.
Jacob Hartmut is one of Derkach’s most trusted individuals, tasked with continuing the long-standing connection between the Derkach family and the well-known international criminal authority, Semion Mogilevich. Through a person under Mogilevich’s control (Ivor Omson), together with Jacob Hartmut, they are founders of the London-based company Delphi Worldwide LLP, which is aimed at money laundering from Ukraine’s nuclear industry.
Ivor Omson, in turn, indirectly through LLC LIDER TV, is a founder of the media group 112 Ukraine, which was affiliated with Viktor Medvedchuk at the time. Ivor Omson is also connected to another well-known figure, Dmytro Firtash, through the Cypriot company Simia Holdings Limited, of which they both serve as directors.
Oleg Boyaryntsev is directly responsible for placing the “necessary” individuals in important positions. Among them, he has full control over the director of the separate division Atomproektengineering of Energoatom, Mykola Bozhko (the one from whom everything was “stolen”). And the process of “stealing,” in turn, was initially implemented by Igor Ignatov. Thanks to him, for example, billions were invested in the Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility. However, to this day, we only have a “shaky house on chicken legs” that has been officially commissioned three times for the cameras. He also controlled the involvement of the scandalous general contractor BC KBR in all state procurements, but he was later simply “thrown out” (currently, money laundering through BC KBR is directly carried out by its director, Dmytro Nesteruk).
The directors of nuclear power plants are also not independent and are appointed by the decision of the Center. Among them are Igor Murashov (Acting General Director of Zaporizhzhia NPP), Andrii Kozyura (General Director of Khmelnytskyi NPP), Igor Polovych (General Director of South Ukraine NPP), and Pavlo Pavlyshyn (until recently, General Director of Rivne NPP). It is worth noting Pavlo Pavlyshyn separately, as he was once forced to “play by the rules,” but currently, he has a conflict and legal dispute with the “friends.”
However, these are not all of Derkach’s achievements. For complete and comprehensive control over the energy sector, Andrii Derkach partnered with Kostiantyn Hryhoryshyn (brother of Derkach’s wife, who married the daughter of a Russian oligarch) back in 2009. This allowed the clan to influence 10 Ukrainian Oblenergos, controlling anywhere from 12% to 100% of their shares.
Therefore, according to the above, all the answers to the questions the author posed in the first part of the Story become evident.
And if you think you have grasped the full extent of the iceberg, in the next part of the story, the author will convince you otherwise.
Law Enforcement Strikes Back: NABU Moves Against the Network
But it cannot be said that law enforcement agencies in Ukraine are doing nothing!
No sooner had the passions subsided regarding the first part of the story, Derkach’s 12 friends, than it became known that NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine) has announced suspicion to another colleague of the deputy: former head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex, Nuclear Policy, and Nuclear Safety — Mykola Martynenko.
In addition, brave detectives from NABU conducted a search at the home of Mykola Bozhko, the director of Atomproektengineering, on Wednesday, July 27, as part of the criminal investigation into the Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility.
And most importantly, the “law enforcement machinery” of our overseas partners is gradually gaining momentum in the right direction too!
Something tells me that the ground is already burning beneath the feet of the “friends”!
