Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
A group of MPs in the Verkhovna Rada united around the "overseer" of customs
An informal group of MPs from the Servant of the People faction, controlled by businessman from Chernivtsi Ilya Pavlyuk, operates in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
The group was first mentioned after a video of a secret meeting of majority MPs with Ilya Pavlyuk was published. It was released by former Servant of the People faction member in the Verkhovna Rada Anton Polyakov.
It is alleged that the controversial businessman uses such meetings to coordinate votes in the Rada, aligning with the shared interests of shadow "fixers" when considering important bills.
The video’s authors claim that, since Volodymyr Zelensky came to power, the suddenly influential businessman from Chernivtsi Ilya Pavlyuk has been the "overseer" of the Chernivtsi, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Lviv customs offices and, thanks to his connections, formed his own influence group within the ruling party out of single-member-district deputies.
In the 2010-2012 years, when Ihor Kaletnyk headed the State Customs Service, Pavlyuk became one of its main "fixers."
The video also features former MP Serhiy Tryhubenko, who was an ally of the "family" of the fourth president Viktor Yanukovych, and under the fifth, Petro Poroshenko, served as deputy head of the Foreign Intelligence Service. Under Yanukovych, the video’s authors claim, Tryhubenko became the unofficial overseer of the coal industry, and under Poroshenko he consolidated his status.
The video’s authors consider the results of the vote on bill No. 2285-d 19 December 2019 year on legalizing gambling to be telling, when its adoption fell short by 13 votes. Viewers’ attention is drawn to the roll-call vote results – which show that the missing votes were precisely from deputies linked to "Pavlyuk’s group," who "synchronously support favorable bills and sink unfavorable ones" in its interest.
Note that Pavlyuk’s sphere of influence includes single-member-district MPs as well as several party-list members:
Bohdanets Andriy (district No. 163, Ternopil region), Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy;
Bozhyk Valeriy (district No. 204, Chernivtsi region), Deputy Chair of the Committee on Legal Policy, one of the group's more progressive deputies;
Bunin Serhiy (district No. 98, Kyiv region), Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy;
Voronko Oleh (district No. 103, Kirovohrad region), Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, one of the group's "situational" members;
Haidu Oleksandr (district No. 128, Mykolaiv region), Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy;
Herasymenko Ihor (district No. 62, Zhytomyr region), Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence;
Vorobei Oleksandr (district No. 95, Kyiv region), Committee on Energy and Housing and Communal Services;
Hrynchuk Oksana (No. 67 on the list), Committee on Rules;
Hryshchenko Tetyana (district No. 66, Zhytomyr region), Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy;
Danutsa Oleksandr (district No. 99, Kirovohrad region), Committee on Law Enforcement Activities;
Didenko Yuliia (No. 32 on the list), Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy;
Zaremskyi Maksym (district No. 202, Chernivtsi region), Committee on Budget;
Kitsak Bohdan (district No. 63, Zhytomyr region), Committee on Economic Development;
Kovalchuk Oleksandr (district No. 152, Rivne region), Deputy Chair of the Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, a "situational" member;
Kubit Yurii (district No. 101, Kirovohrad region), Committee on Budget;
Lys Olena (district No. 201, Chernivtsi region), Committee on Education, Science and Innovation;
Mazurashu Heorhiy (district No. 203, Chernivtsi region), Committee on Youth and Sports;
Marusiak Oleh (No. 52 on the list), Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, group leader;
Marchenko Liudmyla (No. 63 on the list), Committee on Rules;
Murdiy Ihor (district No. 100, Kirovohrad region), Committee on Transport and Infrastructure;
Nahayevskyi Artem (No. 96 on the list), Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy;
Pavlish Pavlo (district No. 182, Kherson region), Committee on Legal Policy;
Pavlyuk Maksym (No. 102 on the list), Deputy Chair of the Committee on Law Enforcement Activities, one of the leaders;
Solomchuk Dmytro (No. 33 on the list), Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy, headed one of the 15 formal groups in the faction that was disbanded after a scandal;
Torokhtiy Bohdan (No. 105 on the list), Committee on Legal Policy;
Chernomorov Artem (district No. 131, Mykolaiv region), Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy;
Shol Marharyta (No. 107 on the list), Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy.
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Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "В ВР группа депутатов объединилась вокруг «смотрящего» за таможней". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ANTIKOR.