Benefits at Our Expense

Benefits at Our Expense

After the Revolution of Dignity the authorities announced the complete abolition of benefits and privileges for former officials. In reality, the good life of a limited circle of people continues to be paid for from the budget, that is, by taxpayers. Journalists found out how much money from the state budget goes to support former presidents and speakers.

Who they are — journalists from the Schemes program, a joint project of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the TV channel UA:Pershyi, investigated.

The Koncha-Zaspa recreation home of the State Administration of Affairs is known for housing, among others, current and former officials, some of whom were previously provided housing for life as a state privilege. The administration of the complex has now stopped providing information about its residents. The last time the director of the recreation home, Viktor Bulichenko, provided such a list was in response to an information request last year. The current reply states that the administration “no longer has legal grounds” to provide a list of residents.

Six months after the end of Euromaidan, in November 2014, the government announced the cancellation of substantial benefits and privileges for former Ukrainian officials. “We have completed the procedure of depriving former officials of benefits and various privileges. Today we have finished this stage. We revoked a number of orders that had provided sanatorium-resort services and automobile service for former presidents, prime ministers, ministers. Officials, both former and current, must live by the same standards as society,” said then Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Ostap Semerak.

Cars for the speaker. For life

But the benefits for ex-officials in the year Euromaidan ended were not revoked for everyone.

For example, according to his declaration, the bank account of former Verkhovna Rada chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn increased over the past year by 6 million hryvnias, and his family’s accounts by another 11 million. He explains that these funds are held in U.S. dollars, euros, and Swiss francs. Volodymyr Lytvyn and his family also have luxury cars. However, the state still provides him with an official Toyota Land Cruiser with a driver.

Volodymyr Lytvyn has many savings

“In principle, the car just stands. I use my personal car, since in fact they give three liters of gasoline per day,” he notes. The former official also clarifies that he “practically does not use” the car, and when asked why he needs it, he cannot answer.

However, the Verkhovna Rada motor depot said that in fact they now issue more liters of fuel for cars of former speakers. “Before we gave them 3 liters because there was no fuel. A month ago we started giving 10 liters. For each day, except weekends and holidays,” says Andriy Nahornyi, head of the Verkhovna Rada motor depot.

Verkhovna Rada motor depot

Another former speaker — ex-Party of Regions member Volodymyr Rybak — also has a car with a driver. He chaired the Verkhovna Rada during the beatings and shootings at Maidan. He does not acknowledge any benefits for himself, although he does not deny having an official car, but complains about the amount he must pay for utilities in the house in Koncha-Zaspa. “For February 18 000 were brought, and I have to pay everything, I am thinking what to do next,” says Volodymyr Rybak.

At this site, according to Rybak, there used to be a wooden house

According to him, he renovated the house allotted to him at his own expense, but “Koncha-Zaspa took it onto the balance” and demands payment for utilities.

According to official information, while the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine is conducting a pretrial investigation into crimes allegedly committed by Volodymyr Rybak under Articles 364 and 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. These articles provide for criminal liability for abuse of power and official forgery. Schemes received this information in response to a request to the GPO. Earlier media reported that lawyer Halyna Ivanenko appealed to the court against the inaction of the General Prosecutor’s Office in investigating the adoption of the laws of 16 January 2014. The ex-speaker does not admit this: “There were and will be no claims against me,” he says.

As for Oleksandr Turchynov, for his official merits he can choose which car to drive. Two cars are assigned to him — from parliament, as a former speaker he is provided a Skoda Octavia with a driver, and from the State Administration of Affairs, as secretary of the NSDC, he is assigned a second car. However, which exact car that is has been officially classified.

In total, last year the state budget spent 2 million 161 000 hryvnias on cars and drivers for six former speakers of the Ukrainian parliament.

In Koncha-Zaspa, besides Volodymyr Rybak, former speakers Oleksandr Moroz, Volodymyr Lytvyn, and former presidents Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yushchenko have houses.

Also located there is the house of the head of the State Guard, Valeriy Heletey. His department did not grant our film crew permission to shoot these houses up close, stating that “written permission to film must be provided by the State Administration of Affairs.” But the State Administration of Affairs believes that permission should be provided by the State Guard headed by Heletey.

They forbid filming Valeriy Heletey’s house (by the way: in the midst of Maidan Baloga and Heletey acquired land plots in the protected Zakarpattia zone)

Former presidents

According to media reports, Viktor Yushchenko has already moved out of the state house in Koncha-Zaspa. However, another house assigned to him there remained, according to the State Administration of Affairs — unfinished.

According to media reports, Viktor Yushchenko moved out of that house

Overall, the ex-president has the most privileges among former officials. As of today, the state provides him with two cars — a Mercedes Benz and a Volkswagen — and three drivers. Last year, transport services for Viktor Yushchenko cost 179 000 hryvnias.

Another 115 000, in addition to his pension, was spent last year under the article “lifetime monetary support” for Yushchenko. Another 323 000 from the budget in 2015 was spent by the state on Yushchenko’s office — his assistants. He is also assigned a cook, two maids, and two waiters. But according to the State Administration of Affairs, Viktor Yushchenko has not used them in the last two years.

All such privileges are provided thanks to President Yanukovych’s decree of 12 March 2010 — “On the provision, servicing and protection of Viktor Yushchenko.”

This decree was declassified only a year and a half ago.

Ex-president Leonid Kuchma leads a more modest lifestyle. He is assigned a state Mercedes Benz without a driver, the maintenance of which cost the state 56 000 hryvnias last year.

Another 301 000 hryvnias from the state budget in 2015 went to assistants of ex-president Leonid Kravchuk.

Viktor Yushchenko turned out to be the most expensive former president

In total, last year former presidents cost 976 000 hryvnias.

According to one of the initiators of the repeal of benefits and privileges for former officials — Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Ostap Semerak in 2014 — former presidents of Ukraine called him.

“They were clarifying details about why automobile service had stopped and what the prospects were for payment for dachas, etc. So what we promised, we then did. I was positively surprised by Kravchuk. He asked how best to return the car,” notes Ostap Semerak.

He also considers it “wrong” that privileges have not yet been revoked for everyone. After all, presidential decrees and Cabinet resolutions remain in force.

Former presidents called Ostap Semerak after the benefits were canceled

Interestingly, despite the fact that in 2014 the Cabinet revoked numerous orders on benefits for former officials, some of them, although no longer in effect, remain classified, for example — “On the provision, servicing and protection of Leonid Kuchma.” It is still unknown exactly what benefits and in what volume were provided to Kuchma under that order.

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Serhiy Andrushko, journalist of the Schemes program; published on the Radio Svoboda website

Translation: Argument