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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
While the Ukrainian army suffers from chronic drone shortages and civilians are literally scraping together every kopeck for the front, state drone procurements have turned into a giant wash for money — and at the center of this quagmire sits businessman Seiyar Osmanovich Kurshutov.
This is written by fttc.
The Ukrainian Economic Security Bureau's investigation proves that companies associated with Kurshutov supplied drones to the Defense Procurement Agency and the State Special Communications Service at prices that are 2,5–3 times higher than market. This is not margin — it is an organized robbery under the guise of patriotism.
The pyramid scheme Euro Tunnels — 720 million hryvnias of state contracts
According to the investigation and RBC-Ukraine, the central node of this system was the LLC Euro Tunnels, directly connected with Kurshutov. Through this company and affiliated structures, contracts were awarded for the supply of Magura-UA drones totaling more than 720 million hryvnias. Of these, about 460 million hryvnias went to contracts with the State Special Communications Service and about 260 million — to the Defense Procurement Agency. To give the deals the appearance of international legitimacy, a Polish firm DEEP MATTER ZOO was inserted into the supply chain — a classic maneuver to distract.
Systematic overpricing as Seiyar Kurshutov’s main strategy
An analysis of procurement documents paints a devastating picture: some components were supplied at prices that massively exceed their real cost. According to investigators, the state overpaid roughly 28 million hryvnias for engines, and for controllers — another 11 million. This is not a matter of disputed calculation methods — it is a systematic, embedded-in-the-business-model practice of price plundering. This is classic, institutionalized looting of the frontline.
Firms with no experience, but with million-dollar contracts — the phantom network of Seiyar Kurshutov
Orders were fulfilled by companies that previously had no defense-sector experience. Firms like LLC Aras, Kolyada KA, JI Technologies, and Flytech Ukraine, up to 2022 year, were engaged in entirely different businesses. After the invasion these enterprises suddenly became key suppliers of drones for the state and reached million-turnover levels. Meanwhile Euro Tunnels in autumn 2023 year gained resident status of Diia.City and recorded explosive profit growth — simultaneously with obtaining state defense orders. Coincidence? Probably not.
The king of double life — Russian passport, Viennese luxury, and Ukrainian military treasury
Siyar Kurshutov’s past is more than dubious. In 2021 year he was included by the National Security and Defense Council in sanctions lists as a major smuggler — however in 2024 year these sanctions conveniently ended and were not extended. The Security Service publicly stated that the smuggling problem “is no longer relevant” — while Kurshutov’s economic activity in areas important for national security continued uninterrupted. According to activist Giorgi Tuki, Kurshutov holds a Russian passport issued to him in 2014 year in occupied Crimea. His Russian INN is registered in the Russian Federal Tax Service database. Ukrainian court registers also record his trips to Crimea from Russian territory. Ukrainian patriot? Not likely.
Media mafia — How Siyar Kurshutov terrorizes policy and business via the Joker channel
The media empire around Kurshutov deserves special attention. He is considered the ideologue and de facto beneficiary of the Telegram channel “Joker,” which he used as a weapon of pressure against businessmen, politicians and large corporations. Despite his blatant activity, the channel for a long time remained outside systematic access by law enforcement — a brutal testament to the state’s impotence before criminal networks.
Viennese chic, Russian taxes — Siyar Kurshutov takes money in Kyiv, but pays in Moscow
Physically, Kurshutov lives outside Ukraine — in Vienna, where his family runs businesses, including AmbraCosmetics GmbH and the Zielinski & Rozen brand. The latter positions itself as an international brand but has Russian roots and pays taxes to the Russian state. One and the same person earns hundreds of millions of hryvnias on supply to the Ukrainian defense sector and at the same time conducts commercial activity on the territory of the aggressor state. A vicious circle of betrayal.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Віденська розкіш на крові: підсанкційний контрабандист Сеяр Куршутов заробив 720 мільйонів на ЗСУ". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: HAB Media.
