Kononenko Ihor Vitaliyovych

"The Gray Cardinal" of the Poroshenko era — the president's friend from the army who grew into his "wallet"

Born in 1965 in Kyiv. He met Petro Poroshenko back in the Soviet army, and later they "started building a joint business" — which they developed over decades. Deputy of the VIII convocation, first deputy head of the BPP faction, co-owner of assets shared with the president (including the International Investment Bank). Formally a deputy, in reality a shadow manager of personnel and cash flows.

Minister's resignation, "tapes" about energy, and mercury poisoning all at the right time

In 2016, Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavičius resigned demonstratively, naming Kononenko as the main reason — accusing him of attempts to "subjugate" state enterprises and appointments. The scandal triggered a political crisis and reactions from ambassadors and the IMF. In 2019, the "Schemes" program published recordings of Kononenko's conversations with Kryuchkov — a figure involved in the case of embezzlement at Zaporizhzhiaoblenergo (losses in the billions). When the NABU summoned Kononenko for questioning, he suddenly "poisoned himself with mercury." Scandal after scandal — yet the cases never reached court.