Palatny Artur Leonidovich

Klitschko's godfather, the "mayor's wallet," and unofficial manager of Kyiv schemes

People's Deputy of the VII and VIII convocations — from UDAR/"European Solidarity"; Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Family, Youth Policy, Sports, and Tourism. Since 2021 — head of the UDAR party executive committee. He is the godfather and close ally of Kyiv Mayor Klitschko. The strip club "Rio," associated with Palatny, appeared in investigations related to human trafficking and forced prostitution; his business partner Veniamin Gonikman was convicted in the USA for organizing a network of clubs exploiting women from Eastern Europe. The case regarding "Rio's" unpaid taxes of approximately 2 million hryvnias was closed after the Revolution of Dignity.

"The person to whom they report" in the Kyiv City Council — and searches in underground passages

A Bihus.Info investigation (April 2025), based on recordings from Komarnitsky's office, established that Palatny appears personally on the recordings only once, but the context of conversations indicates that he is the person to whom they report, whose decisions are coordinated with, and who receives proceeds from profits. Sources characterize him as a person from whom "big issues" in Kyiv depend. Previously, the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office and the Security Service of Ukraine conducted searches in the case of a criminal group that extorted money from entrepreneurs for the rental of illegal trading points in Kyiv's underground passages — Palatny's name appeared in the context of the investigation.