Tax authorities on May 22 searched the Kyiv office of a company that publishes a daily newspaper known for taking a pro-Russian slant on the separatist movement in eastern Ukraine on suspicion of money laundering.
The bank accounts of Vesti Mass Media (VMM), which
publishes the free Russian-language daily Vesti, have been blocked, as well as
those of chief editor Igor Guzhva, said Yaryna Klyuchkovska, press secretary of
the Revenues and Duties Ministry.
The media outlet dismissed the allegation, and called
the tax police raid on its office an act of “political pressure.”
Vesti has a reputation for biased reporting of the
Kremlin-backed separatist movement in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, according to
Telekritika media criticism hub head Nataliya Ligachova.
The ministry’s news release stated VMM allegedly
received nearly Hr 100 million that originated in a bank controlled by Serhiy
Kurchenko, a multi-millionaire wanted on suspicion of tax fraud and who
authorities believe is a front man for ex-President Viktor Yanukovych’s assets.
The money then went through a money laundering center attached to Kurchenko’s
Real Bank. In turn, a dummy company received the amount in Sumy Oblast before
passing it on to VMM.
Authorities are investigating VMM and its director and
chief editor Guzhva on suspicion of money laundering and using a “fictitious
company.” Two separate charges each carry a maximum three and five-year prison
sentence, including confiscation of property.
Moreover, tax police found Hr 1.5 million in cash in
Vesti’s editorial office. However, Guzhva said the money belongs to one of the
employees.
Investigative website yanukovychleaks.org reported that Anna Sytnyk, an accountant at Kurchenko’s VETEK conglomerate, had
provided legal services to Multimedia Invest Group, the parent company of VMM.
Kurchenko was placed on an international wanted list
on April 23. Authorities accuse him of
laundering Hr 26 billion. He could not be reached for comment – his whereabouts
remain unknown, while VETEK’s press service did not reply to Kyiv Post’s
inquiry.
Vesti claims to be one of Ukraine’s largest newspapers,
with a daily circulation of 350,000. Despite the account blockages, Vesti’s
latest issue still came out on May 23.
“We see this as political pressure on our media
outlets that cover events in the country fairly and publish materials which
criticize current authorities,” Guzhva wrote on his Facebook page.
“It is funny to say authorities are attempting to shut
the oppositional newspaper to influence the results of presidential elections,
while there are just three days left before them,” media critic Ligachova
told the Kyiv Post. “What can you change in three days as a newspaper?”
The editorial policy of Vesti has nothing to do with
the ongoing criminal investigation, replied Igor Bilous, first deputy minister
of revenues and duties. “We do not need Soviet-style controlled monochrome
media environment – that’s what we see in neighboring Russia,” he emphasized.
National Security Council deputy chief Viktoriya Syumar
straightforwardly said that VMM and Guzhva participated in a murky business scheme
with Kurchenko and the inner circle of former president Yanukovych. Syumar is a
respected expert on media issues who recently headed the Institute of Mass
Information, a local media watchdog.
There has been some criticism in the local media about
the tax service’s initiative to conduct an investigation due to a March 13 parliamentary
decree that banned audits of media outlets during the election campaign.
However, the current investigation of VMM is not seen as a routine audit, and
more about the company’s connection to Kurchenko which is directly regulated by
the criminal code, a document of a substantially higher priority. Media lawyer
Taras Shevchenko does not see any violations in investigating VMM’s activity.
VMM is a part of the larger media holding Multimedia
Invest Group, whose business portfolio includes also Vesti.ua news website,
Vesti.Reporter weekly magazine, Vesti radio channel and UBR television
station. Interestingly, besides editing the Vesti newspaper, Guzhva also holds
the position of chief executive officer of the publishing holding, combining
capacities of the editorial and commercial part of the media business.
“These publications have been violating the journalistic
standards all the time,” commented Ligachova. “They were very heavily
manipulating with the headlines, openly backing (pro-Russian) separatism.”
Iryna Solomko, a journalist who quit Segodnya
newspaper in 2010 – then led by Guzhva – publicly accused him of manipulating news coverage and presenting
information in a biased way.
Media critic Ligachova added that Multimedia Invest
Group’s publications have been enjoying enormous budgets in a media environment
that is largely unprofitable.
Ownership of Guzhva’s media holding is unclear. He
states that he is the owner, however local pro-Russian second-tier politician Viktor
Medvedchuk and former minister of revenues and duties Oleksandr Klymenko were
named as probable owners too. The latter denied his ownership of the holding.
Kurchenko has also been linked to owning the holding.
He acquired Ukrainian Media Holding in 2013 for $360-400 million which is seen
as an extremely expensive price. UMH publishes the local version of Forbes
monthly business magazine, daily newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, news weekly
Korrespondent and soccer weekly Futbol. Experts explained Kurchenko’s reasoning
in that deal by his intention to provide media support for Yanukovych’s 2015
presidential campaign.
Moreover, Kurchenko is considered to be the owner of
Evolution Media, which publishes Kommentarii and Kyiv Weekly newspapers, though
Kurchenko’s chief media manager Yuriy Rovenskiy, a Russian citizen, denied
this.
Rovenskiy was
recently banned from entering Ukraine which may bring even more chaos to the
smithereens of Kurchenko’s media empire.
Editor’s Note: The story has been updated to include infographics.
Kyiv Post associate business editor Ivan Verstyuk can
be reached at [email protected]. Kyiv Post staff writer Solomiya Zinevych contributed reporting to this story.
