Multifaceted Artur Gatunok, or how the Yabluka network has been trading in "gray" equipment for years

As part of the "gray" technology market research, we have already written about one of the largest players that regularly becomes a defendant in law enforcement investigations - the "Yabko" network. Now we have turned our attention to another large network - Yabluka, which has also repeatedly attracted the attention of the relevant authorities. Who is behind the Yabluka chain of stores - read in the UNN article. 

An enviable bachelor, former deputy of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Council, owner of a successful business that includes cafes, electronics trade, real estate operations and even the agro-industrial sector. This is all about Artur Gatunok. But of all his regalia, titles and business interests, we were most interested in the fact that he owns the TM Yabloki. It was under this brand that the network operated before the Ukrainization of the brand name and its transformation into Yabluka. 

The mention of "yabloki" can still be found in the address of the online store - yabloki.ua. 

The site itself already contains the Ukrainianized logo. 

By the way, another notable detail, which, as market insiders explained to us, is often used by gray technology networks - they emphasize that the equipment is original, not official. And Yabluka positions itself as a network of original equipment.  

That is, yes, here you can buy genuine equipment, such as Apple. Another question is whether it entered Ukraine through an official importer? Will it be sold to you taking into account all the necessary cash register procedures? Will you receive proper service and warranty service? 

The "Mystery Shopper" study conducted by the Test Expertise Center can partially answer these questions. During the study and control purchases, in particular, through the online store and three physical stores in the capital, it was found that the goods do not contain information about the importer, there are no inscriptions (markings) in Ukrainian, and there is also no marking on compliance with the national technical regulations. The goods purchased through the online store also lacked identification of the seller. 

As for offline stores, the sale was carried out on behalf of Y-UA LLC. This company was founded more than two years ago in Zaporizhzhia (where Artur Gatunok lives). The founder and ultimate beneficiary is Yevhen Volodymyrovych Romanchenko (previously, Yulia Pisna, also from Zaporizhzhia, was the ultimate beneficiary of the company). The company's main activity is retail trade in telecommunications equipment in specialized stores. 

Y-UA LLC has repeatedly come to the attention of regulatory authorities. For example, we found the following information in the court register: 

"On November 28, 2024 at 16:21, during an actual inspection of the "Yabluko" store, which belongs to Y-UA LLC at the address: Kropyvnytskyi, V. Perspektyvna str., 47, PERSON_1, who is the head of Y-UA LLC, violated the procedure for making payments, namely, the sale in the "Yabluko" store of unaccounted goods for a total amount of UAH 582,062, which is a violation of paragraph 12 of Article 3 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Use of Registrars of Settlement Operations in the Field of Trade, Public Catering and Services" (..), which was recorded during an actual inspection of the "Yabluko" store, which belongs to Y-UA LLC at the address: Kropyvnytskyi, V. Perspektyvna str., 47 by officials of the Main Department of the State Tax Service in the Kirovohrad region of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, which resulted in the compilation of a protocol on administrative offense No. 002040 dated February 4, 2025 in relation to PERSON_1 under Part 1 of Article 155-1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses." 

There are also mentions in court documents about the imposition of a conditional administrative arrest on the company's property by the tax authorities. 

In addition, the company is suing the South-Western Interregional Department of the State Labor Service for imposing a fine for violating labor laws (officially unemployed employees? Salary in envelopes?). 

Several trademarks are registered for Y-UA LLC. 

The most interesting is the last one (the letter Y in a red circle), the owner of which is Innovative Activity of the XXI Century LLC. Currently, this company is already called Innovation Today and Artur Gatunok is the chief accountant in it (previously he was also a co-founder and ultimate beneficiary of this company). This company acted as the applicant for the registration of the TM Yabluka. 

A story that has been going on for years 

If you think that Yabloki, or rather, now Yabluka, have only recently come to the attention of law enforcement as potential violators of the law, you are mistaken. 

Back in 2017, Artur Gatunok registered Yabloki LLC, which is engaged in wholesale trade of computer equipment, as well as retail trade in specialized stores of electronic equipment. Gatunok still manages this company. But the story begins even earlier, before its founding. 

In the court register, we find a document from 2015, which refers to criminal proceedings opened on the report of the All-Ukrainian Public Organization "All-Ukrainian Agency for Copyright". 

"According to the specified report and the materials attached to it, it was established that a number of unidentified business entities are importing Apple trademark products into the customs territory of Ukraine in violation of tax and customs laws, as well as in violation of intellectual property rights, which are subsequently sold through the online store www.yabloki.ua and non-specialized retail stores Yabloki, located on the territory of Ukraine, without relevant documents (fiscal checks, certificates, etc.) and without paying the appropriate taxes, which leads to tax evasion on a particularly large scale," - says the court order. 

There are rulings on violations of the procedure for conducting settlement operations for 2017, a resolution on the illegal import of Apple equipment from 2018, a ruling on the statement that the YABLOKI network sells equipment obtained by criminal means for 2019... And so on, and so forth. 

In 2020, Artur Gatunok himself gave an interview, in particular regarding the merger of the  YABLOKI and iStudio networks, in which he spoke, among other things, about the fact that there are many counterfeit devices on the market, and it is very important that this equipment is certified. It looks quite cynical, don't you agree?