Mykhailo Stefanishyn corrupted ARMA and continues to rob the state despite media investigations - blogger

"Grey cardinal" of ARMA Mykhailo Stefanishyn and his "fronts" continue to rob the state despite the exposure of their schemes by journalists. This was written in his blog on the "Censor.Net" portal by blogger and expert-analyst Borys Kushniruk, reports UNN.

He reminded that on Wednesday, September 3, the Verkhovna Rada approved presidential decree No. 13442 on the forced seizure of 1592 different types of wagons, tanks, and platforms belonging to residents of the Russian Federation.

"It would seem - good news? By itself - yes, if you don't know the context. And it is such that these wagons risk falling under the management of the "KAMparitet" consortium, which is part of the orbit of influence of the odious businessman Mykhailo Stefanishyn. It is Stefanishyn who is called in the "Ukrainska Pravda" investigation as the person who "found the keys to ARMA", that is, a way to corrupt the National Agency for Asset Management in his favor, effectively becoming its "grey cardinal"", - noted Kushniruk.

At the same time, the author of the investigation, well-known journalist Mykhailo Tkach, clearly pointed to the "loud corruption scandal regarding the historic building of the House of Trade Unions."

"In short, "KAMparitet" has already received four valuable assets from ARMA for management, including the House of Trade Unions on Maidan. This, for a second, is more than a third of ALL objects transferred by the National Agency for management within two years. And this consortium is part of Stefanishyn's sphere of influence, journalists were convinced. At the same time, according to media reports, Stefanishyn himself presents himself as a "shadow" curator of ARMA and decides which asset should be transferred for management until 2030. In turn, he gained influence over ARMA thanks to old acquaintances - connections in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where he previously worked for 12 years (by the way, including in the departments for combating economic and financial crimes and corruption). As Mykhailo Zhvanetsky once said: "Whoever guards something, gets it"", - the expert ironizes.

Journalists also suggested that Stefanishyn's ex-wife, then Deputy Prime Minister, was also involved. However, she denied everything, emphasizing that they had been divorced for more than seven years.

"However, this is not so significant. Much more important is the fact that during the three months that have passed since the UP investigation, the only thing that happened was that in July, the SAP opened proceedings based on the facts set out in the media materials regarding possible abuses by ARMA officials. Even without suspects!" - the blogger was outraged.

In his opinion, feeling impunity, Mykhailo Stefanishyn plans to seize more than one and a half thousand wagons through his "fronts."

"For the sake of completeness, it is worth adding that in order to gain control of the House of Trade Unions, Stefanishyn used his old acquaintances and involved the police to evict representatives of the trade unions themselves and tenants from the premises. "Schemes" with ARMA have already become a source of significant wealth for this "businessman", which significantly increased after his dismissal from the authorities. After a salary of 8 thousand UAH at his previous job, he very quickly became a dollar millionaire," the analyst emphasized.

He pointed out that the confirmation of the "grey cardinal's" corrupt ties is his direct constant contacts with the ARMA leadership, "in particular with Pavlo H.", and the fact that Mykhailo drives a brand new luxurious pearl-colored Mercedes GLS of the latest generation (estimated cost of a new car is 130,000–175,000 US dollars), purchased already during the full-scale war.

"How moral all of the above is, is perhaps a rhetorical question. But how legal Stefanishyn's activities and affiliated structures are, and whether they contradict the interests of a warring state, is indeed a serious question that the SBU, NABU, and other law enforcement agencies would do well to investigate. And to give society an honest answer to it," Borys Kushniruk emphasized.