Cleaning companies belonging to the orbit of a Russian businessman associated with Yevhen Prigozhin have been cleaning Ukrainian strategic facilities, such as Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukrenergo, the tax office, etc. for many years. Slidstvo.Info journalists have found that during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, these companies continue to provide services to government agencies.
A new investigation by Slidstvo.Info journalists has revealed this. The video has English subtitles.
RUSSIA’S CLEANING AT STRATEGIC FACILITIES IN UKRAINE
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has been deliberately targeting Ukraine’s energy sector with missile strikes. At the same time, strategic facilities such as Ukrzaliznytsia (a state-owned company that controls railway transport — transl.), Ukrposhta (a state-owned company that controls mail and deliveries — transl.), Ukrenergo (the sole operator of the country’s high-voltage transmission lines — transl.), Boryspil airport and the currently occupied port of Berdiansk have been cleaned for years by cleaning companies from the orbit of a Russian businessman linked to Yevgen Prigozhin.
During the days of Russian shelling of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, Ukrenergo holds a tender for the cleaning of, among other things, electrical substations in different regions of Ukraine. The winner is Chistyi Svit Technologies LLC, which is part of the Chisto group of companies.
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- Screenshots of contracts with Ukrenergo / Source: Prozorro
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- Screenshots of contracts with Ukrenergo / Source: Prozorro
This company belongs to the orbit of Russian businessman of Belarusian origin Eduard Apsit. He has created an entire cleaning empire of companies in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
The international network of OCCRP, with which Slidstvo.info journalists conducted an investigation, found that Apsit had Russian and Belarusian passports and was linked to the owner of the Wagner PMC, Yevhen Prigozhin.
In Ukraine, Chisto group companies have had access to strategic facilities such as Ukrposhta, Ukrtransnafta (an operator of the system of main oil pipelines of Ukraine — transl.), Boryspil airport, Ukrzaliznytsia, etc. for years. Now, for example, they work at Ukrenergo substations and PrivatBank in the frontline areas.
“CLEAN” FROM A RUSSIAN BUSINESSMAN
Eduard Apsit is the founder of a large network of cleaning companies. He started his business back in the 1990s in Belarus and later expanded to the markets of Russia and Ukraine.
Eduard Apsit in court in Latvia / Photo: NothingPersonal/TV3
For some time, Apsit and Ukrainian Serhiy Semenyuk were co-owners of Ukrainian companies of the Chisto group, but in 2014, Apsit gradually began to withdraw from all companies.
By 2019, Apsit had no business assets left in Ukraine, and his long-time partners, including his wife Elena, who holds a Cypriot passport, continued to run the business.
Latvian investigators confirm that Apsit’s people continue to work for Ukrainian cleaning companies.
The money laundering case states that Eduard Apsit withdrew the money he earned in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine to the EU.
Investigators seized €73 million from accounts linked to the Russian businessman’s companies. Of this amount, €33 million was seized from accounts linked to Semenyuk’s companies.
Latvian law enforcement officials believe that the Ukrainian business was probably “de jure” re-registered, in particular, to Serhiy Semenyuk, but “de facto” managed by Eduard Apsit.
The OCCRP journalists received case files in which, during interrogation, Semenyuk admitted to investigators that from 1999 to 2000 he had worked for a Ukrainian company owned by the Apsit family. Semenyuk knows the family well, as he has stayed at their villa in Jurmala, Latvia, on several occasions.
At the same time, Apsit used the bank card of Semenyuk’s company as his personal card.
The Slidstvo.Info journalists called Semenyuk to ask him about his business and relationship with Apsit, and he confirmed that he had known the Russian businessman for many years.
CONNECTION TO YEVGENY PRIGOZHIN
According to colleagues from the OCCRP, in Russia, cleaning companies associated with the Apsit family cleaned the Kremlin Palace.
In addition, journalists found a company from the Chisto group that operated in the occupied Crimea and cleaned the barracks of the Russian Black Sea Fleet of the Ministry of Defence.
At the same time, in 2016, a Ukrainian company from the Chisto group won a tender to clean the Kyiv Boryspil airport. That is, employees of cleaning companies associated with the Russian had access to the premises of the main Ukrainian airport. It is not known whether they were only involved in cleaning there.
Colleagues from the OCCRP, with whom Slidstvo.Info worked on this investigation, established the connection between the cleaning companies from the orbit of Apsit and Yevhen Prigozhin. Yes, the very same Prigozhin who is the head of the Russian PMC Wagner.
In 2017, the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia uncovered a cartel conspiracy in auctions for the maintenance of military camps. Antimonopoly officials divided the conspiring companies into two groups: one associated with Prigozhin, and the other with people associated with companies of the Apsit group. The businessman himself denies any acquaintance, business relations or cartel conspiracy with Prigozhin, but refuses to disclose other information about his business.
STATE-OWNED COMPANIES TO WHICH CHISTO HAS ACCESS TODAY
Journalists have found that cleaning companies associated with the Russian and (through his family and partners) with companies in Russia and Belarus that cleaned the Kremlin Palace and the Black Sea Fleet barracks in occupied Crimea and were found to be working with Prigozhin’s companies have been cleaning the largest state buildings in Ukraine for years.
The list of facilities to which Chisto Group companies have access: PJSC National Energy Company Ukrenergo, Boryspil International Airport, Berdiansk Commercial Sea Port, PJSC Ukrzaliznytsia, Joint Stock Company Ukrposhta, JSC Ukrtransnafta, JSC CB PrivatBank, State Energy Supervision Inspectorate of Ukraine, Main Department of the State Tax Service in Odesa region, State Migration Service
Recently, PrivatBank ordered the cleaning of buildings located in Donetsk and Luhansk regions from the Chisto group.
Also, companies from the Apsit orbit will clean the territories of electrical substations in different regions of Ukraine, as evidenced by several contracts with Ukrenergo.
Slidstvo.Info journalists contacted the government agencies that cooperated with Chisto group companies for comment.
The management of Ukrenergo promised to further check the counterparty: “Thank you for the information provided, which will be the basis for additional verification of the said counterparty for its ties with the aggressor country. We have also forwarded the relevant information to law enforcement agencies, in particular the Security Service of Ukraine.”
Representatives of the State Tax Service of Ukraine and the State Geodesic Service of Ukraine said they acted in accordance with the law and chose the most cost-effective offer.
According to the officials, since the companies did not have a Russian beneficiary at the time of participation in the tender, the state authorities did not notice any Russian trace in the companies. However, Slidstvo.Info journalists were never told whether the cleaning companies had undergone internal security checks.
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- Response of the State Geodesic Service of Ukraine
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- Response of the State Tax Service of Ukraine
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- Response of the State Tax Service of Ukraine
In the 9th year of the war with Russia, a group of companies with ties to a Russian businessman continues to receive government contracts and have access to a large number of strategic facilities in Ukraine. All this is at the expense of Ukrainian taxpayers.
