Sergei Labazyuk, a well-known politician representing the interests of the Khmelnitsky region, turned out to be a suspect in a criminal case for bribery.
On Friday, November 24, one of the lawyers of people’s deputy Sergei Labazyuk delivered an emotional tirade within the walls of the High Anti-Corruption Court: “The prosecutor refers to the fact that the suspect involved Nazimov (director of the JSC “U AR Di” - “Glavkom”) in the crime. But if we look at the materials, we will see how Mustafa Nayem (head of the State Agency for Reconstruction and Infrastructure Development, in a criminal case acts as a whistleblower witness - “Commander in Chief”) attracts persons to commit a crime; sets demands on who should communicate with him in order to achieve goals. Sergei Petrovich (Labazyuk - “Commander in Chief”) did not attract anyone. This was done by those civil servants who, with the light hand of the prosecutor’s office, remained witnesses in their positions.”
In addition to Nayema’s nickname, the parliamentarian’s defense repeatedly mentioned in the courtroom the Deputy Prime Minister for the Reconstruction and Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure, Alexander Kubrakov. They say that the anti-corruption authorities first “grazed” these trestle beds, and then switched to the people’s deputy and his director of the company, which was one of the top 10 contractors of “Big Construction”. Ultimately, the deputy and his director sat in the dock. The latter, by the way, is already in jail. However, he can get out of there if he pays bail in the amount of UAH 12 million.
And already this morning, November 28, the High Anti-Corruption Court chose a preventive measure for MP Labazyuk in the form of detention in the capital’s pre-trial detention center. The restriction of freedom will be in effect until January 21, 2024. However, the court set bail at UAH 40.2 million.
It should be emphasized: for People’s Deputy of three convocations Sergei Labazyuk, this is the first such significant blow to his image in 11 years of continuous parliamentary service. Now the odious and influential deputy is in the status of a suspect in a corruption crime. Until now, Labazyuk has successfully survived various political upheavals, including criminal prosecutions, which ended in nothing.
Labazyuk’s area of interest is agricultural and road businesses, mainly in the Khmelnitsky region. Here, by the end of 2020, the politician was able to take control of the renewed Khmelnitsky Regional Rada. The political party “For the Future,” of which the deputy is a member, made the elected member’s elder brother Pyotr Labazyuk and the deputy’s wife Violeta Labazyuk deputies of the regional council. Then, based on the results of a secret ballot, the post of head of the regional council was won by the 34-year-old wife of Sergei Labazyuk.
Law enforcement officers’ version On November 21, unexpected guests came to people’s deputy Sergei Labazyuk. These were detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and prosecutors from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. Law enforcement officers brought suspicion against the elected official under Part 4 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code (“Providing unlawful benefits to an official holding a particularly responsible position”).
According to NABU, in August 2023, a people’s deputy turned to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Kubrakov with a request to provide his company with contracts for the restoration of infrastructure facilities worth 1 billion hryvnia. For this, he promised a “reward” of 3-5% of the value of each contract. For further agreements, the people’s deputy also involved the director of the company AT “Yu Ar Di” (until July 2022 the company was called “Khmelnytsky ShBU No. 56”) Denis Nazimov.
Before the Great War, “Khmelnitsky ShBU No. 56” occupied a leading place in the presidential project “Great Construction”. At the end of 2021, the company won tenders for 5.23 billion hryvnia for road repairs. Compared to 2020, the increase was UAH 2.49 billion.
Until mid-January 2022, “Khmelnitsky ShBU No. 56” belonged to Galina Stavchanskaya from Chernivtsi. According to media reports, the woman was the aunt of Sergei Labazyuk. The current owner of the company is MP Labazyuk. In June 2023, Denis Nazimov became director, who positions himself as an anti-crisis leader.
According to anti-corruption authorities, after receiving 50 million hryvnia for a contract to restore a destroyed bridge in one of the regions of Ukraine, Sergei Labazyuk, through his authorized representative (his driver), transferred the promised interest to Mustafa Nayem in the amount of $150 thousand.
The transfer of illegal benefits took place in the parking lot of one of the capital's supermarkets, and the money was in a Chinese box.
It is interesting to note a certain symbolic moment. The unveiling of the current people's deputy coincided with the Day of Dignity and Freedom. Exactly 10 years ago, it was Mustafa Nayem, who then worked as a journalist, who called on Ukrainians to take to the Maidan against dictator Viktor Yanukovych. At the same time, people's deputy Labazyuk was noted for voting for the so-called “dictatorial laws.” They provided for the expansion of punitive powers of the authorities, recognizing activists and protesters as “extremists” and “foreign agents.” Labazyuk’s fellow countrymen “appreciated” this act of the politician by hanging an angry poster on the square in front of the Khmelnitsky regional administration.
After the victory of the Revolution of Dignity, some people's deputies who voted for the “dictatorial laws” wrote statements about withdrawing their votes. Among them was Labazyuk.
Labazyuk’s version was based on an explanation of his forced meetings with Kubrakov and Nayem on the basis of the situation that developed at his enterprise.
According to Labazyuk, in 2022, the volume of construction work controlled by JSC “Yu Ar Di” (previous name “Khmelnitsky ShBU No. 56”) decreased 10 times compared to 2021. The number of employees decreased from 1.8 thousand people to 1.2 thousand people.
Let us recall that, according to media reports, in peacetime the MP’s company was among the favorites of the “Big Construction” project. For example, in 2021 the company won tenders worth UAH 5.23 billion for road repairs. However, in 2022, during the period of a full-scale invasion, the amount of funds received into the accounts of UArDi for road work from government or municipal customers actually amounted to UAH 526.01 million.
The Lvov portion of all last year's contracts from Labazyuk's company consisted of road maintenance and routine repairs.
In addition, the suspected deputy admitted: at the height of Russian aggression, the central government radically changed the rules of the game. Instead of open tenders for ProZorro, customers began to use so-called direct contracts. That is, the same Highway Services, subordinate to the Nayema Restoration Agency, at their discretion, without competition, selected the winners for the repair of roads and bridges. What is not a reason for corruption?
“Before the invasion of Ukraine, at least three dozen road enterprises were operating. Now there are three or four enterprises. The rest were left without work,” Labazyuk complained about this situation.
In order to support the Yu Ar Di enterprise, the deputy explained that he personally tried to get an appointment with Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Kubrakov. According to the deputy, starting from the second half of 2022, the senior official avoided contact with him. Communication with the “road” deputy prime minister resumed in early August 2023.
The decisive one (this is the starting point when law enforcement agencies began “keeping track” of the politician using audio and video surveillance) was Labazyuk’s conversation with Kubrakov, which took place on August 8 in the latter’s office. There, the deputy received assurance from a senior official that the UAr Di enterprise would receive road contracts. A day later, Labazyuk spoke with Mustafa Nayem, who confirmed: as soon as he receives a command from senior management, he will immediately get to work. By the way, during the said conversation, the politician voiced several objects that could be of interest to UArDi. In particular, the repair of four bridges in the Zhytomyr region, two in the Rivne region. He also named one road in the Khmelnitsky region, which, in his opinion, is an “interesting project.”
Labazyuk asked Nayem about the amount of financing. To which he asked to repeat the previous agreement with Kubrakov. “We spoke then, and I confirmed to you once again: we will not ask for more than one (meaning 1 billion UAH for road repairs - “Glavkom”)... One is everything! I would be satisfied until the end of the year,” the deputy persuaded.
By the way, between Labazyuk and Kubrakov, judging by the materials of covert investigative (search) actions announced in court by the prosecutor, a rather trusting relationship has developed.
“If there is an opportunity for the company ('Yu Ar Di' - 'Glavkom') to participate in the work, we are ready to do everything as before: they say to run there - we run there. They say to do it this way, we do it this way... I definitely want to work in a team, when you say, as you say. So that I understand who and how to deal with. Now we have no business with anyone. Then we were with those to whom we were taken. Then what happened happened,” Labazyuk openly complained to Kubrakov. This meeting took place in the capital’s park named after Ivan Bagriany at the end of the summer of 2023.
Another conversation between Labazyuk and Kubrakov was dated August 23 of this year, immediately after the high-ranking official’s birthday. The men met in the parking lot of the Forrest Club country restaurant after hours. “Congratulations on your belated birthday... And I insist: it’s not for nothing that three or four years ago we had a conversation that we were building a complex there, there were apartments. So I insist: two apartments in a complex - there is no desire for yourself, give it to anyone you want, pass it on. Whenever you want...” Labazyuk was divided. An important clarification: the investigation has no information whether Kubrakov was interested in the apartments offered by Labazyuk.
On August 23, Denis Nazimov, director of “Yar Di”, came to Nayem from Labazyuk. The men discussed the details of future contracts. At some point, the head of Labazyuk’s company started talking about 3-5%. According to investigators, we are talking about the amount of kickbacks for each contract received. In court, the suspected MP denied any accusations of corruption, saying: “At all meetings they talked about the possibility of the company operating on competitive terms. The issue of prices was never discussed, and preferences for UArDi were never discussed. I will say more: knowing about Kubrakov and Nayem’s public attitude towards corruption, I could not have the thought of offering them undue benefits. I know the reputation of both well.”
By the way, when disclosing evidence, the prosecutor of the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office repeated several times: while looking for contracts for “U AR Di,” Labazyuk violated the provisions of the law on the prevention of corruption. The politician did not agree with this interpretation, adding: being the ultimate owner of the mentioned enterprise, he is interested in its affairs and provides advice.
“White” spots in the case
Despite the intense court hearings in the Labazyuk case, which stretched over two days, some questions remained unanswered.
Firstly, why did the deputy give Nayem the money, hiding it in a Chinese box? The NABU records cited by the prosecutor contain a dialogue dated November 2. Labazyuk entered the office of the head of the State Agency for Reconstruction and Infrastructure Development with a bottle of alcohol. They discussed the issue of the Agency's debt to UAR for work performed.
During the conversation, the deputy asked Nayem if he had a driver to take him outside. “I have a Chinese one there, well, a little...” the deputy began to hint. Nayem refused. But Labazyuk insisted: “I didn’t want to bring it here, let him come out and take it. Or so that my driver and your driver are there...” Nayyem refused a second time, saying that he was not in his office. Therefore, the men agreed: Labazyuk’s driver would pick up Nayem, and they would cross paths somewhere.
And so it happened. On the evening of November 2, a black Mercedes-Benz belonging to the deputy’s company drove up to the parking lot of the Novus store in Kyiv. The driver of Labazyuk, Bogdan Shudra, was driving. The man brought a Chinese box containing $150 thousand into Nayem’s BMW and then left the parking lot. After accepting the gift, the high-ranking official informed NABU, who immediately inspected his car.
Nevertheless, Labazyuk’s lawyers call Nayem an agent of NABU provoking their client to take a bribe. The defense also points out that Nayem independently decided to meet with Labazyuk’s driver. According to the defense, this proves that he acted under the control of law enforcement agencies.
Secondly, what is this contract for the repair of a bridge worth 50 million UAH in one of the regions of Ukraine, mentioned in the case materials?
None of the participants in the process shed light on this agreement, which, according to investigators, provoked the transfer of the bribe. Hypothetically, a direct contract worth UAH 50.8 million, concluded on October 19, 2023, between the first deputy head of the Service for Rehabilitation and Infrastructure Development in the Mykolaiv Region and Labazyuk’s company “U R D”, represented by the director and now suspect Denis Nazimov, fits this amount.
We are talking about the overhaul of the bridge on the Kalinovka-Snigirevka road, which was destroyed by the Russians during the offensive last year. Now the road workers have ordered additional work from the people's deputy's company.
It is worth noting that at the end of 2022, the Service for Rehabilitation and Development of Infrastructure in the Nikolaev Region entered into another direct contract with UAR Di for the repair of the same bridge. Then the price was 113.8 million UAH. However, the customer hardly financed this project. It is noteworthy: UAH 30 million was transferred in September 2023, that is, at the height of negotiations between Labazyuk and Kubrakov and Nayem.
By the way, there is an eloquent quote from Labazyuk, which concerns contracts in the Nikolaev region.
“The heads of the Services (restoration and development of infrastructure in various areas - “Glavkom”) say: “Well, you don’t have a task.” We are told in plain text what area we are going into... Nikolaev head (Service for Reconstruction and Infrastructure Development in the Nikolaev Region - “Glavkom”): “Guys, you are definitely cooler than Alkom, you make bridges...” And this is because we brought a team of monolithic workers there, which repaired the bridge under a subcontract,” his lawyer quoted the words of the suspected people’s deputy, said during a conversation with Nayem.
Third, contracts for the restoration of infrastructure facilities, which Labazyuk seemed to be begging for. Why exactly 1 billion?
Neither the prosecutor's office, nor the lawyers, nor the suspected chosen one himself explained the origin of this figure. Why exactly 1 billion UAH, and not 2 or 3 billion UAH or 500 million UAH?
As the Commander-in-Chief found out after analyzing treasury entries, in January-November 2023, the U.R.D. company received budget orders worth UAH 1.11 billion! The money was used for capital, current and medium repairs of roads, as well as the maintenance of the street network of individual communities.
Fourth – criminal cases against Kubrakov and Nayem. Where are they?
Labazyuk’s lawyers in the courtroom announced the numbers of criminal proceedings in which Kubrakov and Nayem appeared. According to the defense, in February 2023, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau opened criminal proceedings against Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Kubrakov, but no suspicion was announced against him. In August of the same year, criminal proceedings were opened, where Mustafa Nayem was mentioned. And only on August 25, law enforcement officers opened a case against people’s deputy Sergei Labazyuk, who was declared a suspect on November 21. At the same time, Kubrakov and Nayem are witnesses. The fate of actual criminal proceedings against these top officials is unknown.
