“We will restore Ukraine, first of all, at the expense of the seized assets of the Russian Federation.” This phrase was said by Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal in April 2022. And it sounds completely logical. But in reality it happens a little differently. This is clearly proven by the arrest of the assets of the Russian oligarch Mikhail Gutseriev, which was abolished thanks to his Ukrainian mistress and, concurrently, creative partner Victoria Kokhaniy.
Mikhail Gutseriev is one of the richest Russian businessmen. His interests range from gas and oil production to the media and show business. It was the latter who helped him lift the seizure of his assets in Ukraine.
Gutseriev owns a network of warehouses near Kiev, part of the MLP group (“International Logistics Partnership” - Russian). Its area reaches 80 thousand square meters. Warehouses are registered to such companies as MLP-Chaika, MLP-Boryspil, MLP-Ukraine and Titan-2006. Ukrainian registers indicate that Gutseriev was a beneficiary of these companies at least until 2016-2019.
It was from this period that the companies of the Russian oligarch near Kiev began to sign up for Ukrainian citizen Victoria Kushch. However, she is Ukrainian only according to her passport, but in fact, since 2014, when Russia occupied Crimea and invaded Donbass, she has been a court buffoon of Russian show business.
Victoria's Wikipedia page states that she is a songwriter and composer who performs under the pseudonyms Victoria Kokhana and Toria Tal. Her songs are performed by the TOPs of the Russian stage, who with all their hearts and souls support Russia’s war against Ukraine. Here are Philip Kirkorov, who recently came to the territory of the so-called “DPR” to rehabilitate himself after a “naked party,” and his drinking companion Nikolai Baskov, and the traitors Natasha Koroleva and Taisiya Povaliy.
Victoria Kohana's career began in Ukraine, and perhaps her most famous song is “Farewell Yura, Forgive Yura,” performed by the group “Neangels.” But after the Revolution of Dignity, she moved to Russia and began actively collaborating with Russian performers.
The Russian press writes that it was Mikhail Gutseriev who helped his career take off. Together they even created a common creative tandem: the oligarch, who also happens to be a poet, writes the words, and Kohana writes the music. These songs are performed on the stage of the Kremlin, they are heard on all sorts of “Songs of the Year” and receive the highest awards of the Russian stage. Gutseriev also created his own music award, which he named in honor of his beloved - “Victoria”.
But let’s return to the Ukrainian assets of the Russian oligarch. In August 2022, by decision of the Pechersk court, the assets of the companies MLP-Chaika, MLP-Boryspil, MLP-Ukraine and Titan-2006 were seized. As a basis, the investigative prosecutor appealed to the fact that the enterprises belong to the sphere of influence of a Russian citizen, and therefore, in this way can indirectly finance the war against Ukraine.
However, already in December 2022, the same Pechersk court lifted the arrest of Gutseriev’s assets in Ukraine. The lawyers’ argument was that the enterprises really belong to a citizen of Ukraine, “who also has nothing to do with the Russian Federation and its financing, which is confirmed by the documents attached to the petition, in particular, numerous thanks from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, TRO and the police for their assistance in countering the Russian aggression Federation".
Formally, the lawyers of the Russian businessman are right - the enterprises are registered in the name of Ukrainian citizen Victoria Kushch and Cypriot offshore companies and, according to the documents, have nothing to do with Gutseriev. But there are also no documents indicating that he sold or transferred Ukrainian business. Therefore, transferring companies to a creative partner and mistress is just a feint to preserve assets.
In the lawyers’ argument, what is alarming is the phrase that Victoria Kuscha has numerous thanks from the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the TRO. Here it would be interesting to see whose signatures were given to thank the singer, who has been entertaining the Kremlin elite since 2014?
We managed to find one such signature. In March 2019, former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko awarded Victoria Kushch with the distinction “Honored Artist of Ukraine”. The Decree states that Kushch is the director of cultural and artistic public events of the state enterprise “National Palace of Arts “Ukraine”.
It is difficult to say that she could direct in Ukraine, because through social networks it is easy to find out that in 2018, together with Gutseriev, she helped fulfill the dream of the performer of the Russian group “Ivanushki International” and wrote songs for chanson performer Irina Krug.
In 2019, Victoria Kushch-Kokhana, together with Gutseriev, created a New Year's musical, broadcast on the NTV propaganda channel.
Despite the fact that Victoria Kokhana has been living in Russia for 10 years, she is definitely not going to sever legal ties with Ukraine. And this applies not only to the companies that the Russian oligarch signed over to her. In November 2022, an application was submitted for the trademark “Victoria Kokhana” (in Russian - ed.). The list of codes for using the brand includes many types of activities: from advertising and public events, to determining public opinion and even financial services. The applicant in the representation was Vaskovskaya Anna Vasilyevna.
The same person owns an apartment, which is indicated by Victoria Kokhana as a Ukrainian registration. So let's assume that she could be the singer's mother.
Since January 2023, Anna Vaskovskaya has also been the founder of Luna Estates LLC, together with an offshore company associated with Gutseriev. Before that, the company was headed by Victoria Kushch. From the Ukrainian registry data for this company, it was possible to find out that the women were registered at the same address.
Transferring assets to wives, mistresses and parents is a common practice. Ukrainian officials and businessmen also do not disdain it. But the trick of using a mistress to save business in a seemingly hostile country, which for Gutseriev must surely be considered Ukraine, is something new.
Since an appeal against the court’s decision to lift the seizure of the warehouse premises of a Russian businessman near Kiev was never filed, it can be assumed that they will try to hush up this story. And while the Ukrainian Armed Forces are gnawing out every centimeter of land from the occupier, Ukrainian courts are taking the side of Russian business, managed by a person who writes songs for Philip Kirkorov.
