Ex-Head of the State Customs Service Ruslan Cherkassky, together with Vitaly Kiro, who was involved in the production of cigarettes with fake excise stamps, purchased apartments and office space in Dubai, the total cost of which is about $25 million.
Schemes reported this with reference to transaction data from the official register of Dubai, to which journalists received access as part of the international investigative project Dubai Unlocked.
It is noted that the owners rented out some of this property, while some have already been sold.
Schemes investigators noted that Cherkassky’s available property declarations do not contain information about these investments or income from sales or rentals.
“According to data from Dubai sources, Cherkassky, together with Vitaly Kiro, invested in two apartments in Pentominium tower A (now the complex has another name Six Senses Residences) with an area of 649 square meters each. The total amount of transactions is more than $1 million. A year earlier, in 2009, together with Kiro Cherkassky, he bought office space in Dubai Pearl, the total cost of which was $14 million.
At the same time, both residential complexes are unfinished as of today. There is no mention of these investments in Cherkassky’s available property declarations, journalists emphasized.
“Previously, Cherkassky indicated other real estate properties in the UAE in his declarations. With the help of the Dubai leak, Schemes found out that these are two apartments in the Bahar 6 residential complex. One of which is also a joint purchase with Vitaly Kiro. According to the data from the Dubai land registry, Cherkassky bought an apartment in this residential complex in 2008 - after dismissal from the First Deputy Chairman of the State Customs Service of Ukraine. According to these transactions, the co-owners contributed 162 thousand dollars each. Indicating this property in the declaration, Cherkassky contributed. her surname is misspelled – Koro instead of Kiro,” the investigators add.
“Schemes” suggest that this is no coincidence, because Vitaly Kiro is a person involved in journalistic investigations - he is known, in particular, for having an interest in the cigarette business, which operated in violation of the law.
Thus, Kiro’s wife Olga indirectly owned a stake in United Tobacco, a tobacco factory in Zheltye Vody in the Dnepropetrovsk region, which produced cigarettes with counterfeit excise stamps.
Journalists found out that Cherkassky sold his share in the apartments in Bahar 6 to Kiro in 2023. Ruslan Cherkassky sold the remaining apartments in the same residential complex at the beginning of 2021. The total amount of transactions is 224 thousand dollars.
It is emphasized that both apartments generated rental income: a total of 75.6 thousand dollars from the apartment shared with Kiro and 123 thousand dollars from the other.
Schemes was unable to obtain Cherkassky’s comment regarding the Dubai property.
“Schemes” remind us that Ruslan Cherkassky began working as an inspector back in the early 90s and held various positions at customs under all the presidents of Ukraine.
In March 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers dismissed Cherkassky from the post of deputy chairman of the State Customs Service amid reports that law enforcement officers exposed more than 10 officials involved in a scheme to embezzle funds from the export of Ukrainian grain.
NABU and SAPO are investigating the possible laundering of funds received by Cherkassky. His partner Maria Trifonova, the owner of cosmetology clinics in Ukraine, Lithuania and Latvia, is involved in this.
Detectives are also investigating the possible enrichment of Cherkassky. According to the investigation, the ex-deputy chairman of the State Customs Service, during the period from the beginning of 2020 to the end of June 2022, acquired assets in the form of cash, vehicles, real estate and other property, the value of which exceeds his tax-free minimum income by more than 6,500 legal income,” the material says.
“Schemes” separately investigated that Maria Trifonova’s financial situation improved in 2017 - when customs officer Cherkassky began to indicate her in his declarations as a cohabitant - a common-law wife. In response to a request for comment, Trifonova said she would only answer questions about “aesthetic medicine.”
