The scandal surrounding the Ukrainian Equestrian Federation continues and is acquiring new details and scandalous facts. Information about the possible misuse of millions of euros of international charitable assistance has stirred up the Ukrainian public, as well as the equestrian community of Ukraine and the world.
Let us recall that in the first days of the war, the Secretary General of the All-Ukrainian Equestrian Federation (UFKSU) Mikhail Parkhomchuk left Ukraine using his Belgian passport and, hiding behind the name of the VFKSU, registered the Ukrainian Equestrian Charity Foundation in Belgium and collected financial assistance for it for Ukraine, which was actively supported by the equestrian community from all over the world. In just two years, about 1.5 million euros were received into the accounts of Mikhail Parkhomchuk’s fund. The fate of these funds is still unknown
After almost two years of war, Mikhail Parkhomchuk in every possible way ignores calls to provide a report on what the fate of these funds was, how he disposed of them, and does not want to report to members of the Federation and prove to the public and the equestrian community of Ukraine and the world that the funds received into the fund’s accounts “Russian Equestrian Charity Foundation” were duly disposed of.
Instead of providing a full report and dispelling all suspicions of misuse of charitable assistance during the war, Ukrainian and Belgian citizen Mikhail Parkhomchuk decided to hire Belgian lawyer Vladimir Linkautan, a Russian business lobbyist specializing in supporting Russian enterprises in Europe and Belgium .
For example, in 2019, Vladimir Linkautan, lawyer of the General Secretary of the All-Russian Federation of Sports and Culture Mikhail Parkhomchuk, traveled to Russia, where in Yekaterinburg he introduced entrepreneurs of the aggressor country to the peculiarities of doing business in Belgium and the possibilities of entering other European markets. Mikhail Parkhomchuk’s lawyer taught businessmen of the Putin regime why they need to enter Belgium, what opportunities are there for them in the market of this country, what industries are most promising for Russian companies, what are the tax features and many other tips for Russian companies on doing business with Belgians.
The event was organized by the Ural Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the region's leading business association. And here are photographs from this event and Mikhail Parkhomchuk’s lawyer as an expert among the Russians.
Moreover, in 2014, a delegation from the Russian Republic of Tatarstan underwent training in Belgium, studying experience in the development of automotive and chemical clusters. Members of the Russian delegation, in particular representatives of the Ministry of Economy of Tatarstan and the sanctioned Tatneftekhiminvest Holding, met and exchanged experiences with Vladimir Linkautan, Mikhail Parkhomchuk’s lawyer.
Now Mikhail Parkhomchuk’s lawyer, and part-time Russian lobbyist Vladimir Linkautan, hired with money that may not have reached the Ukrainian horsemen, is demanding the removal of articles and news about the scandal surrounding international charity funds, which Parkhomchuk does not want to report on.
The situation is absurd and outrageous and is off the charts in its cynicism, when a lobbyist advising Russians on how best to do business in Belgium, with the money of the Secretary General of the Ukrainian Equestrian Federation, puts pressure on the Ukrainian media and the Ukrainian public, sends threats, including personal ones, by email , threatens either with the legislation of Ukraine or with the laws of the European Union and brazenly works off the funds that Parkhomchuk paid him.
And also, on behalf of Parkhomchuk, who in every possible way avoids answering the question of where at least 1.5 million euros of charitable assistance went, threatens the activists who wrote about this situation with a lawsuit “for libel, discredit and slander.” An unscrupulous Russian lobbyist allows himself to put pressure on the Ukrainian public during the war and Russian aggression, and this is all with the approval and on the instructions of Mikhail Parkhomchuk, who, by the way, is also holed up abroad.
Therefore, it should be noted that if Mikhail Parkhomchuk and his lawyer believe that the publication of an article about the international charity scandal “caused significant damage” to his reputation, then all that is needed is to provide an account and show how these funds were used, and not to threaten to the journalists and activists who wrote about it.
In general, the situation is such that, in the sum of various facts, not everything is in order in the Ukrainian Equestrian Federation, and things are not moving in the right direction. With a full-scale Russian invasion, when Russian troops are destroying Ukrainian cities, and Ukrainian soldiers are dying every day at the front, there are too many factors with a Russian trace in the Equestrian Federation.
What is the story with the appointment of Jan Hoste as the coach of the All-Ukrainian Equestrian Federation team?
Jan Hoste, among other things, is the coach of the Russian show jumper Egor Shchibrik from Yekaterinburg (where, by the way, Vladimir Linkoutan went), who at the end of 2021 was recognized as the best athlete according to the Russian Equestrian Federation and has repeatedly represented the Russian Federation at international show jumping tournaments.
Since Russian athletes are not allowed to participate in international tournaments, in order to circumvent this requirement, Russian show jumper Egor Shchibrik has formally changed his sporting citizenship and represents Palestine. It is interesting that the same Russian show jumper Yegor Shchibrik, together with Jan Hoste, trained Ukrainian equestrians who participated in the Tokyo Olympics, while Shchibrik’s wife represented Russia at the Olympics. Such a Russian trace is completely unacceptable for the Equestrian Federation of a warring country. And the occupation of Crimea and the war in Donbass at that time, as we see, were not grounds for the Federation not to cooperate with the Russians.
Also, if we mention some members of the board of the VFKSU, who in every possible way refuse to vote for an audit of international charitable assistance funds in the accounts of the Ukrainian Equestrian Charity Foundation of Mikhail Parkhomchuk, there is also too much Russian. Anna Skabard has judged 9 equestrian competitions in Russia since 2014. During this time, she was the chairman of the judging panel at Russian competitions three times during this time. Ms. Skabard explained her decision by the fact that she is an international judge. This is a convenient rationale, especially when a person has a different point of view on Russia's role in the war against Ukraine. We contacted Anna Skabard and asked this question, to which she could not say anything. During the time of Yanukovych, Mykola Bezugly was the first deputy minister of agrarian policy and food, who fled abroad the region of Mykola Prysyazhnyuk, who is hiding from the investigation. Mr. Bezugly, together with Prisyazhnyuk, a member of Yanukovych’s party, wrote a scientific work. As we remember, people with patriotic views were not appointed to such positions at that time.
All these Russian traces and the financial scandal in the Equestrian Federation not only discredit it, but are also gradually driving it into even greater degradation. The members of the board continue to remain silent, and here suspicion arises of their personal motive for not providing a report on the flow of funds for Parkhmchuk’s charitable foundation. We tried to contact board members but did not receive a response to these questions. And instead of addressing the issue of Parkhomchuk’s use of funds, members of the VFKSU board are trying to remain silent.
And the General Secretary of the All-Ukrainian Equestrian Federation (UFKS) Mikhail Parkhomchuk, knowing that the issue of international charitable assistance is being quite actively discussed among the equestrian community of Ukraine, as well as among equestrians abroad, instead of simply providing a report and showing that there are no problems with this no, he hires a lawyer, a lobbyist for Russian business in Belgium and Europe, to put pressure on the Ukrainian activists and journalists who wrote about this. This is an absurd and outrageous situation, especially during Russia's war against Ukraine. Just think, hire a lawyer who has been telling Russians for years how to conduct business in Europe, traveling to Russia, and pay him money, perhaps with the same international assistance, to threaten Ukrainian media and activists.
The situation with Mikhail Parkhomchuk’s reluctance to report and about various Russian traces in the VFKSU is similar to deliberate actions to discredit Ukraine in the eyes of international donors, lowering the image of the state and targeted steps to ensure that such assistance does not flow to Ukraine. This all plays into the hands of the aggressor country Russia, and harms not only the international image of our state, but also the Ukrainian society and the volunteer movement, the support of which international philanthropists will be wary of after such scandals, especially the provision of financial and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Believing that there is no point in helping, they will still steal this help and avoid reporting. You can't think of a better sabotage in favor of the aggressor.
Of course, the global equestrian community, which provided the funds, sees everything anyway, and Mikhail Parkhomchuk, for the sake of preserving his “business reputation”, as well as “honor and dignity”, should not hire Russian lawyers-lobbyists to carry out pressure and threats, but provide a report and report to society, members of the Federation and ordinary horsemen. If a person has nothing to hide, he takes it and shows everything, says openly, look, I’m honest, and I didn’t even try to make money from helping during the war.
So far this is not happening, and there is also no activity of the members of the board of the All-Russian Sports Federation of Ukraine towards a fair resolution of this scandal, as well as the conviction of Parkhomchuk, who is sitting in Europe, discredits Ukraine, is in contact with Russian lobbyists and uses the name of the Equestrian Federation for his own purposes.
