Father of ’servant of people’, agribusinessman Tarasov hired lobbyists to tell US about corruption in Ukraine - media
The owner of I&U Group, Serhiy Tarasov, who has been wanted in Ukraine for more than a year, has hired lobbyists in the United States. They are to tell Americans about the corruption and arbitrariness of the authorities in Ukraine.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by Forbes.
Lobbyists are to convey Tarasov's concerns about corruption in the Ukrainian government and extortion in Ukraine to the United States, according to a lobbyist report to the US Department of Justice.
Tarasov's son, Oleh Tarasov, is a current member of the Servant of the People faction.
On November 19, 2024, Sergiy Tarasov signed an agreement with the American company Patriot Strategies. The contract is valid for two months - until January 19, 2025. The price of services is $54,000 for two months.
Patriot Strategies is to communicate in writing, electronically, and verbally with U.S. officials, private sector leaders, and the media, the report says. This is to "draw attention to Mr. Tarasov's concerns about financial transactions in Ukraine, as well as potential corruption issues," the report says.
"In particular, the lobbyists will distribute informational materials related to 'Tarasov's concerns about corruption in the Ukrainian government and extortion from Ukrainian private corporations. Among the tasks on the list are organizing meetings with U.S. officials from both parties and promoting articles in major media outlets," the article says.
What lobbyists should do
- Communicate with representatives of the White House, the U.S. Congress, and members of the Foreign Affairs Committee;
- facilitate "agreements between the client and other parties related to Ukrainian issues";
- organize meetings with high-ranking officials of both parties to discuss the problems of the Ukrainian private sector;
- promote publications in the media that "discuss solutions to the problems existing in the Ukrainian private sector";
- to advise the client on best practices, methods and strategies of interaction with US representatives;
- coordinate special events "related to current issues".
The publication contacted I&U CEO Nikolai Akimov to ask him to pass on the question to Tarasov, asking him to disclose details about his concerns, action plans, and goals in the United States. The next day, he replied that the company was not commenting on the matter.
Patriot Strategies bills itself as a public relations management firm. It is headquartered on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., and has offices in six major U.S. cities, as well as London, Paris, Brussels, and Hong Kong.
Tarasov's business and problems in Ukraine
Forbes notes that I&U Group owns about 50,000 hectares of land in Kirovohrad region. The company focuses on sugar. It produces about 30,000 tons annually, but this season, due to the heat wave, production dropped by a third to 20,000 tons. The group consists of 85 companies, including Kapitanivskyi Sugar Plant (Novomyrhorodskyi Sugar LLC) with a production capacity of 30,000-35,000 tons per year.
Law enforcement officials consider representatives of I&U Group to be involved in the misappropriation of state agricultural land in collusion with officials of the State Geocadastre, according to the court case.
"The pre-trial investigation established that in 2015-2021, these persons received at least 7,600 powers of attorney on behalf of fictitious persons for the right to receive and subsequently sell land plots with the intended purpose of running a private household for free," the court ruling of December 14, 2023, reads.
Sergiy Tarasov has been wanted by the SSU since January 10, 2024. He is charged with violating four articles of the Criminal Code, including fraud, misappropriation of property, money laundering and illegal handling of weapons.
