Unsinkable Boiko: how did they forget about towers of politician and why does he need TikTok
This weekend, the Ukrainian segment of Facebook was exploding with indignation at the statements made by the head of the "Platform for Life and Peace" parliamentary group in the Verkhovna Rada, Yurii Boiko.
It turns out that in recent weeks, the leader of OPFL, which is banned in Ukraine, has mastered the TikTok network and posted a bunch of videos with statements about how Russian speakers are being "infringed" and "radicals" are destroying monuments. And that, this is why "more and more people are supporting those who are for the unity of people".
This led not only to people being outraged, but also to MPs remembering that despite the ban on the OPFL, its representatives were not deprived of their parliamentary mandates.
Even the head of the OP, Andrii Yermak, decided to react.
"Some politicians forget that it is the defence of Ukraine and the victory over russia, not the spread of Russian narratives, that is the key goal now," he wrote on his X social media page.
On Tuesday, MPs were waiting for Boiko in the Rada, but instead he came for questioning by the Security Service of Ukraine.
Sources from several media outlets published a photo of Boiko on his way to the SSU, which summoned the politician for questioning, where he had to explain his recent statements in detail.
A few hours later, in the same tiktok, Boiko issued a new statement of apology and assured that he "did not want his statements to be used by the Russian Federation and war criminal Putin to justify aggression and attack on our country".
"If any of the Ukrainians fighting at the front or working for victory in the rear were offended by my words, I want to apologise and say that we must all be united and focused on defeating the external enemy," the MP said. In Russian, of course.
Therefore, although MPs have summoned the acting Prosecutor General Oleksii Khomenko and the head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Maliuk to report to the Verkhovna Rada on Wednesday, 18 December, it is unlikely that this will have any consequences for MP Boiko.
The only thing is that on Wednesday, Boiko is going to be expelled from the Human Rights Committee, as he represents a non-existent faction there. "It's a 'terrible' punishment, because he doesn't go there much anyway," the MPs sneer.
"Let's be honest, the mono-majority really needs their votes," says one of the MPs.
As you know, a year ago, in an interview with UP, the leader of the "Servant of the People" party, Olena Shuliak, called the work of the former OPFL constructive.
"It happens that ex-OPFL members vote better than certain representatives of the 'Servant of the People' party. Can we somehow ban this?" Shuliak said.
Indeed, in the last two years, the groups of Boiko and Stolar-Isaienko, which were formed from the former OPFL faction, have been steadily subsidising the mono-majority with about 10 votes each.
"Of all the groups, they are the most disciplined. It is other groups that can strike a pose, refuse to vote, not come, but these groups never do," said "Voice" MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak.
Back in November 2022, votes were collected under a petition to strip OPFL MPs of their mandates, but this demand was never implemented.
"This is the right idea (a petition to strip all OPFL MPs of their mandate in the Verkhovna Rada - ed.), but we need to find a legislative implementation of it," said the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk at the time.
After Boiko's statements on TikTok, MPs returned to the idea of a law on legislative deprivation of mandate. "Even my colleagues from the "Servants" have joined the demands for the adoption of the law on deprivation of their mandates those days, but it did not go further than a discussion at the concilation committee," Yaroslav Zheleznyak said in a comment to Censor.NET.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time that Boiko has been left in the game because he is beneficial to the current government for one reason or another.
10 years ago, the former representative of the Party of Regions, former Minister of Energy and chief negotiator with Moscow on the gas issue had every chance of being prosecuted over the Boiko's tower case.
But instead, he came out dry from the water.
Let me remind you that in 2011-2013, when the towers were purchased under fictitious tenders and at outrageous prices for a subsidiary of "Naftogaz", Boiko was head of the Ministry of Energy. This deal cost the state $400 million.
However, in the end, the former head of the National Bank, Oleksandr Arbuzov, the former head of "Naftogaz", Yevhen Bakulin, and the deputy head of "Chornomornaftogaz", Oleksandr Katsuba, were publicly found guilty of this fraud. But not Boiko.
In January 2018, the Prosecutor General's Office served a notice of suspicion on former National Bank Governor Serhii Arbuzov in the case of the purchase of two jack-up drilling rigs. At the same time, then-Prosecutor General Yurii Lutsenko said that no evidence of Boiko's guilt had been found, as he had allegedly signed only one document.
But is it really true?
In 2010-2012, officials of "Naftogaz of Ukraine" and "Chornomornaftogaz", by ensuring that "Chornomornaftogaz" received two interest-free loans from "Naftogaz of Ukraine" and participating in tenders of fictitious foreign companies Falcona Systems Limited and Highway Investment Processing LLP, acquired two offshore drilling rigs worth USD 800 million, while their real total value was USD 389.3 million, and seized state funds in the amount of more than USD 400 million. After the Revolution of Dignity, the case was popularly called "Boiko's towers".
On August 4, 2010, by the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azarov, on the proposal of the Ministry of Energy (hmmm, surely Boiko's signature was not on it?), the financial plan of Naftogaz of Ukraine was approved, which envisages increasing the authorized fund of the company at the expense of Ukrainian domestic government bonds by 7.4 billion UAH.
On 12 October 2010, the Cabinet of Ministers, on the proposal of the Ministry of Energy (and this document was not signed by Boiko?), adopted Resolution No. 935 amending the Charter of Naftogaz to increase the authorised capital by another UAH 5 billion 775 million 191 thousand, with the task "to the Ministry of Fuel and Energy to take measures for state registration of the amendments made by this Resolution to the Charter of the National Joint Stock Company "Naftogaz of Ukraine".
In December 2010, on the instructions of Azarov, the government is to develop a decision on increasing the authorised capital of NJSC "Naftogaz of Ukraine".
The draft resolution was theoretically supposed to be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers with Boiko's signature. On 29 December 2010, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted Resolution No. 1208, which increased the authorised capital of "Naftogaz of Ukraine" by UAH 5 billion by issuing additional shares and instructed the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry (it was certainly not Boiko) to make a decision (and was not there the fourth signature?) on the private placement of shares of the National Joint Stock Company "Naftogaz of Ukraine".
The acquisition of CM shares was carried out by exchanging them for the government bonds issued in accordance with the above resolution.
These resolutions created the funds for the platform purchase deal. After that, the Charter of Naftogaz was amended and the Ministry of Energy issued Order No. 27 of 24.03.2011 "On Increasing the Authorised Capital of the National Joint Stock Company 'Naftogaz of Ukraine' and Private Placement of Shares".
In theory, all this should have been signed off by Boiko. In addition, "Naftogaz" is a joint-stock company. And since the money for the towers that "Chornomornaftogaz" received exceeded 10%, there should have been a shareholders' meeting, where, in theory, Mr Boiko should have asked: "My bunnies, haven't you bought too much?". But Boiko doesn't say that. And in Yanukovych's time, it was not customary to challenge the embezzlement of the state treasury.
But one way or another, theoretically, the Minister of Energy should have paid attention to where the funds are spent in such amounts, otherwise it could be interpreted as official negligence. For sure.
But now it is a very conditional category. Because even if someone would raise all the details of this story now, its statute of limitations has expired. As well as many other things. And the Russians smashed the towers...
But Boiko and his associates continue to be a significant political force in Ukraine. This is evidenced by the sociological survey that did not go to the people because of the media's leaks.
"It is obvious that Lovochkin is starting to form a new project for the elections. That's why they are starting to occupy this niche. It's not necessarily that Boiko will be the leader (I generally believe that there will be a very wide range of participants - from Arestovych to, perhaps, some military man who will support Boiko's ideas of unity), but they are starting to work with the audience," said Mykola Kniazhytskyi, people's deputy from "ES" parliamentary faction.
However, the MP sees the biggest threat not in this, but in something else. It is the way Russia can influence the Ukrainian media field through the most popular networks - TikTok and Telegram.
"The Romanian pro-Russian presidential candidate gained tens of percent of the electoral rating in two months from scratch thanks to Russian technology. In Ukraine they will also use this mechanism. But in Ukraine, just like last time, they will act not for, but against," said Kniazhytskyi.
And it will be against anyone who builds (skillfully or not) the Ukrainian state, the deputy believes.
Tetiana Nikolaienko, Censor.NET
