Vitaliy Kropachov, an infamous smuggler and a front man for Ukrainian oligarchs, attempted to retract unfavourable information from our publication through fraudulent means. Kropachov’s representative claimed that his client earned tens of millions of dollars by honest means, rather than smuggling and extortion. However, Kropachov’s official tax returns show him to be a penniless former policeman who had a criminal case closed against him.
Despite this, Kropachov has ordered laudable press coverage through _________.co, a media that sells unmarked advertising space on its site for 650-2000 pounds. It is known for gross errors over the years and publishes unchecked content indiscriminately. It is noteworthy that the _________.co domain is registered in Colombia.
What they do in the shadows: Vitaliy Kropachov and his role in Ukrainian oligarchy
Here is more information about Vitaliy Kropachov. Source: einnews.com
In early 2016, the former head of the Ukrainian Security Service, Valentin Nalyvaychenko, said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is intently studying financial structure of the political elite of Ukraine, in particular, the closest associate of President Petro Poroshenko and his key business partner, Igor Kononenko. A year ago this statement was not given much importance. However, as it has become known, Nalivaichenko did not shake the air at all. According to some source from the Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Bureau, Kononenko’s suspicion of money laundering is clear, and depending on the political situation in the country, but not later than in May this year, it will be officially handed over to him.
NABU Detectives (The Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Bureau) are convinced that Kononenko, being the so-called watcher of the energy sphere of Ukraine, withdrew hundreds of millions of dollars from the State Budget of Ukraine. Detectives have established a hierarchy of supervision over the country’s energy, in which the main figure for money-laundering following Kononenko turned out to be the member of the “Region Party”, a native of the Donetsk region, Vitaly Kropachov. According to the detectives, it was Kropachov’s activities and way of life that provided the evidence base against Kononenko. One of the volumes of the NABU file is about Vitaly Kropachev’s sudden enrichment, which is directly related to his activities in the energy sector. In particular, we are talking about buying an armored Mercedes-Benz and an escort vehicle of the same brand, worth more than a million dollars. “Paying attention to the way of life of Kropachev, we studied his financial activities. It turned out that through factories, obtained from the fugitive President Yanukovych’s son, under his control, state funds are washed away in favor of Kononenko every hour, “a source from the National Olympic Committee said. At the same time, Kropachev’s psychotype is quite alarming. Ukrainian media mention him as an ideologist and financier of the infamous “Tornado” battalion, accused by the prosecutor’s office of looting, rape and killing of residents of the front-line zone of Ukraine.
Here is what we’ve got from Mr. Vitaly Kropachov and his lawyer:
Please see attached our claim regarding the damage which your publication is causing to the reputation of our client, Mr. Vitaly Kropachov, a businessman from Ukraine. Please consider our request to take down the defamatory publication, otherwise we are going to take legal action.
I am a lawyer of Ukrainian businessman Vitaly Kropachov, and I’m addressing you on account of the following material on your website:
https://www-talk-finance-co-uk.com/international/vitaliy-kropachov-the-essence-of-ukrainiancriminal-oligarchy/
We would like to inform you that everything written in this article is not true, but false and slanderous. This article is a product of “black PR,” which is a criminal offense.
In addition, it completely contradicts journalistic standards, because it is not supported by evidence. Mr. Kropachov was also not approached by your media outlet for comment, which is the obligatory practice in such materials.
If you had asked Mr. Kropachov for a comment, he would have informed you that the so-called “facts” about his business activities were taken from materials discrediting his reputation, which appeared after the occupation of Donbas by pro-Russian fighters and are revenge for Mr. Kropachov’s pro-Ukrainian position. Such articles were published by several little-known media with no indication of the sources of information. They were repeatedly refuted by the businessman.
Also, Vitaly Kropachov has nothing to do with the “Tornado” battalion mentioned in your article. Mr. Kropachov, together with Interior Minister Arsen Avakov and Ukrainian MP Oleh Lyashko, created the “Shakhtarsk” battalion, which actively participated in combat operations against proRussian separatists near the town of Marinka near Donetsk. The “Tornado” battalion that you are writing about was created after the “Shakhtarsk” battalion was disbanded, and Mr. Kropachov has nothing to do with it, which he repeatedly said in the interviews for major Ukrainian media
outlets.
We would also like to note that Mr. Kropachov has nothing to do with the formation of electricity tariffs. He is in the coal business on transparent market terms. He was at the origins of coal diversification – he participated in negotiations with U.S. officials on coal supplies to Ukraine from the U.S. and South Africa to make up for losses after the occupation of parts of Donbass. It is worth noting that coal-fired generation produced only a quarter of all electricity in Ukraine before the war and did not have a decisive influence on tariffs. Moreover, electricity tariffs in Ukraine are some of the lowest in Europe. And the accusation that Mr. Kropachov was involved in the rolling blackouts in Ukraine during the war is a cynical attempt to absolve Russia of blame for the rocket attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. And yes, Mr. Kropachov is one of those businessmen who help war-stricken Ukrainians. He bought an old recreation center and set up a comfortable camp there for people from eastern
Ukraine who had lost their homes because of the war. Ukrainian and foreign media periodically write about such social initiatives in Ukraine.
Information about Vitaly Kropachov’s biography is freely available on the websites of leading Ukrainian media, in particular:
https://file.liga.net/persons/kropachov-vitaliy
https://www.obozrevatel.com/ukr/person/vitalij-kropachev.htm
According to Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, everyone has the right to freedom of expression. At the same time, according to Article 17, nothing in this Convention may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein or at their limitation to a greater extent than is provided for in the Convention. Thus, the right to express an opinion and consequently to disseminate information cannot be absolute and be used, including by the media, to infringe on the rights and legitimate interests of others. In your turn, your dissemination of inaccurate information is nothing but an abuse of the right to freedom of expression and information dissemination and as a result violates the
rights to honor, dignity, business reputation, as well as the rights which, according to the case law of the ECtHR, are covered by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Based on the above, we urge your publication to write a refutation of your material, which is false and defamatory to our client’s reputation. Otherwise, we reserve the right to take legal action to protect the honor and dignity of Mr. Kropachov.
We also encourage your media outlet to use verified information in the future, to ask for comments from the subject of the material and to back up what you are saying with facts.
Respectfully,
Dmytro Vasyliiv
