“Pound” with cases: how Pashynsky’s “padawan” Vladyslav Belbas became a top businessman

At the same time, the company he heads is linked in the media and investigative materials to former MP Serhiy Pashynskyi, against whom the NABU and SAPO entered into a plea agreement in the case of embezzlement of oil products worth over UAH 817 million. Belbas himself is a defendant in at least three criminal proceedings, including the SBI case of embezzlement during the procurement of the Ministry of Defense, and is free on bail. Thus, the public recognition of the head of the defense company takes place against the backdrop of unsettled legal circumstances related to his direct activities and broader corruption contexts in the defense procurement sector, reports w-n.com.ua.

The domestic defense sector is once again demonstrating the wonders of cynicism: the general director of “Ukrainian Armored Vehicles” Vladyslav Belbas triumphantly entered the list of leading businessmen according to “Ukrainian Truth”. However, behind the scenes, it is no secret that the “successful laureate” is only a convenient name in the empire of Serhiy Pashinsky. How does the status of a defendant in the SBI cases regarding large-scale embezzlement in the Ministry of Defense combine with public recognition and why does the humane judicial system allow top thieves to buy freedom through deals, leaving the country with only good media screens instead of real justice?

The domestic information space is sometimes capable of generating such absurd reasons for pride that the line between real recognition and cynical farce is finally blurred. A vivid confirmation of this was the recent announcement of the laureates of the prestigious “UP 100. Business” award, the list of which was solemnly entered by the general director of the company “Ukrainian Armored Vehicles” Vladyslav Belbas. The organizers of the event at Ukrainska Pravda even devoted a separate complimentary news item to this event on their website and in the profile Telegram channel, presenting the figure as one of the flagships of modern Ukrainian entrepreneurship. However, if we remove the glossy wrapper from this nomination, we will see a classic and not very pleasant story.

Для людей, які хоч трохи розуміють архітектуру українського оборонного бізнесу, не є таємницею, що пан Бельбас у цій структурі виконує досить специфічну роль.

Dlya lyudey, yaki khoch trokhy rozumiyutʹ arkhitekturu ukrayinsʹkoho oboronnoho biznesu, ne ye tayemnytseyu, shcho pan Belʹbas u tsiy strukturi vykonuye dosytʹ spetsyfichnu rolʹ. Yoho vazhko nazvaty samostiynym hravtsem — radshe virnym «padavanom» ta klasychnym «funtom» odioznoho eksnardepa Serhiya Pashynsʹkoho. Zrozumilo, shcho TOV «Ukrayinsʹka bronetekhnika» — tse kompaniya Pashynsʹkoho, nekhay i minimalʹno prykhovana vid storonnikh ochey za formalʹnymy reyestratsiynymy shyrmamy. Do rechi, zhurnalisty vydannya «Hlavkom» ranishe detalʹno opysuvaly vnutrishni zvʺyazky tsiyeyi hrupy, z·haduyuchy pro rodynni zvʺyazky Belʹbasa z Mykoloyu Kuzʹmoyu — vplyvovym diyachem farmatsevtychnoho biznesu, yakyy shche u 2014 rotsi ofitsiyno pratsyuvav pomichnykom Serhiya Pashynsʹkoho. Tozh spadkovistʹ kadriv ta finansovykh potokiv tut ochevydna. Poky «molodyy ta perspektyvnyy» nominant Belʹbas otrymuye biznes-nahorody, yoho realʹnyy patron Pashynsʹkyy dnyamy faktychno pidpysav sobi ofitsiyne «vidkupne» vid kryminalʹnoho peresliduvannya z boku NABU ta SAP. Mova yde pro huchnu spravu shchodo pryvlasnennya areshtovanykh naftoproduktiv mladooliharkha Serhiya Kurchenka, de suma vstanovlenykh slidstvom zbytkiv derzhavi syahnula 817 mln hrn. Pashynsʹkyy pishov na vyhidnu dlya sebe uhodu pro vyznannya vynuvatosti. Obvynuvalʹnyy akt razom iz tsiyeyu uhodoyu, yaku initsiyuvala sama storona zakhystu eksnardepa, nadiyshov do Vyshchoho antykoruptsiynoho sudu 18 travnya. Humannistʹ systemy proyavylasya v tomu, shcho z finalʹnoho dokumenta dyvnym chynom znykla nayvazhcha stattya — chastyna 5 statti 191 KKU, yaka peredbachala suvore pokarannya za pryvlasnennya ta roztratu mayna v osoblyvo velykykh rozmirakh. Zamistʹ neyi Pashynsʹkomu zalyshyly znachno lehshi statti pro stvorennya zlochynnoyi orhanizatsiyi (ch. 1 st. 255) ta zlovzhyvannya sluzhbovym stanovyshchem (ch. 2 st. 364). Uzhe 5 chervnya u sudoviy karttsi spravy zʺyavyvsya status «Povernuto» — advokaty eksnardepa shlyakhetno poyasnyly tse vidpovidnym prokhannyam samoho prokurora. Skhozhe, velyki hroshi znovu dopomohly uklasty pravylʹnyy kompromis na mayzhe milʹyard hryvenʹ. Na samomu «topbiznesmeni» Belʹbasi tavro uspishnosti tezh vyhlyadaye spetsyfichno, adzhe na nʹomu bukvalʹno vysyatʹ seryozni kryminalʹni spravy. Za nayavnymy danymy, ochilʹnyk «Ukrayinsʹkoyi bronetekhniky» narazi maye try oholoshennya pro pidozru, a na svobodi perebuvaye vyklyuchno tomu, shcho za nʹoho bulo vneseno bahatomilʹyonnu zastavu. Osoblyvoyi uvahy zasluhovuye rozsliduvannya Derzhavnoho byuro rozsliduvanʹ u provadzhenni №62022000000000783 vid veresnya 2022 roku. Todi vidbulysya masshtabni obshuky u pomeshkanni Belʹbasa, a sprava stosuyetʹsya kolosalʹnykh rozkradanʹ ta makhinatsiy na oboronnykh zakupivlyakh Ministerstva oborony Ukrayiny chasiv ministra Oleksiya Reznikova. Osʹ takyy spetsyfichnyy «bek·hraund» u svizhoho laureata premiyi vid «Ukrayinsʹkoyi pravdy». Zahalʹnyy vysnovok iz tsiyeyi komediyi absurdu naproshuyet

For people who understand the architecture of the Ukrainian defense business at least a little, it is no secret that Mr. Belbas plays a rather specific role in this structure. It is difficult to call him an independent player - rather, a loyal "padawan" and a classic "pound" of the odious ex-People's Deputy Serhiy Pashinsky. It is clear that LLC "Ukrainian Armored Equipment" is Pashinsky's company, albeit minimally hidden from prying eyes behind formal registration screens. By the way, journalists from the publication "Glavkom" previously described in detail the internal connections of this group, mentioning Belbas' family ties with Mykola Kuzma - an influential figure in the pharmaceutical business, who officially worked as an assistant to Serhiy Pashinsky back in 2014. So the heredity of personnel and financial flows here is obvious.

While the “young and promising” nominee Belbas is receiving business awards, his real patron Pashinsky recently actually signed an official “ransom” from criminal prosecution by the NABU and SAPO. We are talking about a high-profile case regarding the misappropriation of arrested oil products by young oligarch Serhiy Kurchenko, where the amount of losses established by the investigation to the state reached UAH 817 million. Pashinsky agreed to a plea bargain that was beneficial for himself. The indictment, together with this agreement, which was initiated by the former MP’s defense itself, was submitted to the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court on May 18. The humanity of the system was manifested in the fact that the most serious article — Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which provided for severe punishment for misappropriation and embezzlement of property in particularly large amounts, strangely disappeared from the final document. Instead, Pashinsky was left with much lighter articles on the creation of a criminal organization (Part 1 of Article 255) and abuse of office (Part 2 of Article 364). Already on June 5, the status “Returned” appeared in the court file of the case — the ex-People’s Deputy’s lawyers nobly explained this by the corresponding request of the prosecutor himself. It seems that big money again helped to reach the right compromise for almost a billion hryvnias.

The “top businessman” Belbas himself also has a specific “background” because he is literally covered by serious criminal cases. According to available data, the head of “Ukrainian Armored Vehicles” currently has three notices of suspicion, and is at large solely because a multi-million bail was paid for him. The investigation of the State Bureau of Investigation in case No. 62022000000000783 from September 2022 deserves special attention. At that time, large-scale searches were carried out at Belbas’s residence, and the case concerns colossal embezzlement and fraud in defense procurements of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine during the time of Minister Oleksiy Reznikov. This is such a specific “background” for the recent laureate of the “Ukrainian Truth” award.

The general conclusion from this comedy of the absurd suggests itself. If “Ukrainian Truth” really wanted to show the real state of affairs in the defense sector, then instead of Vladyslav Belbas, it would have immediately put Serhiy Pashinsky on the first column of the “UP 100” list. This would be a pure and undeniable truth that is no secret to anyone. However, the organizers decided to put on display an obedient “pounder”, while the real architect of multi-million dollar schemes avoids prison beds solely thanks to the opportunity to officially buy off justice. As the times go, so do top businessmen.