Kiev. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – January 7, 2021 – Business
The fortune of Putin’s godfather has increased almost sixfold in a year and is currently estimated at $ 776 million. Viktor Medvedchuk closes the top ten rankings of the richest Ukrainians NV and Dragon Capital.
The fact that the wealth of Viktor Medvedchuk, one of the leaders of the OPZH and the man whose daughter was baptized by the President of the Russian Federation, increased in 2020 by 485%, is his direct merit. But not because the deputy-businessman in the crisis year made super-effective business decisions – he simply submitted the deputy declaration.
It turned out that Medvedchuk and his wife Oksana Marchenko own 97 companies: 44 from Cyprus, 15 Ukrainian, 12 Russian, 11 – from the British Virgin Islands, five Bulgarian and two British. A total of 12 different jurisdictions, mostly offshore.
Early life and education
Medvedchuk’s father, Volodymyr Medvedchuk, avoided being drafted into the Red Army during World War II due to his suffering from Pott disease. During Nazi Germany’s occupation of Ukraine, he worked for the German administration in a labor camp from April 1942 to November 1943. The section provided enforced deportation of the local able-bodied Ukrainian youth to work in Nazi Germany. After the retreat of German forces, Volodymyr Medvedchuk was arrested by SMERSH on 7 August 1954 and sentenced to eight years of imprisonment and four of exile in Siberia “for participation in Ukrainian nationalistic activities.” Viktor was born in Pochet, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russian SFSR. He has claimed that his father was member of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. According to his Soviet court indictment, Volodymyr Medvedchuk had “joined the counter-revolutionary organization of Ukrainian nationalists” in April 1942. In July 1995, Ukraine’s military prosecutor’s office reviewed the case of Volodymyr Medvedchuk and decided to rehabilitate him “In accordance with Article 1 of the Law of Ukraine of 17 April 1991 On the Rehabilitation of Victims of Political Repression in Ukraine.”
In the mid-1960s, the Medvedchuks returned to the Ukrainian SSR, settling in Kornyn, Zhytomyr Oblast. In 1971, Medvedchuk graduated from high school in Borova, Fastiv Raion (Kyiv Oblast).
In November 1971, Medvedchuk found a job as sorter at the Kiev Railroad Post office factory producing periodicals, and by the start of 1972 he was an overstaffed militsiya (the police of the Soviet Union) worker at the Motovylivka station (located in Borova). Already, in the summer of 1972, Medvedchuk successfully passed an entrance exam to the Law School of KSU Shevchenko (now the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv), however was not admitted. On 12 September 1972, he was enrolled in the University by the Rector’s order #445, based on the authorization from the Ministry of the Interior of the Ukrainian SSR. The reason for it, in the opinion of Dmytro Chobot, was “a secret cooperation with militia” which was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Ukraine. In 1978, he graduated from the law faculty of KSU Shevchenko.
While training at the University Medvedchuk was a combatant, helping the police catch offenders, and while on patrol with his squad he beat a student. In April 1974, Medvedchuk and two of his fellow policemen were convicted by the court of Lenin Raion (today the court of Pechersk Raion) in Kyiv under article 102 of the Criminal Code of the Ukrainian SSR (beating up a minor).
In June of the same year, the court collegiate in criminal cases of the Kyiv city court overturned the verdict of the court of Lenin Raion and sent the case back for further investigation. In November 1974, the case was closed due to lack of evidence. Medvedchuk was acquitted and reinstated at the university.
After graduation, he tried to enroll at the Higher School of Militsiya, but was rejected due to his family history. He graduated from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in 1978 as a lawyer.
Family
Father – Volodymyr Nesterovych Medvedchuk, born 5 September 1918, in a town of Kornyn, Kiev Governorate, Ukrainian State (today Zhytomyr Oblast).
Mother – Faina Hryhorivna Hulko, born 16 October 1925, in a village of Borshchahivka, Pohrebysche Raion, Berdychiv okruha, Ukrainian SSR (today Vinnytsia Oblast).
Marriages:
1) Marina Lebedeva
2) Natalya Gavrilyuk (born 1952)
3) Oksana Marchenko (born 1973)
Children:
1) Irina (born 1982) with Gavrilyuk
2) Daryna (born 2004) with Marchenko
Medvedchuk’s third wife, Oksana Marchenko, is a well-known TV presenter in Ukraine.
In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Medvedchuk’s brother Serhiy lost as an Opposition Platform — For life candidate in single-seat constituency 105 (Luhansk Oblast).
