DPR and LPR leaders embezzle millions of dollars in 2015 – research
KYIV. Jan 18 ( Interfax- Ukraine) – The Center for the Research of Russia and Occupied Territories studied financial flows in the parts Donetsk and Luhansk regions beyond Ukraine’s control, counted financial sums, which were illegally embezzled by the leadership of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) and forecasted the tendencies for the current year.
” The Center for the Research of Russia and Occupied Territories has conducted a special study to make for us clear regarding the sums of money being circulated and the nature of this war,” Petro Poroshenko Block MP Vadym Denysenko said at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine during the presentation of the results of the study on Monday.
Denysenko has said that so-called LPR leader Igor Plotnitsky, who in fact stole around $30 million last year, holds the first place.
“The so-called DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko, who embezzled $22 million, is on the second place. ‘DPR income and tax minister’ Alexander Timofeev, according to our estimates, stole around $17 million; ‘LPR former energy and coal minister’ Dmitry Liamin stole around $15 million,” Denysenko said.
According to him, the sources of this illegal enrichment were on the one hand the means obtained from Russia, and, on the other hand, profited from misappropriation of factories and enterprises on the mentioned areas.
” Now, everything that was easy to steal, has been stolen, so this year their profits [of the self-proclaimed officials] will be lower and, thus, the fight for the money will be much tougher,” Denysenko added.
Speaking of the development of the situation on the DPR and LPR controlled territories and also of the relations between them, Ukrainian MP noted that currently economic ties between DPR and LPR have almost ceased and soon the conflict might sparkle between the two formations.
“I think that for the time being Russians won’t intervene, they don’t yet fully understand what they should do and how to interfere. Also this escalation will only continue, moreover, we can project specific local conflicts on certain territories,” Denysenko said.
At the same time, he said that Ukraine should use this internal strife of paramilitaries to weaken DPR and LPR.
On his part, co-chairman of the Prava Sprava (Right Affair) Civil Initiative NGO Dmytro Snyehyriov said that any preconditions for the unification of DPR and LPR into the joint territorial formation were absent.
” The main conflict revolves around the business interests of the two parties – Zakharchenko and Plotnitsky. Now both leaders of self-proclaimed republics have on their orbits of financial interests the so called counterfeit production of alcoholic beverages and tobacco,” the expert said.
He added that the struggle for the influence zones and, in fact, for the sale of counterfeit goods, is conducted “using both economic and military leverages.”
“On the subject of the trade wars between LPR and DPR, I would like to emphasize that the key aspect of the origin of the funding for these self-proclaimed republics is once again sale of coal to the Ukrainian territory. The coal industry ministry of the self-proclaimed DPR has already said that it was ahead of the plans for the coal extraction by 1.5 million tonnes during 2015,” Snyehyriov said.