Comments on financial matters by Ihor Stakovychenko appear quite often in the media. His assets – two plots of land in the Koncha-Zaspa tract, a luxury mansion in Kozyn, a Leopard 51 Powercat yacht and the "Villa Riviera" restaurant near the yacht club in Osokorky – were most likely acquired with funds of dubious origin. StopCor analysts looked into who Ihor Stakovychenko really is and how one can earn enough for such a comfortable life.
Today, many "financial experts" have appeared in the media space who know how to invest money "correctly". Yet for some reason Ukrainians are not getting rich en masse. So are we doing something wrong, or is something wrong with those giving the advice? Let's figure it out together. One fairly well-known figure, presented as an outstanding financial consultant in construction and real estate and frequently mentioned in the media, is Ihor Stakovychenko. He actively comments online and gives recommendations on the revival of Ukraine.
But is he really working so hard for the country? Who is Ihor Stakovychenko, and how does he earn enough for such a comfortable life?
What business does Ihor Stakovychenko have?
Ihor Stakovychenko began his career at Khreshchatyk Bank. Information from open official registers shows that Ihor Serhiiovych also owned and was the beneficiary of Sigma Invest Group LLC. The company's authorized capital was only UAH 10,000. However, in April 2021 the company unexpectedly changed its director and owner, who became Mariia Shvedchenko, and today the company already has its fourth head – Artem Pakhaliuk.
At the end of 2020, the company's assets were valued at more than UAH 65.6 million, while its official revenue was only UAH 1,200 and its net profit a mere UAH 200. An interesting situation under Stakovychenko's management. So it turns out he really is an expert who knows how to work?
Stakovychenko was registered as an individual entrepreneur (FOP) Stakovychenko Ihor Serhiiovych. However, this activity was terminated in March of this year.
Yet today Mr. Stakovychenko is far from a poor man. He works at the IQ Business Center office in Kyiv and lives in a luxurious cottage in the village of Kozyn. Where did such wealth come from if the companies he worked for were unprofitable?
What is known about the businessman's activities?
Looking into Stakovychenko, we find that he is not only a "great financier" but also a lawyer. On 27 November 2003, Ihor was registered with the Kyiv City Bar Association, certificate No. 1823. He lists his work address on Instytutska Street.
According to the Advokatu.info directory, he practises law in Kyiv on Khreshchatyk Street.
However, despite his 20 years as a lawyer according to the same register, Ukraine's state court registers contain no information about Ihor Stakovychenko's official participation in court proceedings as a legal representative, which suggests that he most likely does not actually practise his profession.
According to media reports, as of January 2020 Stakovychenko worked as a lawyer at Dilova Initsiatyva 2004 LLC (33151478), which since 2019 has been headed by his wife Olena Stakovychenko.
However, this is not just a family business – one could even say it is a whole-clan affair. The main beneficiary and director of the company is Valentyna Ponomarenko, the mother of Olena Stakovychenko. In the Unified State Register, this company is registered as a legal entity that provides registered addresses to other businesses under cooperation agreements. Over its existence, the company has changed its main activity several times: from 2004 – leasing real estate, from 2016 – providing legal services, and from 2017 – gas trading (after obtaining the relevant licences). However, the company has no significant assets and does not conduct active business, as confirmed by its small headcount (4 people) and its financial indicators.
Interestingly, despite his considerable wealth, Ihor Stakovychenko is registered on Chokolivskyi Boulevard – in an old building constructed back in Soviet times. It is the very place where Ihor Stakovychenko's parents lived.
What does the businessman handing out financial advice own?
Ihor Stakovychenko owns two land plots in the Obukhiv district of Kyiv region, in the elite area of the urban-type settlement of Kozyn (Koncha-Zaspa tract), with a total area of over 0.5 ha, as well as a luxury house with an area of over 800 square metres.
Journalists investigating Ihor Stakovychenko's activities and financial situation found that he also owns the "Villa Riviera" restaurant near the yacht club in Osokorky on the bank of the Dnipro.
In addition, he has a Leopard 51 Powercat yacht worth about a million dollars.
The Stakovychenko-Ponomarenko family business
Ihor Stakovychenko's wife Olena is engaged in business and charitable activities. Since 6 December 2011, she has been one of the founders of the "Gorodok" housing construction cooperative in Kyiv region.
Another co-founder of this company is Olena Stakovychenko's father – Vasyl Ponomarenko. A further 515 legal entities are registered at this address.
Since 2019, Olena Stakovychenko has headed "Business Initiative 2004" LLC – the very company where her husband worked. And since 13 July 2021, Olena has been registered as an individual entrepreneur. Her main activity is "Restaurant and mobile food service activities". The sole proprietorship is registered in Kyiv on Volodymyra Pokotyla Street – the official registered address of her parents. Notably, since 2020 (when Stakovychenko joined as a lawyer), this company has been reporting losses in its financial statements.
According to the connections graph generated by the information and analytical system YouControl, Dilova Initsiatyva 2004 LLC may share a contact phone number with a number of other companies engaged in finance, grain trading and real estate – a sphere of interests linked to Ihor Stakovychenko's activities.
According to the registers, Olena Stakovychenko owns a considerable amount of real estate and land. For example, she personally owns three apartments in the prestigious Delmar residential complex in Kyiv, located in the elite Pecherskyi district. In addition, she owns three townhouse apartments in the village of Vita-Poshtova, Kyiv region, built by the "Gorodok" housing construction cooperative, of which she is a co-owner. Olena also has two land plots: one of 0.12 ha in Kyiv on the left bank of the Dnipro in the elite Riviera tract, and another in the village of Vita-Poshtova, Kyiv region, where the "Gorodok" housing construction cooperative is building.
So where is the lack of transparency in Stakovychenko's activities?
Now about the "lack of transparency". Recall that for five months Ihor Stakovychenko was the official founder, beneficiary and director of only one company in Ukraine – Sigma Invest Group LLC (44005154). And from December, the joint-stock company "Closed Non-Diversified Venture Corporate Investment Fund "DK-Investment" (36177661)", which was registered in 2008 and had an authorized capital of UAH 250 million, became a co-founder of Sigma Invest Group LLC.
registered in 2008 with an authorized capital of UAH 250 million. During 2021–2023, after Ihor Stakovychenko left the company, the beneficial owners and managers were changed three times. However, throughout this entire period, "DK-Investment" remained a participant in Sigma Invest Group LLC with an 11% stake.
The beneficial owner of Sigma Invest Group LLC, Artem Pakhaliuk, who also holds a lawyer's certificate,
was previously called Rashyd Toshov, and changed his surname. Incidentally, this is not hard to establish: when his identification code is entered into the search system, it returns this surname and first name.
But when establishing connections and enforcement proceedings, the system already shows another surname – Pakhaliuk Artem Baliiovych
Artem Pakhaliuk (Rashyd Toshov) has a brother, Rustam Toshov, born in 1986. According to information from Rivne media, in 2021 he was charged with murder using an automatic firearm, but was found guilty by the Dubno Interdistrict Court of Rivne region and sentenced to a 3-year probation period. In addition, Rustam Toshov is still under judicial investigation in connection with other criminal cases related to hooliganism.
We are not examining this information for nothing. Rustam Toshov is the owner and director of the security company "Alfa (39921459), registered in 2015 in Kyiv, which provides security services (cash-in-transit) to Ihor Stakovychenko.
But that is not all the interesting aspects of Ihor Stakovychenko's activities. When "Sigma Invest Group" was registered, the contact number +380993778949 was provided.
However, although Ihor Stakovychenko has not been the head or founder of this company since 05.04.2001, its registered address and contact phone number remain unchanged. Yet according to the Getcontact system, the phone number +380993778949 is saved in other users' address books as "Kateryna DK Investment".
According to the registration data of the "DK-Investment" fund, since 09.09.2019 the fund has been managed by Kateryna Oleksandrivna Svyrydova. And this phone number is listed as the official contact number in the registration documents of the "DK-Investment" fund and on its website.
The company's legal address is registered in Kyiv on Melnykova Street, where 2,278 companies already operate.
Now let us recall that it is this very company that owns Sigma Invest Group LLC, which Stakovychenko headed. A person with the name Svyrydova Kateryna Oleksandrivna, who is herself from Zaporizhzhia, owns low-value real estate in Russian-occupied Donetsk and Starobilsk in Luhansk region, as well as in Zaporizhzhia and Sumy.
In state registration forms, Kateryna Svyrydova is listed as director or chief accountant of companies connected with "DK-Investment". In addition, Kateryna Svyrydova heads JSC "Deos" (44488076) with a registered authorized capital of UAH 20 million, registered on 07.09.2021. The owners of JSC "Deos" are Integrum Capital Partners Limited Liability Company
and Oleksandr Kirimov. In turn, Oleksandr Kirimov is the ultimate beneficial owner of LLC "Asset Management Company "Bonum Group" (33889111), which has managed the "DK-Investment" fund since 2020.
LLC "Asset Management Company "Bonum Group" also manages the assets of the DEOS fund. Kateryna Svyrydova was also connected with Ukrgazimpex LLC (41400947), where she worked as secretary to the company's head from 2017 to 2020. In 2018, Oleksandr Kirimov headed Ukrgazimpex LLC. According to information published in the media in 2017, Ukrgazimpex, led by Oleksandr Kirimov, entered the liquefied gas market. This period coincides with the issuance of licences for selling liquefied gas to Dilova Initsiatyva 2004 LLC – a company owned and headed by the mother of Ihor Stakovychenko's wife.
Not long ago, namely in 2023, the developer "SPS Realt" was embroiled in a scandal in Odesa. For some reason it failed to complete housing construction, and investments of around UAH 68 million mysteriously disappeared from its accounts.
A co-owner of the developer "SPS Realt" is Anastasiia Zhalkovska. And by some coincidence, she is a co-owner of the "Children to Children" charitable foundation, in which Olena Stakovychenko also holds a stake.
So everyone will probably draw their own conclusions.
StopCor analysts asked Ihor Stakovychenko himself for comment, sending a request to his registered address as a lawyer, and also contacted his wife Olena through her charitable foundation. A separate request was sent to Ms. Svyrydova. We are awaiting their responses and will report the results.
Update:
StopCor's editorial office was contacted by Ihor Stakovychenko's representative, lawyer Albina Hryhorivna Beihul, who provided court decisions adopted in Ihor Stakovychenko's favour establishing that information was untrue and ordering its refutation.
Thus, by decision No. 757/24487/22-ц of the Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv dated 24 October 2022, information about the businessman Stakovychenko embezzling millions and his connection to companies described as "cash-out" schemes was refuted.
By a subsequent decision of the same Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv, dated 09 February 2023, No. 757/37394/22-ц, information published by the news outlet "Antikor" in a series of articles about Ihor Stakovychenko was found to be untrue. The court decision states that the accusations against the businessman are groundless and the facts cited are unproven.
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