11.11.2024 Business of Occupiers

How capital’s restaurants under Fedotenkov finance Russia and attacks on Kyiv

Інтерпол отримав запит на розшук українського олігарха і рейдера Дмитра Федотенкова — Delo.ua

It’s time to call a spade a spade: while ordinary people are stopped at checkpoints, bused and intimidated, some of the “upper castes” are quietly cooperating with the Russians, making money in Ukraine and enjoying life abroad.

Restaurants, airplanes, real estate, and misappropriated assets worth tens of millions of dollars – this is the story of Dmytro Fedotenkov, a former co-owner of Tarantino family restaurants. The chain had more than 70 restaurants, including 50 in Kyiv, more than 10 in Moscow, and one in London.

Currently, Fedotenkov’s restaurants continue to operate and are in demand among Kyiv residents. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that Fedotenkov’s business in Ukraine continues to be under the cover of local authorities and law enforcement agencies, which ignore numerous violations.

Violations in the operations of Fedotenkov’s restaurants

Several violations in the operations of the restaurateur’s restaurants that have come to light. Employees often work as individual entrepreneurs and do not have official employment, which is an open tax evasion and liability for employees.

According to the available data, restaurants sell excise-free alcohol and tobacco. Therefore, sales receipts are not issued to hide the shadow side of the business and collect as much cash as possible.

The entire cash is suspected to be converted into cryptocurrency and sent directly to Russia, which we will discuss further below.

We call on the State Tax Service, the State Labor Service of Ukraine, the State Consumer Service, and other regulatory authorities to conduct full inspections of these establishments, and we also call on law enforcement to take control of these violations.

Construction business

Since 2017, Dmytro Fedotenkov, who built his reputation on a successful chain of restaurants, including Murakami, Rukkola, Fabius, Harvest and others in Kyiv, has suddenly “retrained” as a builder, investing in projects of the scandalous Ukrbud. According to Maksym Mykytas’s lawyers and SBI investigators, Fedotenkov gained control over Ukrbud’s assets and withdrew some of the funds to offshore accounts. We are talking about tens of millions of dollars that were received from Ukrainian investors.

Ties to Russia and sponsorship of terrorism

Even during the war, Fedotenkov’s restaurants continued to send money to Russia through offshore schemes, effectively financing business in the aggressor country.

Fedotenkov is known to have cooperated with Russian oligarch Roman Avdeev, a supporter of Putin’s policies and the war against Ukraine. It is Avdeev’s Rossium concern that owns the Ingrad development holding and manages assets, where one of the advisors is Serhiy Medvedchuk, Viktor Medvedchuk’s brother.

The main official activity of the Rossium concern is investing in securities and dealing. The concern also controls the Ingrad development holding, which operates in the residential and commercial real estate market in the Moscow region.

Fedotenkov also actively cooperates with pro-Russian politician Dmytro Isayenko, who held key positions in the construction sector of Ukraine and was Deputy Minister of Regional Development from 2007 to 2015. Later, Isayenko became a member of parliament from the OPFL, a pro-Russian party that tried to disrupt Ukraine’s course toward the EU.

It is worth noting that the aforementioned Isaienko is involved in criminal cases and in the spring of 2023 received a suspicion from the NABU and the SAPO of attempting to illegally seize an 8-hectare plot of land in Kyiv. And this is only part of his story. In 2019, he declared 151.34 million hryvnias in cash, including 5 million US dollars – the weight of this amount in hryvnias in 100-hryvnia bills is about 1.5 tons.

Despite the war and anti-Russian sanctions, Fedotenkov and Isayenko continue to maintain friendly relations, go on vacation together and share photos on social media.

Where is Fedotenkov now?

A month before the invasion, in January 2022, Fedotenkov left Ukraine, flying to Barcelona, and later settled in Vienna, Austria.

In 2023, Fedotenkov opened three new restaurants in Vienna. His life in Austria is actively discussed in the local media, emphasizing his ties to offshore companies and Moscow partners. The Austrian newspaper Datum emphasizes the irony of his business during the war with an article titled “Pizza for the Vienna Battalion.”

Fedotenkov is already on Interpol’s international wanted list. The Pechersk court has decided to extradite him, and there is hope that the restaurateur and his associates will be brought to justice under Ukrainian law.

Given the operation of Fedotenkov’s business in Ukraine, a number of questions arise: Where is the tax office that is supposed to check all establishments? Where are the SBU, NABU, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs? Establishments with dubious schemes are not just restaurants, they are a financial threat that supports Russian aggression. We call on the Main Intelligence Directorate and Kyrylo Budanov personally to pay attention to the activities of these restaurants and the people who cover up the violations.

Perhaps this is what you should really pay attention to?

Your silence = support for traitors. Therefore, we demand honesty and transparency!

Did you witness a crime?

Let us know about it. We will help protect the violated rights!

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