28.02.2025 Investigations Kharkiv

“Black registrars” under the guise of Volyk and lawyer Melnyk in Kharkiv

The activities of the highest levels of power in the Ministry of Justice look like a complete surrealism. Minister Olha Stefanishyna is a defendant in the NABU corruption case, which has been delayed by the HACC for more than 6 years. Her deputy, Andriy Haichenko, has close ties to the Russian authorities in occupied Crimea. And Ivan Pavlenko, Deputy Director General of the subordinate state enterprise NAIS, illegally left Ukraine in March 2022 and spent two years in Europe, while receiving a salary of more than UAH 5 million from the state budget.

But that’s not all. The activities of the so-called “anti-raider commission”, which is supposed to fight against manipulation of registers and illegal registration actions, but in fact does nothing to indicate its effectiveness, adds even more scandal. In particular, we have repeatedly written about the story of the seizure of the NGO Non-Stop in the interests of the pro-Russian oligarch Stolar and his “assistants” Matios and Opanasenko, who, through their influence in the Ministry of Justice and the Central Interregional Department of the Ministry of Justice in Kyiv, managed to enter false information into the state register.

In order to get at least some response, we sent a dozen inquiries and complaints about the actions of each official of the Ministry of Justice involved in the raid. In addition, we also appealed to the Board for Review of Complaints Against Decisions, Actions or Omissions of the State Registrar, State Registration Entities, and Territorial Bodies of the Ministry of Justice (Anti-Raider Commission). However, we knew in advance that we were unlikely to receive a satisfactory decision.

And we were right – according to the results of the meeting held on February 24, 2025, the case was… postponed. At the same time, the response did not indicate the date of the next meeting or sufficient justification for such a decision. According to the official explanation, the reason for the delay was “proper clarification of all circumstances and request for documents.” But I wonder what documents they want, if we have already provided absolutely everything. In addition, the Ministry of Justice continues to send us an email requesting “confirmation of whether Yaroslav Martyniuk and Oleksandr Lozovyi were the only members of the NGO Non-Stop as of 02.12.2024.” And this is what they call demanding documents? A response from the foot soldiers who played the role of the new front owners of the NGO?

And while the Ministry of Justice is taking fictitious measures, law enforcement officers from the Zhytomyr District Prosecutor’s Office are already investigating the case under proceedings No. 42025062020000012.

And although some courts (Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv, Korolevskyi Court of Zhytomyr) refused to oblige representatives of the BES, the Main Department of the National Police, and the Main Department of the SBU Office in Zhytomyr Oblast to enter information into the URPTI, we will continue to fight. We will restore order in the Ministry of Justice despite the resistance of the Servants.

Eastern Department of Justice and Melnyk and Volyk’s schemes

Problems in the Ministry of Justice are not defined by the Central Department. We are receiving more and more complaints about the actions of Kharkiv registrars who are running illegal schemes led by local lawyer Valentyn Melnyk and his godfather, Dmytro Volyk, head of the Notary Department in the Kharkiv region of the Notary Department of the Eastern Interregional Department of the Ministry of Justice.

The essence of the criminal activity was as follows: the client, when contacting a lawyer, faced prices that were many times higher than the market ones. If the client refused to pay an excessively high amount, he was “connected” to the registrar, who had already organized control in advance. Melnyk, upon learning of this fact, turned to his godfather, Volyk, who used his influence in the Ministry of Justice to put pressure on the registrar through various inspections, threats of disciplinary cases, or even the possibility of criminal prosecution.

If the registrar agreed to pay the “tribute,” Melnyk, Volyk and their accomplices provided him with job stability, the possibility of promotion and “protection” from possible dismissal. As a result, Melnyk, having become the “informal” leader of the registration process, gained control over the appointment and dismissal of registrars in the region. This situation was supported not only by Volyk, but also by high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Justice who had their own interest in such schemes.

Over the years, Melnyk and Volyk have recruited dozens of registrars. Among them:

  • Serhii ZOTKIN, State Registrar of Dergachiv City Council, Kharkiv Oblast
  • State Registrar of Malodanylivka Village Council, Kharkiv District, Kharkiv Region, Oleh Zhadynskyi
  • State Registrar of Solonitsynivka Village Council, Kharkiv District, Kharkiv Region TESLENKO Ihor
  • State Registrar of Solonitsynivka Settlement Council of Kharkiv District, Kharkiv Region Iryna Romanyuk

The Ministry of Justice has repeatedly applied measures related to temporary blocking or revocation of access to the registers in connection with the violation of current legislation in the course of registration actions. However, such decisions were successfully challenged in court by the attorneys of Melnyk & Partners Law Firm, and the recruited registrars returned to criminal activity.

Therefore, Melnyk has created a whole network of registrars dependent on him, who are afraid of losing their jobs and are forced to accept any of his conditions. In fact, this is a large-scale scheme of corrupt subordination, where law and order have long since lost their power, giving way to money and criminal influence. As a result, the lawyer not only enriches himself on the fear of registrars, but also creates a system in which corrupt personnel hold on to their seats, and honest professionals simply have no chance to work.

Melnyk, as head of the law firm, continued to expand his influence on the registration system. He found new allies among registrars and heads of state agencies. This list even included the head of the Kharkiv OTCC and local law enforcement officers, who could provide him with additional protection in case of problems.

However, the activities of Melnyk and Volyk would not have been so impunity without the participation of corrupt elements in the Ministry of Justice, including the participation of the head of the Eastern Department, Iryna Svystun. Not only real estate registrations, but also fraud with other state registrations, which became the main ones for “legalizing” property and other assets, were easily passed through this system.

It is important to note that Melnyk’s sphere of influence does not end with state registrars and local departments of the Ministry of Justice. He also has connections and influence in the Kharkiv JCCC and JV, Kharkiv Regional State Administration, and Kharkiv Regional Council. So, it is not surprising how the man can so easily “solve” any issues in the city.

We urge anyone who has additional information about the activities of Melnyk, Volyk, and other individuals involved in the Ministry of Justice’s schemes to contact us via our chat bot or email info.nonstopukraine@gmail.com. 

In addition, we ask you to report any cases of manipulation of state registries, illegal registrations, or other illegal activities that you know of.

Did you witness a crime?

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

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