More than two years have passed since NABU and SAPO achieved the announcement of a search for the so-called "grey cardinal" of Odesa, Volodymyr Halanternyk.
This person is suspected of creating an organized criminal group in the city, which aimed at seizing community property, essentially raiding under the cover of city council officials led by Hennadiy Trukhanov.
Many media outlets write about some mysterious aura around Halanternyk. It was emphasized that the man carefully avoids publishing his own images on the Internet. In 2021, the first official photo of the man appeared on Forbes’ website. He was added to the 10th place on the list of the 25 largest rentiers. At that time, it was said that he had personally commissioned the publication in the well-known magazine.
The editorial team of 368.media explored Volodymyr Halanternyk’s biography and discovered that he was just an ordinary fraudster and executor of other people’s decisions. He began engaging in raiding back in the early 1990s.
"Lampochka" and Kurochka
Volodymyr was born on December 19, 1969, in Odesa, where he grew up on Pyrohivska street (he was registered there with his father until recently). Odesa journalists have written that Halanternyk’s classmate and childhood friend is Volodymyr Kurochka – another Odesa businessman whose name has repeatedly surfaced in scandalous stories about land seizures. The raiding of other people’s property is also the signature style of Halanternyk’s business, which he has been involved in since the 90s.
The man had no specialized education. Volodymyr Halanternyk made his first capital very easily. Since Soviet times, there was an electronics store in the center of Odesa (Hretska-Katerynynska), which Odesa residents called "Lampochka" among themselves. In the early 90s, it was privatized by its director under the name "Edison," but he did not manage the business for long. Halanternyk allegedly worked there or was a business partner. One day, he came to the owner with documents about an alleged debt and "seized" the premises. At the time, Volodymyr Halanternyk was working under the "roof" of Odesa authority Viktor Kulyvar (nickname "Karabas"), and only after his murder in 1997 did he begin to look for a new boss.
Later, Halanternyk associated himself with the judge of the Odesa Commercial Court, Valentyn Prodayevych. Odesa residents say that Prodayevych is a rare case when the surname fully corresponds to the essence of its owner: neither Odesa nor all of Ukraine knew a more corrupt judge. Rumors claim that he allegedly purchased his position for $15 million (and retained it until 2012), and he quickly reimbursed it and more. As for facts: in 2005-2007, Prodayevych, along with his businessman brother Serhiy, "seized" kindergarten No. 75, throwing the children out onto the street.
The new scheme largely repeated the old one: the seizure of property for debts, which led to the suspicion that Volodymyr Halanternyk could have been involved in the splitting of the Chornomorskyi Merchant Marine even in the 1990s. But now he acquired the opportunity to dispose of the CMP’s property, and his close relationship with Valentyn Prodayevych turned this process into a conveyor belt, slowed only by the appeals from the workers of the collapsing marine and the protests of concerned Ukrainians. Moreover, under the guise of solving the CMP’s financial problems, Volodymyr Halanternyk managed to lease out a number of the remaining marine’s objects and ships.
Developer and banker
In 2006, CMP’s debts reached 54 million hryvnias, and Halanternyk planned to pay them off by selling property (objects, territories) estimated at 250 million hryvnias. And under the flag of the marine, there remained only two ships! It was such a blatant looting that the CMP issue resurfaced in Kyiv, and a special report was placed on Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko’s table. However, following the subsequent investigation, the director of the CMP, Yevhen Kozhevyn, was "appointed" guilty. This was facilitated by the deputy of the "Batkivshchyna" party, the well-known raider across Ukraine, Oleksandr Dubovyi (currently accused in a NABU case regarding the purchase of the "Krayan" factory admin building by the Odesa City Hall), who had close ties with Halanternyk, Prodayevych, and used services for acquiring real estate. This is why Volodymyr Halanternyk safely "escaped" (it was then that he began to clean all information about himself), and Volodymyr Shnyakin was appointed as the main sanation of the agonizing CMP.
No one was confused by the fact that Shnyakin began to sell off the CMP’s property again, doing so through the company Hertensteegh B.V., which is one of the founders of Volodymyr Halanternyk’s "SocComBank." However, within two years, Shnyakin was also replaced, but his successor was appointed as another business partner of Volodymyr Halanternyk. Halanternyk fraudulently took over the "Pryvoz" market and the land underneath it. In 2006 (when Odesa was managed by mayors Volodymyr Bodelan and Eduard Gurvits), the city authorities concluded an agreement with Volodymyr Galanternik’s firm on the reconstruction of the market, the payment for which was its share participation in the communal enterprise "Pryvoz Market." Then, with the help of the bankruptcy system for debts and Judge Prodaievych, the market was transferred to the ownership of LLC "Pryvoz," which, in turn, belonged to one of the founding companies of "SocComBank." And in 2010, the LLC sold the market’s shares to LLC "Fresh Export-LTD." Attempts by Odesa residents to return the property to city ownership lasted almost four years; on this occasion, a special Verkhovna Rada commission even visited Odesa – but regional council deputies sided with the "Fresh Export" company, allowing it to start land allocation and privatize the market’s territory.
By the way, "SocComBank" was another scam. It was liquidated in 2011, leaving depositors without money. In the 2000s, Halanternyk also created a number of construction firms, including the notorious "Progres-Stroy." There, his manager was the so-called "developer" Oleksandr Seleznyov (currently leading Halanternyk’s projects under the "Prostranstvo" brand).
The construction of the "Golden Coast" residential complex started by him in 2008 was halted and frozen – and more than 500 equity holders were left without housing and money. Their anger fell upon the nominal directors of the company, which Volodymyr Halanternyk later bankrupted to avoid settling debts. As we can see, in capable hands, the bankruptcy procedure can work both ways!
"Dealer"
All this time, Volodymyr Halanternyk wanted to give the impression of a genuine businessman and a successful mogul to those around him and Ukrainians. Yet, this person was merely one of the managers of Odesa’s criminal kings. To throw dust in the eyes, Halanternyk set up a residence in the former estate of ex-MP Vasyl Khmelnytskyi on the beach. There he received visitors and "settled" matters.
However, NABU officers conducted a search there so swiftly that security couldn’t stop them, and important documents fell into the hands of detectives. Halanternyk himself then fled to London, where his handlers reside (the criminal king and Mayor of Odesa’s boss, Oleksandr Angert).
In recent years, Halanternyk has had several surgeries on his face and lightened his hair. Acquaintances call him "Tan Shit" because of this. He doesn’t live in London anymore due to the cost. Instead, he often flies to Israel, where he holds citizenship. He is also frequently seen in Vienna at his own apartment. All those who dealt with him are currently suspects or witnesses in criminal proceedings.
The businessman made all his wealth and influence not through his own cleverness, but through the foolishness of those around him, who elevated him to the throne of Odesa’s "grey cardinal," although he isn’t one at all.
In upcoming publications, we will talk about other details of Halanternyk’s biography. These were shared with us by acquaintances from the man’s teenage years. We will also talk about his old friend and partner Volodymyr Kurochka, a "dealer" just like Halanternyk.