Stepanov’s Shadow Vertical: How the "Donetsk clan" monopolized the service centers of the MIA in Dnipropetrovsk region

Stepanov’s Shadow Vertical: How the "Donetsk clan" monopolized the service centers of the MIA in Dnipropetrovsk region

Donetsk Group in the Main Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Dnipropetrovsk Region.

Volodymyr Stepanov, a native of Mariupol, was the head of the Regional Service Center of Donetsk Region before the occupation in 2022.

In the first year of the united unit’s operation, the deputy was the current operative of the Internal Security Department of the National Police, Roman Kuchuryn, a long-time partner of Stepanov and his informal "overseer." It is Kuchuryn who "accidentally" appears nearby in all scandalous situations involving the "clan," as happened in the case of the high-profile road accident involving the son of the head of TSC No. 1241, Oleksandr Khtominskyi.

Pavlo Shabanov, whom Stepanov also brings along with him. Shabanov heads TSC No. 1242, where last year a cynical scheme involving a "private autodrome" was uncovered.

In Kamyanske, TSC No. 1244 is managed by Roman Filimonenko, who rose from a simple examiner to a head, establishing "working" connections with driving schools and intermediaries.

A special service of the clan’s activities is the legalization of luxury cars at negligible prices for "their own." In fact, Stepanov’s service centers have turned into a hub for Zaporizhzhya and Dnipro officials and law enforcement officers, who register luxury cars at abnormally low prices – 10, 50, or even 100 times cheaper than market value.

For example, Oleksandr Teterya, an investigator of the Zaporizhzhya Region Police, managed to purchase a Dodge Dart for 6,000 hryvnias, while senior investigator Yevhen Radchenko became the owner of a Toyota Camry for 80,000 hryvnias, which is at least five times cheaper than the market price. In fact, such manipulations with valuation help officials avoid financial monitoring and conceal unjustified assets.