Vitaliy Yuriyovych Khomutynnik ( uk, Віта́лій Ю́рійович Хомути́ннік, born 4 August 1976) is a Ukrainian oligarch.Multiple sources: * * * He is the current head of the Renaissance Party, a pro-Russia political party. From 2002 until 2019 he was a member of the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

(Ukrainian Parliament). During his tenure, Khomutynnik has been accused of evading taxes and corruption. In 2017, '' Die Zeit'' described him as a " corrupt politician".

Early life and education

Born on August 4, 1976 in

Makiivka Makiivka ( uk, Макіївка, Makíyivka, ; russian: Макеевка, Makeyevka, ), formerly Dmytriivsk, is an industrial city in Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. Located from the capital Donetsk, the two cities are practically a conurbati ...

, Donetsk region. He graduated from the Donetsk State Academy of Management in the field of finance and credit. Second higher education received at the Yaroslav of the Wise National Law Academy of Ukraine.

Career

Business career

Khomutynnik started his first business, a private company Cascade in 1993. Since then, by developing and investing into fast-growing spheres of Ukrainian economy, a private company was transformed into operating now as Cascade Investment Fund. The primary focus of Cascade Investment Fund is investment in the agricultural sector, finance, gas extraction and real estate business in Ukraine. Also has office in London. Today, in the investment fund portfolio not only private equity companies but also shareholdings in public companies, such as biggest Ukrainian agricultural holding

Kernel Holding Kernel Holding S.A. () is the largest producer of sunflower oil in Ukraine. It operates under the brands "Shchedry Dar", "Stozhar" and "Chumak Zolota", exports oils and grain worldwide, and provides storage for grains and seeds. It produces 8% of ...

or gas extraction company JKX Oil & Gas. Khomutynnik is a business partner along with

Pavel Fuks Pavel Yakovlevich Fuks ( uk, Павло Якович Фукс, russian: Павел Яковлевич Фукс (surname sometimes also spelled Fuchs); b. 27 October 1971) is a Ukrainian oligarchMultiple sources: * * * * * who is known for foundin ...

in a Ukrainian gas company called Ukrnaftoburinnya, usually associated with

Ihor Kolomoyskyi Ihor Valeriyovych Kolomoyskyi ( uk, Ігор Валерійович Коломойський, translit=Ihor Valereriyovych Kolomoyskyi; he, איגור קולומויסקי; born 13 February 1963) is a Ukrainian-born billionaire, business magnat ...

. In 2017, Ukrnaftoburinnya's volumes of production were around 390 million cubic meters of natural gas. Khomutynnik owns shares in Ukrnaftoburinnya through a Cypriot-domiciled company, Deripon Commercial. In 2019, Khomutynnik acquired a stake in

Dmitry Firtash Dmytro Vasylovych Firtash ( uk, Дмитро́ Васи́льович Фі́рташ; born 2 May 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman who heads the board of directors of Group DF. He was highly influential during the Viktor Yushchenko, Yuschenko adm ...

's Dresdenco Investments, after an approval by Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine. Khomutynnik being a business partner of oligarch Dmitry Firtash, who is wanted by the US federal government. Khomutynnik is also the owner of an insurance company, Brokbusiness.

Political career

Khomutynnik was elected to the Parliament for the first time by majority district in his native city

(Donetsk Region) in 2002. During his early career, he founded the youth wing of

Party of Regions The Party of Regions ( uk, Партія регіонів, Partiia rehioniv, ; russian: Партия регионов, Partiya regionov) was a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine formed in late 1997 that then grew to be the biggest party of U ...

(PR) and later handed its control to Viktor Viktorovych Yanukovych. Later, he was elected to the

(Ukrainian Parliament) in 2002, 2006, 2007, and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

. During this time, he was a head of Committee on Taxation and Customs Policy and head of Committee on Financial Policy and Banking and controlled taxation and VAT refunds. In 2012, he was elected for the

, as number 23 of its party list. In 2014, Khomutynnik was elected to the

8th Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the 8th convocation ( uk, Верховна Рада України VIII скликання, ) was a convocation of the legislative branch of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's unicameral parliament. The 8th convocati ...

in the Ukrainian parliamentary election by winning a majority district in

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine. This time as an independent candidate, he was elected in Kharkiv's Frunzensky District with 30.34% of the votes, Inna Chuiko of People's Front placed second with 23.27% of the votes. In 2014, he was considered as the wealthiest and youngest MP and was a close associate of

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of D ...

. During his time as a member of parliament, Khomutynnik created a pressure group with around ten MPs, termed as "Khomutynnik group" in

Wilson Center The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center) is a quasi-government entity and think tank which conducts research to inform public policy. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Wash ...

report, that was created to support

in the parliament. He was one of the MPs who voted for dictatorial laws on January 16, 2014. In 2017, Khomutynnik and his accompanied Russian-Ukrainian oligarch

, known as his business partner, in the United States, in an attempt to attend inaugural events. In the

2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Snap elections to the Ukrainian parliament were held on 21 July 2019. Originally scheduled to be held at the end of October, these elections were brought forward after newly inaugurated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dissolved parliament on 21 Ma ...

Khomutynnik lost his parliamentary seat. He was a candidate of Opposition Bloc (he was placed number 11 on their national election list). In October 2019 he was elected president and chairman of the board of the Ukrainian Golf Federation.

Wealth

Khomutynnik is the owner of a Cyprus-domiciled

offshore company The term "offshore company" or “offshore corporation” is used in at least two distinct and different ways. An offshore company may be a reference to: * a company, group or sometimes a division thereof, which engages in offshoring business pr ...

, Cacique Limited, that operates subsidary companies in Ukraine, including Nyva LLC, Agrosvit PAE, PE Chervonyans`ki agrarian investments, PE Koropski agrarian investments, PE Sosnyts`ki agrarni investytsii, and PE Zasullya-5. Another Cyprus-domiciled

, Deripon Commercial, is owned by him in equal parts with Ihor Kolomoisky, that owns PJSC Ukrnaftoburinnia, a gas field in Ukraine. Khomutynnik acquired a luxury

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

, ''Apostrophe'', from Moran Yacht & Ship company in 2014 for $24 million. The yacht is registered in the Cayman Islands. According to the annual ratings of ''Forbes Ukraine'' and ''Focus Ukraine'' magazines, Khomutynnik is included in the top 20 richest people in Ukraine. In April 2019, the magazine Focus estimated his wealth at $470 million.

Personal life

He and his wife, Svetlana, have a son and a daughter.

References

External link

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khomutynnik, Vitaliy 1976 births Living people Ukrainian oligarchs People from Makiivka Fourth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Fifth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Sixth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Seventh convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Eighth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Party of Regions politicians Revival (Ukraine) politicians Recipients of the Honorary Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine