Maksym Zinoviyovych Kozytskyi (Ukrainian: Максим Зіновійович Козицький, born 19 February 1981) is a Ukrainian entrepreneur, politician, and Governor of Lviv Regional State Administration as of 5 February 2020[1] who has been involved in several corruption scandals.[2][3]
Maksym Kozytskyi | |
|---|---|
| Максим Козицький | |
 | |
| Governor of Lviv Oblast | |
| Assumed office 5 February 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Markiyan Malsky |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 February 1981 Lviv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Ukrainian |
| Political party | Servant of the People |
| Education | Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and Ivan Franko National University of Lviv |
| Occupation | politician, entrepreneur |
Between 1998—2004, he studied to become a surgeon at Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University.[4]
In September 2007 Kozytskyi occupied different positions in energy companies such as Ukrnaftogazinvest LLC and Precarpathian Energy Company LLC. In October 2016 he took the position of CEO of Eco-Optima LLC.[4]
Politics
editIn 2015, Kozytskyi stood for election to the Lviv Regional Council for the political party «Self Reliance», but he was not accepted to the council. In the summer of 2019, he was a candidate for the position of the Governor of Lviv regional state administration (LRSA) together with Markiyan Malsky and Denys Shmyhal but did not get the position. However, in December 2019 Malsky announced his dismissal and Maksym Kozytskyi was approved by the Government of Ukraine for the position of the Governor of LRSA.[5]
On February 5, 2020 the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed an order approve Maksym Kozytskyi as the Governor of Lviv Regional State Administration.[6] At the same time, Kozytskyi became the chief of Lviv Regional Organization of the political party Servant of the People.
In October 2020 Kozytskyi was the first in the party list of Servant of the People at the elections to the Lviv Regional Council[7] and the party obtained 9 seats, thus, becoming second major party in the Lviv regional council.
Conflict of interest
editThe Kozytskyi family owns businesses in the oil and gas sector, as well as in the renewable energy industry, united under the "Zakhidnadraservice" group.[8][9] In September 2019, the Kozytskyi family became a sponsor of the Servant of the People party.[10] According to the Chesno, after Kozytskyi was appointed head of the local branch of the party, the number of successful tenders won by his family companies sharply increased.[10] In total, the Kozytskyi family’s oil and gas companies have won tenders worth UAH 7.5 billion, with their largest clients being the state-owned companies Ukrnafta and UkrGasVydobuvannya.[8]
Finport Technologies Inc., a company in which Zinovii Kozytskyi is a beneficiary, has been the main contractor for prosecutorial bodies since 2019, maintaining websites for the Prosecutor General's Office and regional prosecutor's offices.[11][12] Since 2022, it has also been responsible for the software and technical support of the Unified State Register of Declarations of the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP).[11][12]
Ties with Gazprom partner
editMaxym Kozytskyi’s father, Zinovii Kozytskyi, and Czech billionaire Karel Komarek are partners in three Ukrainian companies: "Horizonty," "PEK," and "GBL." Komarek's company MND and Russia’s Gazprom officially began their partnership in 2013[13] when the joint venture Moravia Gas Storage a.s (MSG) was established. Gazprom held a majority stake, while a smaller share belonged to MND, owned by Komarek. The board of Moravia Gas Storage a.s included Gazprom's Deputy Chairman, Alexander Medvedev,[2] as well as other Gazprom managers, many of whom were identified by Russian opposition media as former or current members of Russian intelligence services.[14] Komarek’s business has been financed by Russian state banks VTB and Sberbank.[15]
In 2011, Karel Komarek acquired the oil terminal "Samara" in the city of Oktyabrsk, Russia.[16] In 2018, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the State Financial Monitoring Service recommended that the State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine deny Komarek’s company "Horizonty" access to special permits for mineral extraction due to suspected involvement in supplying oil products to the so-called "L/DPR" (Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics).[16]
On August 21, 2024, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv ordered the SBU to initiate a criminal investigation into the legality of the Kozytskyi family’s cooperation with Karel Komarek.[3]
Construction of a road with state funds
editDuring his tenure as the head of the Lviv Regional State Administration, Maxym Kozytskyi allocated UAH 25 million from the budget for the construction of a road in the resort village of Skhidnytsia leading to a hotel built by his father, businessman Zinovii Kozytskyi.[17] One section of the road was funded by the state budget, while the other was financed by a private company. This road became the most expensive among those repaired with funds from the Lviv Regional State Administration in 2023. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) opened a criminal case regarding the conflict of interest and abuse of office by Maxym Kozytskyi.[18]
References
edit- ^ Decree of the President of Ukraine from 5 лютого 2020 year № 43/2020 «Про призначення М.Козицького головою Львівської обласної державної адміністрації» (in Ukrainian)
- ^ a b ""Газпром" заходить у Полтаву?". Mirror Weekly (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-10-28.
- ^ a b "СБУ відкриє справу за фактом співпраці Козицьких з партнером "Газпрому" Комареком, - рішення суду" [SBU will open a case regarding the Kozytskyi family's cooperation with Gazprom's partner Komarek, according to the court's decision]. www.unian.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-10-28.
- ^ a b "Zelenskyy introduced a new Governor of LRSA, Maksym Kozytskyy".
- ^ "Kozytskyi Maksym Zinoviyovych - all truth Biography, Elections, Parliamentary Parties, Declaration".
- ^ https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/volodimir-zelenskij-priznachiv-maksima-kozickogo-golovoyu-lv-59641 [bare URL]
- ^ "The party "Servant of the People" approved their candidates for the local elections in Lviv region".
- ^ a b "Козицькі мали розірвати стосунки з багаторічним партнером "Газпрому" Комареком ще у лютому 2022 року, — Тука". dsnews.ua (in Ukrainian). 2024-07-23. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
- ^ "Львівську ОДА очолив Максим Козицький. Біографія, статки". tvoemisto.tv. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
- ^ a b "Перші донори львівської "Слуги народу" — компанії батька голови ОДА". www.chesno.org (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-10-28.
- ^ a b "Нечиста і Козицькі". Останній бастіон (in Ukrainian). 2024-08-17. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
- ^ a b "Як голова Львівської ОВА Козицький "прихватизував" стабільну тему – виробництво сайтів усієї системи прокуратури – і залишається недоторканним". Новини України (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-10-28.
- ^ Davies, Rob (2024-02-01). "Owner of UK national lottery operator still in business with Gazprom". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
- ^ Маглов, Михаил; Баданин, Роман; Певчих, Мария; Сухарев, Дмитрий; Васильев, Иван. "Расследование о том, как чекисты приватизировали национальное достояние". proekt.media. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
- ^ Davies, Rob (2024-06-04). "Owner of UK national lottery operator to sever ties with Gazprom". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
- ^ a b "Комарек-таки купил терминал". czechtoday.eu. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
- ^ Онисько, Наталя (2024-09-05). "Дорога куди треба. Голова ЛОВА витратив з бюджету 25 млн грн на дорогу до готелю свого батька". NGL.media (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-10-28.
- ^ Zaxid.net (2024-06-25). "Суд зобов'язав НАБУ почати розслідування щодо будівництва дороги до готелю Зіновія Козицького". ZAXID.NET (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-10-28.