Translated material
Tandem "Ostapov Bender" and "Ukraineage": how two immigrants from the USSR destroyed Trump's plans and caused his impeachment
The natives of the USSR , 53-year-old Igor Fruman (from Belarus) and the 47-year-old Lev Parnassus (from Ukraine) , who are considered the main characters of the flared scandal, which received the nickname of the Ukrainianagate, were detained by the American authorities at Virginia International Austrian, when they were about to fly to the capital of Austria, Vienna.
The Russian BBC service found out who Fruman and Parnas are, what they are known in Ukraine, what they connect them and what role they played in the organization of negotiations between Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky.
Businessmen have already been charged with violations of legislation on financing elections in the United States - illegally donated to various structures related to the Republican Party and the election headquarters of Trump 325 thousand dollars. In addition, they tried to have a political impact not only to promote their own financial interests, but also to promote the political interests of a Ukrainian official who sought the resignation of the US ambassador in Ukraine Mary Jovanovich to a person who will represent their business interests. And the entrepreneurs acted as intermediaries in organizing negotiations between American representatives with Ukrainian officials, seeking, inter alia, to their control over Naftogaz.
Natives of the USSR have so far been released under house arrest after the payment of a pledge of $ 1 million each and granting a guarantee that they will not try to leave the US territory. All movements of Fruman and Parnassus will be controlled using GPS sensors. Next week they will have to appear again to the court, already in New York.
As it became known, a few hours before the arrest, businessmen met with the personal lawyer of US President Rudolf Juliani at the Trump International Hotel in the Washington Center. And the day after the arrest in the capital of Austria, where the detainees were gathered, Rudolf Juliani, personal lawyer Trump, should fly out.
The American and Ukrainian media first learned about the existence of these businessmen in May 2019, after, after returning to Ukraine, the entrepreneur Igor Kolomoisky gave his first great interview. Commenting on Rudolf Juliani that in order to “fulfill the election promises, Vladimir Zelensky needs to get rid of criminal oligarchs,” including Kolomoisky himself, the businessman said that the US president’s personal lawyer was only repeating that he was inspired by “two scams”.
“In Ukraine, there are two scammers who are under investigation in the United States. Two Ostapa Bender who walk between the two countries,” he said. “One is Lev Parnassus and the other Igor Fruman. They go here around Ukraine, collect money from people. They say that they are close to Mr. Juliani. And that they decide with Mr. Lutsenko (former General Prosecutor General of Ukraine). - said Kolomoisky.
This tandem of entrepreneurs was also mentioned in the complaint of an anonymous employee of the American special services, who reported the details of the telephone conversation on July 25 Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky. It was this statement that served as a formal reason for the start of the impeachment of the US president in Congress, and Fruman and Parnassus unexpectedly became key figures in the most loud political scandal of recent years.
Last week, in an interview with the Miami Herald newspaper, Leo Parnas said that the former mayor of New York Rudolf Juliani is his "lawyer and friend." This was confirmed by Juliani himself on Twitter. But how exactly Parnas and Fruman met Trump’s personal lawyer, no one could find out.
Native of Ukraine Lev Parnass
A native of Ukraine Lev Parnassus moved to the United States with his parents in 1976, when he was only four years old. In the early 90s, he tried to engage in business by selling household electronics and organizing container transportation of goods from the United States to the Republic of the former USSR, and then worked as a broker in several companies engaged in operations with securities, BBC reports.
In the 90s and in the early 2000s, Parnassus used the name "Larry Parnell" and was a co-owner of at least three brokerage companies in Florida.
In 2001, the New York prosecutor’s office opened a criminal case against one of the firms-Euro-Tlantic Securities, accusing the owners of organized crime. In 2003, the authorities withdrawn a license from another brokerage company, Aaron Investment Group, where Parnassus was a co-owner, after a refusal to pay fines for the financial violations. And finally, in 2009, another company lost the license in which the businessman - Basic Financial, LLC worked.
Last year, the entrepreneur appeared in court after the former business partner accused him of refusing to return a debt in the size of $ 500 thousand. Lev Parnassus took the money for production in Hollywood a film called "Anatomy of the Murderer".
In order to get funds, he even organized in one of the New York hotels a meeting of a potential investor with actor Jack Nicholson. The filming of the film never began, and the businessman refused to return the received funds received.
A native of Belarus Igor Fruman
Igor Fruman was born in Belarus, moved to the United States back in the 80s, but spent most of his life in Ukraine, from where he eventually moved to Miami. In 2005, he married an Odessa native to Elizabeth Naumova, and launched a noticeable business activity in this coastal city.
In the days of the USSR, the father of Elizabeth - Valery Naumov - was the director of the Fruit -Voyshchi store on Deribasovskaya, and in the early 90s he became one of the most noticeable businessmen in the city.
His daughters, according to the Ukrainian media, belongs to the Jewelry House of Otrad in Odessa. Together with Igor Fruman, she also owns Otrada Luxury Group, selling expensive machines, yachts and elite alcohol, Otrada boutique hotel and a beach club of the same name. In Kyiv, the pair belongs to the restaurant Buddha-Bar, and together with businessman Sergei Devablo Furman, he acted as a co-owner of the Baltic Dairy and Conservation Plant.
In 2013, a plant, whose debts exceeded $ 25 million, announced bankruptcy.
In 2017, Elizaveta Naumova filed for divorce, but the dispute about the division of the property of the spouses continues to this day.
What connects Parnas and Fruman
A few years ago, both businessmen entered the Board of Trustees of the Alija Friends of Anathevka. The fund, the main goal of which is to build a village near Kyiv for Jewish refugees from the east of Ukraine, was created by the main rabbi of the country Moshe Reuven Asman.
In May of this year, Rudolf Juliani was supposed to act as an honorary guest at one of the events of honor, and the organizers even said that they would assign the title of honorary mayor of the town.
At the last moment, however, due to the scandal that erupted after the publication of the New York Times, the lawyer canceled the trip.
As it turned out, the main goal of the trip of Trump’s personal lawyer was to meet with Ukrainian officials and the search for incriminating evidence for a possible opponent of the US president at the coming elections of ex-vice-president Joe Biden.
The organization of these meetings was just engaged in businessmen Fruman and Parnassus.
In May 2018, the offshore company Global Energy ProduCurs, registered by businessmen in Dalaver, transferred a contribution of $ 325 thousand to one of the electoral funds supporting Trump. In the next months, Fruman transferred 15 thousand to the pre -election fund of the former Governor of Florida Rick Scott, 35 thousand - to the election campaign of Republican Adam Patanam and 50 thousand - to the pre -election fund of the supporter of Trump Ron landing.
Trump -Victory and Donald J. Trump for President, personally, personally, Fruman personally transferred the maximum amount permitted by law - 2700 dollars. The total amount of donations made by businessmen amounted to 576 thousand dollars.
According to the authorized documents, the task of creating the company was the supply of liquefied gas to Ukraine in order to reduce Kyiv’s dependence on Russian gas.
Among the recipients of funds from businessmen was the leader of the republican minority in the House of Representatives of Kevin McCarthy. Fruman and Parnassus in June 2018 transferred $ 117 thousand funds related to it.
In early May 2018, entrepreneurs met at dinner with Donald Trump at the Trump International Washington Hotel. A few weeks later, they were participants in breakfast in Beverly Hills with the son of the head of the White House Donald Trump Jr. and Tommy Hicks, who soon took up the post of head of the National Republican Party Committee.
Over the next months, Fruman and Parnassus took part in events in the Florida estate of Trump "Mar-A-Lala" and met on the Capitol Hill with several influential Republicans.
Businessmen did not hide that they could offer the Republicans a compromise for a possible contender for the presidential post from the Democratic Party Joe Biden, referring to their connections in the highest echelons of the Ukrainian authorities.
Since the end of last year, Fruman and Parnassus introduced the personal lawyer of US President Robert Juliani with several former and current Prosecutors of Ukraine, including Viktor Shokin and Yuri Lutsenko. The lawyer also met with the then head of the special office of the prosecutor of Ukraine for the fight against corruption Nazar Kholodnitsky, and this year, after the victory in the elections of Vladimir Zelensky, Juliani held meetings with assistant to the new president Adriy Ermak.
In May 2018, Fruman and Parnassus were visited in Israel of the entrepreneur Igor Kolomoisky, whom the Ukrainian authorities accused $ 5.5 billion from the country of embezzlement. An attempt to negotiate ended in failure.
As it became known, during the negotiations, businessmen insisted not only on receiving compromising evidence from Joe Biden and Democrats from the Ukrainian authorities. Fruman and Parnassus were also interested in control of Naftogaz.
With the support of Rudolf Juliani, entrepreneurs insisted on changing the leadership of the leading oil and gas company of Ukraine. It seems that according to businessmen, the close associates of Donald Trump could help them in solving this problem.