“Golden” prosecutor Oleksandr Kharlov: How the organizer of the €2.5 million Graff robbery avoided prison
In the summer of 2014, 2.5 million euros in gold and diamonds were stolen from the "Graff" jewelry store in Kyiv. This crime caused widespread public resonance because the organizers turned out to be employees of the Pechersk Prosecutor’s Office in the capital.
Three criminal cases were opened against employees of the Pechersk District Prosecutor’s Office for the theft of jewelry, embezzlement of property, official misconduct, abuse of power, and authority, who conducted "investigative actions" under a fabricated criminal case, which was closed shortly after the search due to the absence of a crime.
All Pechersk District Prosecutor’s Office employees involved in the robbery of the jewelry store received suspicions of committing crimes under Part 5 Article 185 of the Criminal Code (theft) and Part 3 Article 365 of the Criminal Code. But to this day, none of them has faced real punishment for the crime they committed. Moreover, according to the decision of the Economic Court of Kyiv, the owners of the "Graff" jewelry store will receive 25 million hryvnias in compensation from the state budget of our country. Will the citizens of Ukraine pay for the crime committed by prosecutors?
One of the main roles in the "robbery of the century" was played by then Deputy Prosecutor of the Pechersk District of Kyiv, Oleksandr Kharlov, based on whose petition the Kyiv prosecutor signed the search warrant. Later, apparently for "special merits" before the state, Kharlov was promoted and received the position of head of the supervisory department in the criminal prosecution of the Kyiv city prosecutor’s office. And only before the new year, in December 2019, Kharlov resigned of his own free will, following his leadership. This fact is confirmed by his declaration, which is published on the NACP website with the mark "before dismissal."
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It turns out that for almost 6 years after the robbery of the jewelry store organized by Kharlov, he calmly and quite successfully, according to his declaration, held high positions in the prosecutor’s office, instead of facing the deserved punishment for the crime he committed. As stated in the Criminal Code of Ukraine, theft committed in especially large amounts or by an organized group is punishable by imprisonment for a term of seven to twelve years with confiscation of property. And there is something to confiscate from Kharlov, no wonder he robbed the jewelry store.
The injured party repeatedly appealed to Yuriy Lutsenko, who at that time held the post of General Prosecutor, demanding an objective investigation into the audacious and cynical robbery of the jewelry store by the officers of the Pechersk District Prosecutor’s Office. But they did not receive any response from the Prosecutor General, and criminals in uniform remained in power. And only after the change of power did hope appear that ex-prosecutor Oleksandr Kharlov and his criminal group would be brought to criminal responsibility with the full rigor of the law of our country and would face deserved punishment.
It is hoped that this message will not go unnoticed by the current Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Ruslan Ryaboshapka, who constantly announces reforms in the prosecutorial bodies. We, for our part, suggest that the Prosecutor General familiarize himself with two video materials and the text of an article published a year after the robbery of the jewelry store on the pages of one of Ukraine’s authoritative publications, featuring the names of all the involved law enforcement officers.
Law enforcement officers suspected of robbing the jewelry store in Kyiv during a search have not been punished yet
The case on the robbery of the "Graff" jewelry store during a search by law enforcement officers is still not investigated.The Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office is inactive: neither investigative nor covert actions are conducted, so the stolen items are still not found. Also, the special unit "Sokil" fighters suspected of involvement in the robbery are not held accountable.
Our publication reminds that on August 20, 2014, an illegal search was conducted by the prosecutor’s office, police of the Pechersk district of Kyiv, and fighters of the special unit "Sokil" in the "Graff" store and premises unrelated to the store, during which money, watches, and jewelry amounting to more than 2.5 million euros were stolen. This "search" was recorded by surveillance cameras.
The then-prosecutor general, Vitaliy Yarema, publicly apologized to the store owner, and threats poured in from the participants in the search!
On August 25, 2014, a criminal case was opened against Pechersk district prosecutors P. Kozlov, V. Savchuk, police officers of the Pechersk district department V. Zabuha, O. Zhdanov, R. Artsyukh, R. Kobernik, V. Tsehelnyk on charges of robbery. Kozlov and Zabuha were arrested, but not for long – bail amounts were reduced, and they were released. The same story happened with suspects Artsyukh and Kobernik. Former police officer Tsehelnyk, immediately after receiving suspicion, went to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The stars of the video are a fake witness, Volodymyr Filonenko, who expertly hid diamonds in his underwear, former Pechersk district police officer Mariya Vasylyeva, meticulously choosing watches, jewelry, just like her colleague Oleh Vitko, disappeared. Their colleagues in law enforcement could not find them for a year. Only the investigator, prosecutor Viktor Avdyeyev, who led the case, knows the reason for this.
He also can explain why witnesses and suspects were not interrogated, no examinations were conducted, and for what purpose he methodically dismantled the case. It can be assumed that in this way he tried to save suspects from punishment. By the way, he knew many of them before, and with some, he was friends online in social networks.
During the investigation, it was revealed that as early as May 2014, Kozlov falsified the case against the "Graff" store in 3 days, in which a group of unidentified individuals allegedly sold counterfeit goods, including using radioactive raw materials. On this basis, Kozlov obtained permission for a search signed by Judge Kateryna Sereda.
As a result, the "counterfeit watches case" was closed due to the absence of a crime, but no one inquired into who needed the search and for what purpose. This is not surprising, as Kozlov’s patrons – the then Pechersk district prosecutor Oleh Vasylyev and his deputy Oleksandr Kharlov, who gave Kozlov instructions regarding the search, were not just not involved in the case, but received promotions. They now hold leading positions in the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office. Also emerging unscathed were the then-prosecutor of the capital, Serhiy Yuldashev, and the police top brass of the Pecherskyi district: B. Bondarenko, D. Lytvyn (who provided his pocket witness Filonenko), and R. Kravchenko – all were involved in hiding the looted goods.
"The Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office is inactive: neither investigative nor covert actions are conducted, so the stolen items are still not found. Also, the special unit "Sokil" is not held accountable. Here’s an absurd fact: police officer R. Kobernik, who received suspicion and was in jail, still hasn’t been dismissed from the service (?!)", the publication notes.
The result of a year-long investigation: stolen items not found, all suspects are free, the trial is constantly postponed. Released Pavlo Kozlov and his patrons – O. Vasylyev, O. Kharlov, S. Yuldashev, having influential connections, are pressuring the investigation, trying to divert attention from the crimes they committed, despite the fact that at least 10 complaints from P. Kozlov’s victims are lying in the Kyiv prosecutor’s office.
"Thus, it turns out that all the fight against corruption, lustration, and reforms of law enforcement agencies are just fiction: real criminals still sit securely in their offices and do everything to keep their convenient chairs. If this powerful criminal group in law enforcement agencies is not punished, what reforms can we even talk about?! The final resolution of the "Graff" store robbery case, and then the punishment of all those responsible, can and must become a turning point for the entire country!", the article states.
Ihor Andryeyev for "ORD"
Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Coordinates the work of the editorial team and is responsible for the timeliness and accuracy of publications. Has many years of experience working for leading Ukrainian media outlets.
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