In Kyiv, One Businessman's Fight Back Against Yanukovych's Thuggery

http://www.rferl.org/content/in-kyiv-one-mans-fight-back-against-a-business-that-boomed-under-yanukovych----corporate-raids/25435001.html



Yaroslav Pidgaynyi sits behind his desk in his office for the first time since he was chased out by corporate raiders.

In Kyiv, One Businessman's Fight Back Against Yanukovych's Thuggery
By Tom Balmforth
June 25, 2014

KYIV -- Yaroslav Pidgaynyi grinned with disbelief as he set foot back in his office for the first time since he was chased out onto the street 10 months ago by a group of men who seized control of the major urban architecture firm where he is director.

Last September, a gang alleged to have ties to Artyom Pshonka, the son of Viktor Yanukovych’s --- now fugitive – prosecutor-general, took control of the sprawling Soviet-era "Kyiv Project" building, an architecture and engineering hub for millions of dollars in construction in the capital every year.

They then gained full control of Kyiv Project by illegally electing and appointing their man as director. And when Pidgaynyi and two stakeholders appealed to the police, they themselves were targeted with criminal investigations and went on the run.

As Pidgaynyi returned to his office on June 18, thanking civil society for its support, activists hailed a small victory over a hated phenomenon that had boomed under former President Yanukovych: the practice of corporate "raids," whereby businesses are stolen by criminal groups acting with the protection of high-level contacts.