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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

Vadym RABYNOVYCH:I know where Horbulin puts his slippers 

27 July, 1999 - 00:00

By Volodymyr ZOLOTARIOV, The Day

 

 

The Day: Mr. Rabynovych, your interview with Stolichnyie Novosti
leaves the impression that Volodymyr Horbulin is omnipotent personality.
Do you think that your being barred entry to Ukraine was just his doing
and that the President knew nothing about it?

V. R.: I asked my lawyer in Kyiv to apply for a court ruling
suspending the SBU Collegium's decision. I am interested in the legal aspect
and quite honestly, I cannot guess who knew or didn't.

The Day: You were among those who operated quite close to
the President and you have on more than one occasion spoken in his favor.
We have quoted you as saying in an interview with the Stolichnyie Novosti
"nobody but Kuchma." How come he never interceded or otherwise acted
in your support? Do you expect him to do so?

V. R.: The situation is even simpler. I have read a lot of allegations
about me. For one thing, I have never been Mr. Kuchma's adviser. As for
my being, in your own words, "quite close" to the President, I could name
you a lot of other people just as close.

The Day: Getting back to Mr. Horbulin, do you think that he
acted on his own or perhaps with the President's knowledge and consent?

V. R.: I read his statement to the effect that he could not have
had any special relationships with a foreign citizen. Sorry, but untrue,
and the same applies to everything else he said about me. There were "special
relationships" as I often visited him at home; I can even say where he
keeps his slippers in the corridor... Later, these relationships reached
the point of absurdity; Volodymyr Horbulin, being President of the Basketball
Association, did not attend the final game of the Ukrainian championship
just because my team played. Your newspaper and others wrote that the conflict
between me and Horbulin goes back several years, and he says that there
have been no special relationships.

The Day: So what really happened to make such a close relationship
so distant, resulting in such consequences?

V. R.: In fact, I have never been particularly close to Mr. Horbulin.
I would describe our relationship like this: first, a unilateral desire
to make friends, and then a unilateral desire to destroy. I am free from
such excesses and I want neither to be friends with Mr. Horbulin nor to
give vent to any hostile sentiments, simply because I deal in an altogether
different field compared to him. Yet the man has an idee fixe as
far as I am concerned. I don't understand what is going on.

The Day: From your earlier interview it follows that you learned
about the SBU decision and left Ukraine that same day. Was this a coincidence
or did you know in advance?

V. R.: Believe it or not, but I swear that I knew nothing; no
one said a word. I got the bad news in Israel.

The Day: You were partners with Andriy Derkach, son of the
SBU head. Couldn't he have passed on some information? Incidentally, you
have spoken warmly of your business partners, so here is another question:
How would you describe your relationships with Andriy Derkach?

V. R.: I am not Andriy Derkach's partner, in any line of business.
This can be easily verified. Kyiv is a huge European city, yet it shows
a provincial approach to business. It is generally assumed that if such-and-such
does not attack such-and-such it means that the two are partners. Andriy
Derkach is not my partner, we just know each other and maintain a civilized
relationship.

The Day: What about the Era Television Company?

V. R.: I sold it advertising material through an advertising
agency. I don't even know its location.

The Day: Talking about television companies, in that interview
you mention Horbulin's desire to get the 1+1 channel under control, a channel
close to you. What did they do to incur Mr. Horbulin's wrath? After all,
he is a politician who represents the President's interests. Thus he can
assess any given media from the standpoint of loyalty to the political
leadership and the channel seems to have shown enough loyalty.

V. R.: Volodymyr Horbulin has always and exclusively represented
his own interests, previously when working at the Communist Party Central
Committee, and now. Perhaps he is a public servant. I am in no position
to evaluate him in this capacity, for I have never worked officially. There
are times, however, when ranking officials begin to identify themselves
with the state. I am not saying that Rabynovych is a bad or good man, but
will agree that a ranking official must not give vent to a paranoid desire
to destroy someone for purely personal reasons.

I have repeated a thousand times and repeat again that I am in business
doing real things. Let them enter my office and take pictures of what they
find hanging on the wall. Commendations and letters of thanks. I did not
write them myself, and this is a very small part of what I have, of the
things I most treasure. I know I shouldn't say it, but I have spent a great
deal of money on charity. Does this mean that I should have kept all my
money away, hidden somewhere, or placed on a foreign numbered account?
And that if I did I would be respected and loved by all? Well, I have seen
hundreds of such characters. We are all used to distrusting anyone trying
to make a noble gesture. We are all too suspicious. But suppose we try
to be more trusting?

All you journalists specializing in politics and the economy know only
too well who owns this or that factory, gas, oil, or other business; you
know only too well that Rabynovych is nowhere to be found there. I make
money using my head and Ukraine has only benefited from me, for I have
been investing nine-tenths of what I made.

The Day: And what about your line of business? Personally,
I have only seen your Prioritet Ad Agency. Television and newspaper investment
calls for a lot of money, doesn't it?

V. R.: It is true that I have nothing to do with oil, gas or
factories... I have earned a lot dealing with metals. We were the first
to carry out tolling transactions when no one knew what tolling was all
about. That was in 1992-93. Times were different, and we made a lot of
money. We also dealt with coal, ore, and so on, very extensively. And we
went into the insurance business. We are still there and we are showing
remarkable progress. By the way, the Prioritet Advertising Agency is less
profitable than many other of our projects. We also earned a lot supplying
Israeli goods to Ukraine. There were 3-4 very successful transactions when
we made certain projects and then sold them. For example, we organized
the first pagers in Ukraine and sold the project to Israel.

The Day: Word has it that you will be pardoned and return
to Ukraine.

V. R.: I don't want any backstage deals. I want this situation
to reach its logical culmination. I have initiated legal action. If the
court restores my rights I will come to Kyiv immediately. And I am prepared
to answer any questions. If they open a criminal case I am prepared to
face the law.

 

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