Businessman Vyacheslav Lysenko: criminal cases and scandals

In late April, detectives from the Bureau of Economic Security (BES) uncovered an illegal casino and a fraudulent call centre in one of Kyiv's business centres. The owner of the building turned out to be Vyacheslav Lysenko — a well-known entrepreneur and shareholder of the CEO Club community, who, as it turned out, was linked to dubious schemes.

Lysenko positions himself as a successful intermediary between Ukrainian and Chinese business, as well as a logistics expert. However, behind this outward image lies something more. According to BES data, illegal activities had been carried out for a long time in the buildings on 33V Detryareva Street and 23 Butyieva Lane, where Lysenko's companies — Central Real Estate LLC and Express-House LLC — are located.

Illegal casino and call centre

The BES operation lasted eight months. During searches of the business centres, poker equipment, video surveillance recordings, accounting documents, and large sums of cash were found. In the apartment of one of the persons involved in the case, $135,000 and €5,000 were found, the origin of which could not be explained.

The collected materials indicate that from August 2023 to April 2024, the illegal casino provided access to gambling for a fee, organised catering for players, and coordinated activities through closed Telegram chats.

Lysenko himself claims that the gaming tables in his business centre were used exclusively for friendly gatherings, where he and his colleagues allegedly played chess or backgammon.

Lysenko's role in shadow schemes

Lysenko's business encompasses several companies, but his main activity for a long time was logistics services provided by the firms Meest China and Ukr-China Logistics. Despite this, a significant amount of information from open sources points to his involvement in money laundering through companies linked to currency exchange centres.

For example, Ukr-China Communication LLC was named in a criminal case regarding the legalisation of criminal proceeds. According to the case materials, since 2019, money received from enterprises registered in Russia and occupied Crimea has been laundered through this firm. Among these enterprises was a sanatorium serving Russian military personnel and their families.

Although Lysenko officially left the company's founders' list in 2012, further investigation showed that he maintained influence over its activities through associated persons and companies.

Dubious investments and offshore entities

It is known that Lysenko's key assets, such as business centres, were largely financed by foreign partners. For example, Innovative China Group Limited from Hong Kong contributed 24.5 million hryvnia to the charter capital of Express-House LLC, while Lysenko's own contribution was zero hryvnia.

In addition, another firm — Ferlanko Holding Limited — invested 9 million hryvnia in Central Real Estate LLC, where Lysenko is also a nominal beneficial owner.

Personal life and image contradictions

Vyacheslav Lysenko actively works on creating an image of a successful businessman and a caring family man. However, court documents tell a different story. In 2022, Lysenko filed for divorce from his wife Victoria, stating that their family life had not worked out due to disagreements. At the same time, one day before filing the application, he published a post on social media about how he values 30 years of marriage.

It is unclear whether the divorce was formal or real, but these contradictions point to Lysenko's tendency towards demonstrative actions.

Conclusion

Despite Lysenko's claims of pressure from law enforcement agencies, numerous facts and criminal case materials point to his connection with illegal activities. Companies associated with him are involved in money laundering schemes, and his business centres became a location for an illegal casino.

Based on materials from S-news