Burkin accuses SBU of 'protection' for call centres, names Tatarov as scheme organiser

Yehor Burkin, head of the 'Khimprom' structure, held a conversation with Ukrainian blogger Vasyl Tymoshenko, who resides in Poland. During the interview, the drug lord accused employees of the Security Service of Ukraine of 'protecting' his network of call centres.

Pointing to the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office

Burkin directly named Oleh Tatarov, the deputy head of the Presidential Office, as the main organiser of these financial schemes. According to the drug lord, it is to Tatarov that the 'money flows'. At the same time, he noted that these schemes brought the security forces over 300 million dollars per year.

Although the materials of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau mention the name of Davyd Arakhamia, Burkin avoided direct accusations against him in the conversation. Speaking about the promotion of marijuana legalisation, he stated: «до нього не дотягнувся» ("it didn't reach him"). In the context of the call centres' activities, Burkin added: «і до Клименка не дотягнувся» ("and it didn't reach Klymenko either"), but emphasised that the latter could not have been unaware of the existing schemes.

Criticism of rivals and mentions of other figures

The interview showed signs of being staged and, according to the authors of the material, was aimed at sending signals to business representatives and political players. Burkin criticised the competing network '9999', accusing its representatives of torturing employees for failing to perform certain actions.

The conversation also raised the topic of the connections between former Russian citizen Yevhen Smirnov (Zayfert), who was accused of drug trafficking in Russia, and former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Burkin spoke about the relationship between Smirnov/Zayfert and Fedorov, as well as with SBU General Duka. It is known that a scandal previously arose over the withdrawal of funds from crypto wallets designated for supporting Ukraine.

After the publication of the recording, several journalists, including Yanina Sokolova and Danylo Mokryk, reported that they had received offers from Burkin to conduct interviews.