Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn plans to dismiss all Executive Committee employees of the Irpin City Council who testified to law enforcement about the corruption scheme known as “Irpin Salarygate.”
Through dismissal orders, Markushyn is attempting to pressure witnesses of the corruption in the Irpin City Council. He is imposing “his” lawyer on other witnesses, a lawyer paid for by the most scandalous Irpin developer, Oleksandr Pikulyk. In gratitude for the lawyer’s services, Markushyn is expected to grant Pikulyk and his firms permission for construction (urban development conditions) in three large areas of the private sector in central Irpin.
Markushin’s scheme involved embezzling local budget funds through the registration of “dead souls,” kickbacks from Executive Committee salaries, and the forgery of session decisions approving staffing tables by Oleksandr Markushyn. About 40 executive committee employees were involved in the “salary scheme.” Due to salary manipulations, approximately 17 million UAH was embezzled in 2023 alone, which was collected in cash by head of human resources Tamara Khalaim. The embezzled funds also financed the so-called informal “press service” of Markushyn, coordinated by the mayor’s partner, Taisiya Yusupova.
In 2023, when Irpin lacked funds for de-occupation reconstruction, officials close to Markushyn received fantastic salaries and bonuses. Head of human resources Tamara Khalaim received 1,657,567 UAH in salary, which is three times more than the salaries of the mayor and his deputies. The head of the accounting and reporting department and chief accountant of the Irpin City Council, Khrystyna Hlushanets, “earned” 1,326,223 UAH in 2023.
In addition to the salary scheme, Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn is a subject of five criminal proceedings investigated by the National Police and the prosecutor’s office.