Position: ex-deputy of the Odesa Regional Council from the banned "OPZH" party, deputy of the Odesa City Council from the "For Life and Peace" group.
Sphere of corrupt activity: public sector.
Region of corruption activity: Odesa region.
Qualification: Baranskyi's actions were qualified under part 3 of Art. 27, Part 5 of Art. 191, Part 3 of Art. 27, Part 4 of Art. 190, Part 3 of Art. 27, Part 3 of Art. 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: at large.
The story of the case: on January 25, 2024, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office informed about the suspicion of two former deputies of the Odesa Regional Council from "OPZZH" (now the deputies have joined the new deputy group "For Life and Peace" in the Odessa City Council) and four more persons in taking possession of 32 vessels of PJSC "Ukrainian Danube Shipping" and causing damages in the amount of UAH 82.654 million.
As the journalists found out, we were talking about former deputies from the banned party "OPZZH" Viktor Baranskyi and Vitaly Sautyonkov, as well as the ex-chairman of the board of "UDP" Dmytro Barinov.
According to the investigation, in August 2017, two deputies of the Odesa Regional Council organized a scheme to seize UDP lanterns, from which they planned to build barges larger in size and capacity for use for their own commercial purposes.
To implement the scheme, they involved three individuals and the head of the UDP at the time, who concluded an agreement with a company controlled by deputies on the transfer of 18 lighters worth about UAH 44.3 million for freight. When the director of PrJSC's employment contract expired, the organizers of the scheme misled the new management and concluded additional agreements on the transfer of 14 more lighters for the amount of UAH 38.35 million.
Later, 32 lanterns were transported to Turkey, where they were disassembled and 12 barges of greater capacity were built from them. After that, the organizers of the crime towed them to Ukraine and registered them with the controlled company Effective Management Services LTD, whose representative is Yevhenii Pitchenko. As part of the investigation, NABU and SAP found the newly built barges and ensured their transfer to the National Agency for Search and Asset Management.
The actions of the suspects were classified under Part 5 of Art. 191 (in the version of the article effective as of June 12, 2018); Part 4 of Art. 190 (in the version of the article effective on 09.11.2018) and Part 3 of Art. 209 (in the wording of the article, valid until 04/28/2020) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, depending on the role and participation of each person in the implementation of the criminal scheme.
On February 8, 2024, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau declared Viktor Baranskyi and Vitaly Sautyonkov wanted. In addition to them, NABU detectives declared Yevgeny Pitchenko wanted.
According to journalists, Baransky is apparently abroad. According to journalists, Sautyonkov is in Odessa. However, he, like his colleague, also "skipped" sessions, which is why he was expelled from the historical and toponymic commission.
At the end of March 2025, it became known that the Appellate Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court took Baransky into custody in absentia in the case of the seizure of 32 vessels of the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company.
As is known, on January 14, the anti-corruption court refused to arrest Baransky in absentia. Therefore, the prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office filed an appeal against this decision.
The appeal of the SAPO prosecutor shall be granted. The ruling of the investigating judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court of January 14, 2025 shall be annulled. A new ruling shall be issued, by which the petition of the senior detective of the NABU, approved by the prosecutor, shall be granted and a preventive measure in the form of detention shall be chosen for the suspect (Baransky – ed.).
Persons potentially involved in the corruption scheme: according to the SAPO, among the participants of the scheme, in addition to Viktor Baransky, there are also Odessa City Council deputy Vitaliy Sautyonkov, ex-head of the board of "UDP" Dmytro Barinov, representative of the controlled company Yevheniy Pitchenko and two more people. They were declared suspected under three articles of the Criminal Code: Part 4 of Article 190, Part 5 of Article 191 and Part 3 of Article 209. This could lead to up to 12 years in prison.
On February 2, 2024, the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court applied a preventive measure in the form of a bail of UAH 4 million to the former Chairman of the Board of PrJSC "Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company" Dmytro Barinov in the case of seizure of 32 vessels.
Assets: In his 2022 tax return, Baransky listed several real estate properties, but none of them are owned by the deputy. Instead, his wife, Halyna, declared a non-residential building, four apartments, an office, two land plots, and a summer house.
Baransky and his wife also declared several icons and paintings.
Also, for 2022, Baransky declared UAH 13,050 in salary and UAH 885,100 in income from entrepreneurial activities.
At the same time, Baransky declares 257,456 euros, 349,500 dollars, and 9,394,989 UAH in cash.
But in 2020, Baransky declared a larger share of his income. In particular, he received UAH 2,695,719 in income from entrepreneurial activity, UAH 61,800 in salary, and UAH 250,000 as a gift (his wife also received the same amount as a gift).
Individuals who should have responded to corruption schemes: in the case of Viktor Baransky, law enforcement agencies responded to the deputy's criminal activities. However, to date, he still remains at large.
Scandals: Viktor Baransky's name also "lit up" in the so-called "Panama scandal." According to Odessa journalists, this concerns the schemes of Baransky and his father in the field of maritime transportation and shipping, in particular, the offshore Industrial Carriers Inc. Lawyers from the scandalous company Mossack Fonseca helped them register their offshore companies and escape responsibility for the scams.
In addition, according to the Offshoreleaks Database website, the company "Vista Shipping LTD" registered in the British Virgin Islands is listed in the name of Viktor Baransky.
In 2018, it was reported that Baransky owns as many as three offshore companies.
In 2020, NABU and SBU discovered "white powder" during searches in Odesa on Viktor Baransky, then a candidate for deputy from the Opposition Platform - For Life party.
But already in 2023 Volodymyr Zelensky deprived Baransky of Ukrainian citizenship. The reason was the presence of a Russian passport and support for the actions of the Russian Federation.
In April 2023, local journalists reported that three deputies of the Odesa City Council from the banned "OPZZH" appear in criminal proceedings No. 22022102070000069, opened on April 3, 2022, on the grounds of crimes provided for in the first part of Article 111-1, part one of Article 114, part 1 of Art. 263, the first part of Art. 369 and the first part of Art. 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — collaborationist activity, espionage, illegal handling of weapons, offering a bribe and justifying Russian aggression.
According to journalists, one of the deputies is Viktor Baranskyi, whose business is related to "gray" and "black" sea transportation, that is, smuggling.
Sources:
Two ex-deputies of the Odesa Regional Council are suspected of embezzling 32 barges — SAP
NABU and SAP reported the suspicion to two ex-deputies of the Odesa Regional Council
The court set bail for the ex-head of "Ukrainian Danube Shipping"
NABU summons ex-Deputies of Odessa for questioning in the case of "Danube Shipping Company"
NABU is looking for suspects in criminal proceedings No. 52019000000001050
Zelensky deprived the citizenship of Tabachnyk, Klyuyev and other exposadors of the Yanukovych era
Viktor Serhiyovych Baranskyi: dossier, biography, classified information
Which of the Ukrainian officials has the most offshore companies (infographic)
A "white powder" was found with a candidate for MP from OPZZ