Hennadiy Korban

Hennadiy Olehovych Korban (Ukrainian: Геннадій Олегович Корбан; born May 24, 1970) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician. A patron of the Jewish community in Dnipro, he served as the head of the UKROP party from July 12, 2015 to January 23, 2016.

For the wrestler, see Gennady Korban.
This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; the patronymic is Olehovych and the family name is Korban.
Hennadiy Korban
Геннадій Корбан
Korban in 2014
Deputy Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
In office
2 March 2014 – 24 March 2015
GovernorIhor Kolomoyskyi
Personal details
Born
Hennadiy Olehovych Korban

(1970-05-24) May 24, 1970
Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR
NationalityUkrainian
Political partyUKROP (2015–2016)
Children4 sons
Alma materNational Mining University of Ukraine
Occupation
  • Businessman
  • politician
Net worthUS$153 million (2013)[1]

Biography

Early life and business career

Hennadiy Korban was born on May 24, 1970 in Dnipropetrovsk (now Dnipro) to a Jewish family of Soviet engineers. His parents are also Israeli citizens. Raised in Dnipropetrovsk, he graduated from secondary school No. 21 in 1987 and unsuccessfully attempted to enrol at the faculty of philosophy at a university in Rostov-on-Don. He later returned to Dnipropetrovsk and entered the National Mining University of Ukraine, but shortly suspended his studies as he was called up for military service in the Soviet Armed Forces. He served as a private in the Guards Aviation Regiment from 1988 to 1990.

Following his discharge from the army, Korban worked as a broker on the Moscow Stock Exchange from 1990 to 1991, before founding a brokerage office in 1992. In 1994, Korban founded a company, Slavutych Capital, and served as the chairman of its Supervisory Board from 2001 until it was later abolished. In 1997, he graduated from the National Mining University of Ukraine as an "economist". From 2001 to 2010, he was a chairman of the Supervisory Board of Southern Mining.[2] In 2005, Korban became a member of the Supervisory Board of Ukrainian oil and gas producer company Ukrnafta. In 2009, he became a member of the Supervisory Board of the company Ukrtatnafta,[3] and resigned from both boards in 2011.

In September 2013, Korban-owned company Budinvest signed a letter of intent with international hotel operator InterContinental Hotels Group on the development of two brands in Kiev. The company was to manage the brands, with the investment in the construction valued at US$30–40 million.[4] In October 2013, Korban financed the construction of Beit Alon Ganey Korban, a kindergarten and children's sports complex in Kryvyi Rih.[5][6]

Political career

Korban served as deputy governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast from 2 March 2014[7] to 24 March 2015.[8][9] He held the post under former governor Ihor Kolomoyskyi, whose tenure ran between the same dats.[8][9] On September 9, 2015, Korban became the head of the UKROP political council.[10]

Dill vs radish (Укроп проти редиски) was one of the slogans of Korban (ad board in Chernihiv)

Korban took part in the 26 July 2015 parliamentary by-election in constituency 205 located in Chernihiv.[11] With 14.76% of the vote, he finished second behind Serhiy Berezenko of Petro Poroshenko Bloc, who won with 35.90% of the vote.[11][11] During the run-up to these elections, Korban and Berezenko were repeatedly accused of bribing voters and using black PR among other violations of electoral legislation.[12][13] Korban was also the UKROP mayoral candidate in the October 2015 Kiev local elections, but did not make it to the second round of the mayoral election.[14]

On 31 October 2015, Korban was arrested.[15][16][17][18] Four charges were brought against him, including a charge accusing him of embezzling money from the National Defence Foundation, which he financed.[19] An attempt to impose a pre-trial restraint was made by three judicial authorities, including the Chernihiv District Court and the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv, but failed due to a lack of evidence.[20] In November 2015, he was placed under house arrest for two months.[21]

From December 24 to December 27, 2015, according to a March 2016 report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Korban was "forced to several procedural checks" despite having had heart surgery, after which he was "eventually forcefully transferred to court" for a hearing that "lasted for more than 24 hours and was marked by numerous violations of due process rights."[22][23] During the trial, army veteran Valentyn Manko gave testimony against Korban, which was later found to be part of a scheme to provide false testimony and ensure a guilty verdict. In exchange for his testimony, robbery charges against Manko would be dropped.[24] On December 27, the courtroom was stormed by unknown protesters who clashed with Korban supporters.[25]

On January 23, 2016, while Korban was detained by the Security Service, the UKROP political council dismissed him as chairman of the party.[26] In March 2016, a court granted him permission to travel to Israel for treatment at Tel Aviv Medical Center.[27] On May 7, 2016, after Korban had fulfilled the demands of his political opponents, the court released him from arrest and granted him permission to leave for Israel.

On August 9, 2016, Mykola Chaus, the judge of the Dniprovskyi District Court of Kyiv who ordered the detention of Korban, was caught with a US$150,000 bribe by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.[28] In September 2017, he was absolved of all charges due to a lack of evidence, while the main directorate of National Police in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast ceased criminal proceedings on his National Defence Foundation embezzlement charges due to a lack of evidence. On 13 December 2017, Korban returned to Ukraine.[29]

Art collection

Korban is a collector of modern and contemporary art. His collection includes works of Gustav Klimt, Damien Hirst, Egon Schiele, Alexej von Jawlensky, Tamara de Lempicka, Takashi Murakami, Andreas Gursky, Yayoi Kusama and Banksy, among others.[30]

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2013-10-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "ЮГОК - Публичное Акционерное Общество, Кривой Рог". Ugok.info. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  3. "Пао Укртатнафта". Ukrtatnafta.com. 2009-09-11. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  4. "InterContinental has signed a letter of intent with Gennady Korban's company to manage the hotel in Kiev". Unian.info. 2013-09-26. Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  5. "EzineArticles Submission - Submit Your Best Quality Original Articles For Massive Exposure, Ezine Publishers Get 25 Free Article Reprints". Goarticles.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-05-02. Retrieved 2013-10-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. Ukraine Turns to Its Oligarchs for Political Help, nytimes.com (2 March 2014)
  8. Cullison, Alan (2014-06-27). "Ukraine's Secret Weapon: Feisty Oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky". WSJ. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  9. "Gennadiy Korban: 'We will continue the fight for Ukraine with its patriots'". KyivPost. 2015-03-28. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  10. Ukrop party will run in local elections across Ukraine, Kyiv Post (July 27, 2015)
  11. With 100% of ballots counted in Rada by-election, Berezenko gets 35.90% of votes, Korban 14.76% – CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (28 July 2015)
  12. Корбан: Я потерял моральное право возглавлять политсовет партии "Укроп" "Гордон", .07.2015
  13. "This crazy Ukrainian election shows the country has a ways to go toward reform | Public Radio International". Globalpost.com. 2015-07-28. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  14. "With 100% of ballots counted, Klitschko, Bereza to stand in Kyiv mayoral election runoff". En.interfax.com.ua. 2015-10-30. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  15. 2015-10-31T13:39+02:00 13:39 31.10.2015 (2015-10-31). "Korban detained, could be head of organized crime group, now he is not a suspect – SBU, PGO". En.interfax.com.ua. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  16. "SBU suspects Korban of organized crime activity, confirms detention". Unian.info. 2015-10-31. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  17. "SBU, PGO on a large-scale raid in Dnipropetrovsk, over 500 officers involved". Unian.info. 2015-10-31. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  18. "UKROP party says its leader Korban detained in Dnipropetrovsk". Unian.info. 2015-10-31. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  19. "Gennady Korban rejects prosecutors' charges, touts his anti-Kremlin credentials - Nov. 17, 2015". KyivPost. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  20. "Chernihiv court hears Korban's case". Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  21. "UKROP leader Korban placed under house arrest for two months". Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  22. "Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine 16 November 2015 to 15 February 2016" (PDF). Office of the United Nations: High Commissioner for Human Rights.
  23. В ООН указали на нарушение Европейской конвенции о правах человека в деле Корбана (in Russian). Retrieved 2018-02-21.
  24. Metre, Lauren Van. "Ukraine's Veterans Are a Powerful Constituency. Who Will Control Them?". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  25. "Chaos Erupts In Kyiv Court". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  26. "Новини | Українська правда". Pda.pravda.com.ua. 2016-11-25. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  27. "Публікації | Українська правда". Pda.pravda.com.ua. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  28. "Judge Chaus detained on bribery charges, hides money in glass jar (Photos)". Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  29. "Businessman Korban returns to Ukraine". Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  30. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2013-10-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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