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A swindler, not a spy

08.12.2000   
BILL OF INDICTMENT

6 January 2000 Sevastopol

On 17 November the bill of indictment was handed to Sergey A. Piontkovskiy in committing a crime specified by Articles 19 part 4 and 80 part 2 of the Penal Code of Ukraine. At present necessity has arisen to complete the indictment by wording it in the following form.

The investigation has established that S. A. Piontkovskiy, from October 1998 to September 14 1999, organized, jointly with his former wife G. N. Piontkovskiy, the group and illegally used the foreign currency in the sum of $16,850, equal to Hr 66,590.87 as a mean of large-scale payment, thus committing a crime specified by Article 80 part 2 of the Penal Code of Ukraine.

The concrete criminal activity by S. A. Piontkovskiy was revealed in the following:

In 1997 S. A. Piontkovskiy, a senior research fellow of the A. O. Kovalevski Institute of Biology of Southern Seas (IBSS) of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Sevastopol), personally handed the claim and got the grant (financial support) for the scientific work on the topic ’Distribution of data on the environmental characteristics by means of the new direction of electronic data (CD-ROM): instruments of protection of bio-variety in the threatened zones of the World tropical ocean’ or, briefly, ’Zoo-plankton of Indian Ocean’ in cooperation with the international organization INTAS (INTernational ASsociation for support of the cooperation with scientists of new independent states of the former Soviet Union), Brussels, Belgium.

For the work at the project ’Zoo-plankton of Indian Ocean’ Piontkovskiy attracted a group of researchers from the Institute of Biology of Southern Seas: A. V. Kovalev, G. N. Piontkovskiy, I. Yu. Prusova, T. A. Melnik, A. R. Boltachev, E. V. Popova, O. A. Cherepanov, as well as the former researcher from this Institute V. N. Nikolskiy and researchers from the Marine Hydro-Physical Institute (Sevastopol) of the NAS of Ukraine: V. L. Vladimirov, V. V. Miroshnichenko, all in all 10 persons whom he promised to pay for the work, with their agreement, in US dollars. The group members had to extract from the IBSS archives the data on marine research, to process them, to accumulate them on computer media and pass them to S. A. Piontkovskiy. Some researchers have used the accumulated data, generalized them, created the computer database about marine ecological systems and prepared scientific reports. However, these persons personally did not conclude oral or written agreements for fulfilling the mentioned works with the INTAS.

In 1998 the INTAS transferred the money in the sum of $25,000 for financing the work at the mentioned project to S. A. Piontkovskiy’s account No. 936095482 in the Marine Midland Bank (New York, USA). S. A. Piontkovskiy took the obligation to divide the money by which he violated the proper order of financing the works at the grant. In particular the currency from the INTAS was transferred not to the counts of the researchers at the First Ukrainian International Bank (Kyiv), as it was stipulated in the Agreement on financing joint research projects in the framework ’Ukraine - INTAS - 1995’ on March 1 1997 and the Agreement between the INTAS and the First Ukrainian International Bank of July 2 1996, but to S. A. Piontkovskiy’s personal account in a bank in the USA.

Staying in the USA on a mission, Piontkovskiy decided to transfer the mentioned currency to his currency account No. 2001139258 in Sevastopol branch of the ’Privatbank’, and he entrusted his former wife Galina N. Piontkovskiy to get the money in US dollars and distribute it among the members of the group as the payment for the fulfilled work.

From 10 December 1998 to 10 September 1999 S. A. Piontkovskiy, in several tranches, transferred to the ’Privatbank’ $31,393.95. Earlier, on 18 November 1996, he handed Galina N. Piontkovskiy the proxy to dispose his account in this bank, in particular to withdraw the money and realize all operations linked with the proxy.

In May 1998 S. A. Piontkovskiy suggested G. N. Piontkovskiy to withdraw, according to the proxy, from his account in the ’Privatbank’ the foreign currency (in USD) and distribute it, using the money as the means of payment, among the group members. G. N. Piontkovskiy agreed, and thus, contrary to the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ’On the system of currency regulation and control’ of 19 February 1993 with the amendments of 14 July 1999, joined in a criminal collusion aimed at the violation of the rules of currency operations.

On 6 October 1998 G. N. Piontkovskiy on the proxy of S. A. Piontkovskiy withdrew from the ’Privatbank’ $1,816 according to the voucher No. 1. On the same day she violated the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ’On the system of currency regulation and control’ of 19 February 1993 with the amendments of 14 July 1999. According to Articles 3 and 4 of this Decree the only means of payment in Ukraine is Ukrainian currency, and according to Articles 4 and 5 the use of foreign currency as a means of payment on the territory of Ukraine is allowed only is one has an individual license of the National Bank of Ukraine. She, without the said license, paid in foreign currency the following sums to the following persons in the following places:

A. V. Kovalev got the money in his office No. 72, A. R. Boltachev and E. V. Popova - in the laboratory of the former department ’Nekton’ (office No. 70); each got $100, the total sum being $300.

I. Yu. Prusova and T. A. Melnik got the money in office No. 70, O. A. Cherepanov - in his office No. 65, and V. N. Nikolskiy - at his home by the address 41 Oktiabr Revolution Ave, Apt. 20, Sebastopol; each got $150, the total sum being $600.

All in all they got $900, which, by the then official currency rate of the National Bank of Ukraine ($100 = Hr 341.2) made Hr 3,070.8.

This was how S. A. Piontkovskiy in collusion with G. N. Piontkovskiy used US dollars as a means of payment (personally the money was handed by G. N. Piontkovskiy).

On 7 October 1998 V. L. Vladimirov got the money (through his colleagues) in his office No. 70 $100, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank equaled Hr 341.2.

On 13 October 1998 V. V. Miroshnichenko got the money (through his colleagues) in his office No. 79 $150, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank equaled Hr 513.3 ($100 = Hr 342.2).

On 29 January 1999 R. Boltachev got $200; Kovalev, Popova and Vladimirov got $300 each; Prusova, Melnik, Miroshnichenko and Cherepanov got $450 each, the total sum being $2,900, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank ($100 = Hr 342.7) equaled Hr 9,938.3 (that day G. N. Piontkovskiy withdrew by the proxy $4,410 from the ’Privatbank’).

On 30 January 1999 Nikolskiy got $450, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank equaled Hr 1,542.15.

On 2 March 1999 Popova and Vladimirov got $200 each; Prusova, Melnik, Miroshnichenko, Cherepanov and Nikolskiy got $300 each, the total sum being $1,900, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank ($100 = Hr 362.3) equaled Hr 6,883.7 (that day G. N. Piontkovskiy withdrew by the proxy $3,100 from the ’Privatbank’).

On 9 March 1999 Kovalev got $200, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank equaled Hr 740.6 ($100 = Hr 370.3).

On 14 April 1999 Vladimirov got $200; Kovalev and Popova got $300 each; Prusova, Melnik, Miroshnichenko, Cherepanov and Nikolskiy got $450 each, the total sum being $3,050, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank ($100 = Hr 394.01) equaled Hr 12,017.31 (that day G. N. Piontkovskiy withdrew by the proxy $2,630 from the ’Privatbank’).

On 5 June 1999 Kovalev and Popova got $100 each; Prusova, Cherepanov and Nikolskiy got $150 each, the total sum being $650, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank ($100 = Hr 395.1) equaled Hr 2,568.22 (that day G. N. Piontkovskiy withdrew by the proxy $1,000 from the ’Privatbank’).

On 15 July 1999 Melnik got $150, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank equaled Hr 592.38.

S. A. Piontkovskiy, having returned from the USA, on the same day personally paid G. N. Piontkovskiy $150; together they paid $300, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank ($100 = Hr 394.92) equaled Hr 1,184.76.

On 2 September 1999 Popova got $200; Prusova, Melnik and Cherepanov got $300 each, the total sum being $1,100, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank ($100 = Hr 438.35) equaled Hr 4,821.

On 6 September 1999 Miroshnichenko got $450 in his office No. 70; Nikolskiy got $300 in his flat, the total sum being $1,050, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank ($100 = Hr 443.26) equaled Hr 4,654.23.

All in all S. A. Piontkovskiy and G. N. Piontkovskiy paid $11, 850, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank equaled Hr 45,205.82.

For the work at the given INTAS grant S. A. Piontkovskiy and G. N. Piontkovskiy paid to the members of the group the following sums: G. N. Piontkovskiy - $450, A. R. Boltachev - $300, V. L. Vladimirov - $800, A. V. Kovalev - $1000, E. V. Popova - $1200, I. Yu. Prusova - $1800, T. A. Melnik - $1800, V. V. Miroshnichenko - $1800, O. A. Cherepanov - $1800, V. N. Nikolskiy - $1800. The total sum is $12,760, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank equaled Hr 18,267.62. For the foreign currency obtained they wrote cash vouchers to G. N. Piontkovskiy, where they indicated that the money was in US dollars and confirmed that it was the fee for the work at the INTAS project.

In July 1999 the fund ’The Darwin initiative’ (Great Britain) gave to S. A. Piontkovskiy the money for financing the works on the project ’Bio-variety and bio-variability of plankton in tropical ecosystems (the Indian and Atlantic Oceans)’. The fund transferred the money to S. A. Piontkovskiy’s accounts in the banks of the USA and England.

To work at the above-mentioned project S. A. Piontkovskiy organized the research group from researchers of IBSS: A. V. Kovalev, G. N. Piontkovskiy, T. A. Melnik, E. V. Popova, Yu. A. Zagorodniaya, T. M. Rogach, as well as the former researcher from this Institute V. N. Nikolskiy, all in all 7 researchers, to whom he promised to pay the salary in US dollars. According to the project the work was to record the archive data of the institute on the computer magnetic carriers, to create the catalogue on zoo-plankton of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans and to pass the collected and generalized materials to S. A. Piontkovskiy. The above-listed researchers did not conclude either oral or written agreements with the fund ’The Darwin initiative’.

On 29 July 1999 $985 were transferred to S. A. Piontkovskiy’s account in the ’Privatbank’ he withdrew it by the voucher No. 4 on 4 August 1999. On 26 August 1999 he personally transferred from his account in a New York bank $4,000 to the ’Privatbank’ in Sevastopol. On 1 September 1999 he personally withdrew this sum from the ’Privatbank’ by voucher No. 6. In the same way he transferred ..1980 from his account in the national Bank of London to his account in the ’Privatbank’ on 10 September 1999 he converted them to $3,217 and personally withdrew them from his account.

During the period from August 1999 to 14 September 1999 S. A. Piontkovskiy, acting in an organized group with G. N. Piontkovskiy and violating the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ’On the system of currency regulation and control’ of 19 February 1993 and without the proper license from the National Bank of Ukraine personally handed out the currency in the IBSS building to the following persons and in the following sums:

In the end of August 1999 Kovalev and Nikolskiy got $300 each; Melnik, Popova and G. N. Piontkovskiy got $400 each, the total sum being $1,800, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank ($100 = Hr 349.71) equaled Hr 7,914.78.

On 2 September 1999 Zagorodniaya got $100, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank equaled Hr 483.5; the sum was given by G.N.Piontkovskiy.

On 10 September 1999 Kovalev got $300 and G. N. Piontkovskiy got $500, total sum being $800, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank equaled Hr 3,609.44 ($100 = Hr 450.43).

On 14 September 1999 Rogach got $100 in the archives of the institute; Popova and Melnik got $500 each; Nikolskiy got $300, total sum being $1,400, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank equaled Hr 6,357.68 ($100 = Hr 451.12).

For the work at the grant given by the fund ’The Darwin initiative’ S. A. Piontkovskiy and G. N. Piontkovskiy paid to the members of the group the following sums: Yu. A. Zagorodniaya - $100, T. M. Rogach - $100, A. V. Kovalev - $600, V. N. Nikolskiy - $600, G. N. Piontkovskiy - $900, E. V. Popova - $900, T. A. Melnik - $900. The total sum is $4,100, which by the exchange rate of the National Bank equaled Hr 18,314.25. S. A. Piontkovskiy used the remaining money at his own judgement. For the foreign currency obtained the researchers wrote cash vouchers, where they indicated that the money was in US dollars and confirmed that it was the fee for the work at the project of the fund ’The Darwin initiative’.

All in all S. A. Piontkovskiy, jointly with G. N. Piontkovskiy for the oversight at the projects ’Zoo-plankton of Indian Ocean’ (the INTAS) and ’Bio-variety and bio-variability of plankton in tropical ecosystems (the Indian and Atlantic Oceans)’ (’The Darwin initiative’ fund) paid to the above-listed persons $12,750 (Hr 48,276.62) and $4,100 (Hr 18,314.25), all in all $16,850 (Hr 66,590.87), which exceeds 100 minimal salaries (Hr 74), thus being an especially large illegal operation with currency (100x74 = 7,400).

Thus S. A. Piontkovskiy in the period from 6 October 1998 to 14 September 1999 within the organized group, jointly with G. N. Piontkovskiy, in several steps illegally used $16,850 (Hr 66,590.87) as a means of payment in large sums to Yu.A.Zagorodniaya, T.M.Rogach, A.V.Kovalev, V.N.Nikolskiy, G.N.Piontkovskiy, E.V.Popova, T.A.Melnik, A. R.Boltachev, V.L.Vladimirov, I.Yu.Prusova, V.V. Miroshni-chenko, O.A.Cherepanov, thus they violated the rules on currency operations, i.e. illegally used currency as means of payment; they acted in a organized group and on a large scale - this is a crime specified by Article 80 part 2 of the Penal Code of Ukraine.
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