Svetlana Surkis, daughter of Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Vice President, former president of the Football Federation of Ukraine and infamously corrupt figure, Gregory Surkis, has been linked with several high-profile figures with histories of anti-Ukraine sentiment.
Earlier this week, her personal Instagram page was uncovered and found to be littered with photographs of prominent Russian figures taken at several Moscow parties. Among them are pictures of Svetlana with the singer Valeria, designer Emma Salimov, and vocal supporter of Putin, actor Steven Seagal, who has even been barred from entering the Ukraine.
Other figures appearing in photos include TV presenter and Putin supporter Andrey Malakhov and the wife of Russian singer Stas Mikhailov.
Although the most recent example of questionable behavior by the Surkis family, it’s far from the first.
Late last year, Grigory Surkis was embroiled in yet another scandal when it was uncovered his younger brother, Igor was co-owner of the Ukrainian channel “2+2”, which owed more than 1.6 million euros for broadcasting European football games.
The channel previously received exclusive rights to display all European cups when Michael Platini, a close friend of Igor and a figure involved in his own corruption scandals, was at the head of European football.
Prior to that, Grigory Surkis’ long history of corruption began in 1995 with the now-infamous “fur coat case,” in which he bribed a Champions League match referee with two fur coats and $30,000.
A lengthy investigation led to a one-year suspension for Igor and a two-year ban on participation in any European cup tournament for Grigory’s team. In the years to come his critics would soon discover this incident did little to slowdown Surkis’ efforts.
Once he was named head of the Football Federation of Ukraine, otherwise known as FFU, he appointed Sergei Tatulyan, a close friend, as head of the referee judiciary. The same committee which discovered and penalized Surkis a few years prior.
In his new position, Surkis quickly became known as the “godfather of football corruption” when he established a pyramid scheme which enabled teams from youth to professional leagues easy access to bribing referees and other game officials.
During this time, he also became the vice-president of the UEFA, the governing body of all European football. A close connection to other business and political partners led to a multi-part scheme which oversaw the funneling of UEFA funds into personal offshore bank accounts.
These actions, and the ensuing three separate criminal corruption investigations they opened, have barred Surkis from entering the United States.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he became the personal adviser to Putin in preparation for the 2018 World Cup.
A long-time friend of infamous football figures such as Sepp Blatter, Michael Platini and Angel Villar, all of whom have been involved with corruption cases and subsequently were forced to leave their positions, Surkis has routinely dodged significant consequences for his actions. In fact, he’s demonstrated a long history of doubling down on controversial causes.
For instance, Surkis longtime friend and ally, Igor Kolomoisky is a vocal advocate and major donor to the right wing, nationalist Svoboda party. The party is largely known for its links to a number of anti-Semitic groups. To date, Surkis, who was raised Jewish, has yet to speak out against Kolomoisky or his involvement with the party.
Why?
Investigative journalists in Ukraine surmise Surkis may have remained silent, and even enabled Kolomoisky’s involvement with the Svoboda party, to cover significant financial dealings with Kolomoisky’s former company, PrivatBank.
In Igor Surkis’ current situation, the debt “2+2” owed was postponed as the result of a successful appeal in 2015 citing a greater financial crisis in the country, resulting in PrivatBank, then owned by Kolomoisky, to act as guarantor for the debt in order to satisfy the UEFA.
When PrivatBank was nationalized by the Ukraine, Igor Surkis’ “2+2” debt transferred to the government and ordinary citizens. Meanwhile, the bank oversaw the withdrawal of all local funds belonging to Igor and Grigory to offshore accounts, where they then reregistered their businesses to offshore companies.
From saddling Ukrainian’s with millions of unpaid debts and turning a blind-eye to Svoboda’s political discord, to his family’s noted anti-Ukraine affiliations and long history of football corruption, Grigory’s decades long leash may finally be coming to an end.
As debts remain unpaid and more issues come to light, Ukrainians are now calling for investigations into the “godfather of corruption” and his assorted positions and companies.
SOURCE: Ukrainians Against Corruption
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