Scandals of the new Ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets: from smuggling from ORDLO to “comfortable” Denisova

Dmitry Lubinets became the fourth Ombudsman in the history of independent Ukraine. Today, July 1, 250 deputies voted for his candidacy at the plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada.

What is Dmitry Lubinets known for? How did you treat your predecessor – Lyudmila Denisova? What has he been doing since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, and in what scandals did he appear? Let's start with them.

Corruption with compensation for rental housing

In 2020, Lubinets went through criminal proceedings on the possible receipt of about UAH 1 million in compensation for the cost of renting housing in Kyiv. The politician was even fined UAH 1,135 for not coming to NABU for questioning as a witness from August 2020 to April 2021.

I played games on my tablet at work

In February 2020, parliamentary photojournalists caught a people's deputy in the Verkhovna Rada playing on a tablet. The deputy had fun while considering the bill on the agricultural land market in Ukraine.

Language skirmish with Rabinovich

During one of the meetings of the profile committee, Dmitry Lubinets called on his colleague Vadim Rabinovich to speak in Ukrainian. In response, Rabinovich threatened Lubinets with a lawsuit due to “violation of his constitutional rights” and provoked Lubinets to become his Ukrainian language tutor.

– I instruct the Secretariat to prepare working time – at least one hour – during the plenary week so that the chairman of the committee, Lubinets, and the head of the subcommittee, Rabinovich Vadim Zinovievich, can communicate and learn the Ukrainian language. We are doing online courses for learning Ukrainian,” Lubinets summed up the result of the skirmish. But things did not go further than the order, Rabinovich did not take any lessons.

Opponent of criminalization for illegal enrichment

Lubinets' signature was under the appeal of 59 people's deputies under the submission, on the basis of which the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in 2019 canceled the article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on illegal enrichment. This article obliged civil servants to give explanations about the sources of their income and their family members.

Criminal liability for illicit enrichment in Ukraine was introduced in 2015. The implementation of this norm has become one of the requirements of the European Union for the implementation of the Visa Liberalization Action Plan, as well as one of Ukraine's obligations to the IMF.

The idea of ​​nationalizing ATB

In 2016, the name of Dmitry Lubinets appeared in a number of media publications on the idea of ​​nationalizing the ATB supermarket chain. As if Lubinets was the main speaker and lobbyist for such an idea. The People's Deputy accused the supermarket chain of “criminal activity in the territory of the occupied Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions.” In open sources, you can also find comments by Lubinets in defense of ATB.

– On December 20, 2016, I sent a deputy appeal to all law enforcement agencies – to the Prosecutor General's Office, the National Police, the Security Service of Ukraine, even to the Fiscal Service. All the answers that I received as a people’s deputy testify that not a single fact confirming the illegal activities of the ATB company was found, ”Lubinets said and added:“ After the nuclear guys saw that I had, let’s say, questions to the activities of ATB, I received a huge letter of support from the ATB corporation, which was signed by veterans of the ATO who served in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. I know personally how much help they received. Taking this opportunity, I want to express my gratitude to the ATB of the Donetsk region.

Smuggling from ORDLO

In 2016, journalists from an authoritative publication investigated who Ilya Kiva, who headed the department for combating drug crime of the National Police, was. And during the study of one of the episodes of Kiva's dubious actions, the name of Dmitry Lubinets also flashed. Journalists received testimony from one of the military, who spoke about the involvement of Kiva and Lubinets in smuggling from ORDLO.

– We stood at the Bugasy checkpoint, detained two trucks with smuggling in January 2015, immediately called Kiva, deputy Dmitry Lubinets arrived to recapture the trucks. In order to avoid a conflict, we called in the Kyiv-2 battalion and SBU officers, – the media quoted the words of the leadership of the 28th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

More

• Political career: In 2010 Dmitry Lubinets was elected to the city council of Volnovakha. Local media characterized the politician as the only deputy of the City Council who has adhered to a patriotic position since the beginning of the Russian occupation of Donbass in 2014.
• Twice elected as a People's Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada: in 2014 – from the BPP, in 2019 – self-nominated in the district No. 60 (Donetsk region). In the last extraordinary elections, Lubinets beat Artem Marchevsky, a nominee from the Opposition Platform for Life, former general producer of the blocked 112 Ukraine TV channel, by almost 10%.
• In the Parliament of the 9th convocation, he heads the Human Rights Committee. He is a member of the deputy group “For Future”.
• The reaction to the dismissal of Denisova: “In my opinion, people should be judged by the effectiveness of their activities. As the Chairman of the Committee, I think that our Committee and the Office of the Commissioner have common successful projects, and I personally feel most comfortable working with Lyudmila Leontyevna,” Dmitry Lubinets wrote on his Facebook page.
• Activity during the war: he constantly travels to the front lines and volunteers, handing over protective equipment and devices to improve the conduct of the country's defense to the military, and humanitarian aid to citizens affected by Russian aggression. Defends the rights of citizens of Ukraine and national minorities in the international arena, exposing the facts of Russian atrocities and drawing the attention of Western politicians to the need to help and support Ukrainians.

Dmitry Lubinets KP dossier

Age: 40

Place of birth: native of Volnovakha, Donetsk region.

Education: two higher educations – historian, lawyer.

Number of Facebook followers : 9680 people.

Marital status: married. She brings up two children – son Daniel and daughter Valeria. The wife of Yanin Lubinets is an assistant to the people's deputy from the “Servant of the People” Arseniy Pushkarenko.