Chesno movement: Servant of People faction's MPs have most charitable, public organizations under their own names
Some 28 MPs declared participation in charitable or public organizations under their own names, 22 of them are elected through single-member districts, the most "named" funds are among representatives of the Servant of the People party – 12 of them, the press service of the Chesno movement reported based on the results of its own research.
"Some 28 MPs declared participation in charitable or public organizations, 22 of them are elected through single-member districts. The most such 'named' funds are among representatives of the Servant of the People, where 12 MPs have their own funds," the Chesno movement said in a statement received by Interfax-Ukraine.
It is reported that the leader in the number of named organizations was MP Oleksandr Feldman, a former representative of the Opposition Platform For Life, who declared participation in nine public and charitable organizations at once, three of them are named. His foundations are actively involved in social networks, where they regularly report on the distribution of aid with the Feldman's logo.
As noted, the distribution of branded humanitarian aid is a common practice for most named philanthropists. Thus, the MP's office from the Dovira (Trust) group of Borys Prykhodko noted on social networks about the Easter distribution of more than 7,000 consecrated Easter eggs in Chernihiv region. In the photo on social networks: elderly people with gifts branded with the name of the MP.
"Serhiy Shakhov, a scandalous MP elected through single-member districts from the Dovira group, who has been wanted by the NABU since 2023, is acting similarly. Despite fleeing to Dubai, his foundation continues to publish photos with humanitarian aid, allegedly personally delivered by the MP. The packages contain an inscription in Russian: "Shakhov's Team. With people and for people," the movement said.
The Chesno movement gives another example: self-nominated candidate from Lviv region Andriy Lopushansky organizes weekly trips for schoolchildren to the Geneva SPA complex in Truskavets, and teachers publicly thank him for "grants and awards." So one of the teachers of the gymnasium in Dobromyl said: "May the hand of the donor not be empty," and thanked the MP for his "contribution to developing the school's creative talents."
"Despite their active activities, most such organizations do not publish detailed financial statements, as unlike parties, this is not required by law. This creates gray areas where actual vote-buying through handouts is disguised as charity – without transparency about sources of funding and amounts of expenses," the Chesno movement said.
As reported on the Chesno Movement website, a total of over 200 MPs of the ninth convocation of the Verkhovna Rada declared their participation in 460 charitable, public and professional organizations. Among them are foundations with the names of the MPs themselves, bar associations, sports clubs and even an anti-corruption organization created by MP Anton Yatsenko, who is a figure in corruption investigations.
Among the MPs who declared their participation in organizations, those who were elected to the Verkhovna Rada on party lists prevail – 110, while there are slightly fewer MPs elected through single-member districts – 99. The largest number of organizations was declared by representatives of the Servant of the People faction – 113. Among other factions, the European Solidarity with 18 MPs and the Batkivschyna All-Ukrainian Association with 14.