Journalists from "Slidstvo.Info" have published an investigation into the alleged influence of the head of the "Servant of the People" parliamentary faction, David Arakhamia, on personnel decisions in government.
The journalists analysed comments in Telegram communities linked to the politician’s Ukrainian and US phone numbers.
In one case, the comments mentioned the appointment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Vsevolod Kniaziev, the head of Ukroboronprom Herman Smetanin, and the Minister for Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin.
The journalists also found messages about possible bribes for appointments to public office.
According to the investigation, in June 2019, the day after the "Servant of the People" party congress, a profile linked to Arakhamia’s phone number joined the Sales Hero Telegram community of sales experts.
On 29 August 2019, the first day of the newly elected parliament’s work, Arakhamia became head of the "Servant of the People" faction. In the Sales Hero chat, a user with the corresponding phone number wrote about organising the work of the Verkhovna Rada and commented on possible appointments.
In particular, one message said: "As soon as they let us make an appointment at the Prosecutor General’s Office, it’ll be fun." In another, the user wrote about a sum of four million, noting: "That’s the fourth number — if it’s less than 4 million, don’t even come in."
The investigation considers these messages in the context of the user’s ambitions to influence personnel decisions after the "Servant of the People" party came to power.
In October 2021, Vsevolod Kniaziev was elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for a four-year term. Five days after the vote, the Telegram channel Shadow Anonymous published a dossier on the new head of the court.
According to "Slidstvo.Info", a user whose account was linked to Arakhamia’s mobile number left a comment under the post. The message claimed that Kniaziev won thanks to ties with the head of the "Servant of the People" faction.
In May 2023, NABU and the SAPO reported that Kniaziev had been exposed in a case involving the receipt of an unlawful benefit of $2.7 million. According to investigators, the money was handed over in exchange for a court ruling in a case linked to the Poltava Mining and Processing Plant, part of which belonged to businessman Kostiantyn Zhevago.
In April 2023, journalists also drew attention to comments by a user linked to Arakhamia’s number in support of businessman Oleksandr Orlov, who owned restaurant businesses in Ukraine.
Earlier, the Bureau of Economic Security obtained a court order to seize the Queen Country and Queen Kyiv restaurants. In a comment cited in the investigation, the user backed Orlov, who publicly condemned Russia’s war against Ukraine, renounced Russian citizenship and left the country.
"Harassing restaurants during the war is not law enforcement’s top priority. You should start with Alfa-Bank, Deripaska, the Rotenbergs, and so on," the message said.
The journalists paid particular attention to кадрові changes in the defence industry in 2023.
On 21 March, Oleksandr Kamyshin became Minister for Strategic Industries. In June, President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Yurii Husiev as Director General of Ukroboronprom. He was succeeded by Herman Smetanin.
According to the investigation, a week before Smetanin’s first appointment, on 20 June 2023, a user with Arakhamia’s phone number left a Telegram comment describing Husiev’s dismissal as a cunning move by the head of the "Servant of the People" faction.
The message also claimed that Ukroboronprom remained within Arakhamia’s sphere of influence, and that it was he who brought Kamyshin into government. The author of the comment called Smetanin someone who had worked with Arakhamia for several years.
At the same time, political analysts cited by the journalists noted that Kamyshin was not close to Arakhamia, and that such messages could create the impression that the faction leader had greater influence over people from the circle of former Head of the President’s Office Andrii Yermak.
The journalists met Arakhamia near the Verkhovna Rada and asked him about the comments that mentioned Kniaziev and Smetanin.
Asked about the fact that the messages were left in Telegram communities from an account linked to his US phone number, the politician replied that he does not have Telegram on that number.
"I don’t even have an account on that number. I do have WhatsApp accounts. I don’t have Telegram," Arakhamia said.
When the journalist pressed him on whether he denied writing those comments, the politician replied: "I deny that I even have Telegram."
The investigation also highlights Arakhamia’s political role after Andrii Yermak left the post of Head of the President’s Office.
A source told the journalists that Arakhamia effectively filled the political space vacated by Yermak and became one of the most influential people in government after the president.
"David Arakhamia, in essence, physically and politically occupied the space that Andrii Yermak vacated," he said.