FC Kolos president Andrii Zasukha obtained Russian passports after the start of the war

Obtaining Russian documents after the full-scale invasion confirmed

Andrii Zasukha, the leader of the football club “Kolos” from the village of Kovalivka, who previously held the position of deputy of the Kyiv Regional Council from the “Batkivshchyna” party, obtained an internal and a foreign passport of the Russian Federation after the start of the full-scale war. This was reported by the Centre for Countering Corruption (CCO).

According to the investigators, in addition to passports, Zasukha has a Russian tax identification number. His vehicle fleet includes three cars with Moscow registration plates. It was also established that he has a registered address in a building on Novy Arbat in Moscow. It is in this building that his mother, former People’s Deputy from the Party of Regions, which is banned in Ukraine, Tetiana Zasukha, is registered.

Ties with the occupation authorities and studies in Moscow

The CCO emphasised Andrii Zasukha’s long-standing contact with Russia: “Щонайменше з 2014 по 2018 рік Андрій Засуха літав з України до Росії. А у 2007 році летів з Москви разом із Маріанною Кобець – після 2022 року окупанти призначили її головою футбольної федерації Херсонщини, а її батька – гауляйтером Херсона” (At least from 2014 to 2018, Andrii Zasukha flew from Ukraine to Russia. And in 2007, he flew from Moscow together with Marianna Kobets – after 2022, the occupiers appointed her head of the football federation of Kherson region, and her father – the gauleiter of Kherson), the statement reads.

The researchers also noted that Zasukha studied at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, which, according to them, “готовить фахівців для дипломатичної та кар’єри у спецслужбах” (trains specialists for diplomatic and intelligence service careers). The fact of Andrii’s admission to this institution was previously confirmed by his mother, Tetiana Zasukha.

Russian traces in business and family

Tetiana Zasukha also has a Russian tax identification number. Regarding Andrii’s father, Anatolii, who headed the Kyiv Regional State Administration during the presidency of Leonid Kuchma, the investigators stated that he “утік до Росії у 2005 році, коли перебував у розшуку в Україні” (fled to Russia in 2005 while being wanted in Ukraine).

“Дані зі злитих баз російських паспортів... показують, що втеча супроводжувалася зміною прізвища... на ім’я Андрєєв Анатолій Андрійович... "Андрєєв" зареєстрований у підмосковних Люберцях за однією адресою із сином Засухи Андрієм. Із цим паспортом він у 2015 році літав до України. Цей паспорт досі чинний, до нього прив’язаний російський податковий номер” (Data from leaked Russian passport databases... shows that the flight was accompanied by a change of surname... to Andreiev Anatolii Andriiovych... “Andreiev” is registered in Lyubertsy near Moscow at the same address as Zasukha’s son Andrii. With this passport, he flew to Ukraine in 2015. This passport is still valid, and a Russian tax identification number is linked to it), the CCO said.

History of scandals around Andrii Zasukha

Publicity regarding the activities of the “Kolos” president is not limited to just obtaining Russian documents. Among the key facts highlighted by the media and anti-corruption organisations:

• Zasukha is the owner of the agro-firm “Svitannok”. This company is known for purchasing land plots of the state enterprise “Dmytrivka” of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences at an undervalued price.
• According to CCO data, “Svitannok” paid salaries to the wife of former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, Oksandra, who left Ukraine. The firm also transferred a gas power plant to the former prosecutor general’s couple for use for 1.14 million UAH.
• In 2023, Andrii Zasukha resigned from his position as a deputy of the Kyiv Regional Council. According to “Chesno”, the reason for this decision was the “бажання виїжджати за кордон” (desire to travel abroad).
• The village of Kovalivka, where the club is based, is called the “феодальною власністю” (feudal property) of the Zasukhas in the media environment. Specifically, it is noted that the family “перетворила село на свій двір зі своїми правилами” (turned the village into their own courtyard with their own rules).