Hetmanets' White Business Club: a threat to the economy and national security.

The White Business Club, established at the initiative of the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation, and Customs Policy, Daniil Getmantsev, has become embroiled in yet another scandal due to some members having ties with the aggressor country. Despite its declared aim to support reputable companies, critics view it as a tool for creating privileges for a select few, which contradicts the principles of equal business under the law and poses threats to national security, reports UNN.

Sanctioned Individuals and Ties with Russia

According to data from the analytical platform "Opendatabot," 7,997 companies were included in the "White Business Club," which, as declared by Getmantsev, was created for honest and conscientious businesses and would protect entrepreneurs from excessive scrutiny by the tax authorities. This meant that the selected companies were supposed to meet the standards of transparent business practices in Ukraine, demonstrating openness, paying taxes diligently, filing reports, and having no ties with Russia.

"However, at the onset of the full-scale invasion, 24 companies in the club had Russian owners. Currently, none of these businesses officially have any Russian connections. It is worth noting that since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, a moratorium has been in place on changing registration details in companies with Russian owners, except for several clearly defined cases by law," the statement reads.

In particular, according to analysts, the trusted list of the State Tax Service included enterprises connected with sanctioned individuals through common business ties. For instance, two companies belong to the Kozakov brothers, whose owners are linked to Viktor Medvedchuk's group. The list also includes businesses associated with the Alef corporation, owned by sanctioned Vadim Ermolayev, and Burisma Group, whose owner is listed in the Register of Corrupt Officials, among others.

According to Sergei Dorotich, head of the #SaveFOP Movement, there is nothing surprising about this situation, as Getmantsev created the White Business Club solely to favor "his own." He recalled that previously, Getmantsev worked for 8 years as an assistant to former MP Volodymyr Sivkovych, who is suspected of treason and long-term collaboration with the FSB of Russia.

"Since the formation of this White Business Club was, to put it mildly, unclear and non-transparent, it was decided privately whether to include or not include businesses in this list. We did not hear any discussions. Some official makes this decision based on their own criteria, and we cannot verify these criteria to see how they truly correspond, because everything is covered by commercial secrecy. They include the businesses that they were told to include. Regarding Getmantsev - we have spoken about this many times, there is no doubt that he is a saboteur and is building an agent network. Because this person changed Sivkovych's diapers for several consecutive terms," Dorotich noted in a comment to UNN.

He explained that by creating preferences for businesses with Russian ties, an agent network operating within the country is supported, as this finances saboteurs.

It should be noted that the responsibility for forming the list of the chosen fell to the former acting deputy chairman of the State Tax Service, Yevhen Sokur, who was also referred to as Getmantsev's right hand in the tax service and was considered fully under the control of the chairman of the tax committee in the Verkhovna Rada. Interestingly, after being dismissed, he has returned to work as Getmantsev's assistant. This might be another explanation for how companies linked to sanctioned individuals ended up on the list of the chosen.

In Dorotich's opinion, Getmantsev's White Business Club should be completely dissolved as it harms the economy and the interests of the state. "It is urgent to repeal (the law on the creation of the club - ed.), before worse precedents are established," the expert emphasized.

One-third of the Chosen are Unreputable

Andriy Dlihach, head of the Council of the Coalition of Business Communities for the Modernization of Ukraine, also criticized the initiative, labeling it anti-economic and anti-liberal.

"The criteria for inclusion in the club were developed to create advantages for certain companies. At the same time, some companies on the list are de facto not reputable - among them are even those operating in Russia or having ties with oligarchs," he stated in a comment to UNN.

Dlihach emphasized that the club's concept contradicts the idea of a free market. "No company should receive preferences based on non-transparent criteria. This discriminates against other enterprises that operate honestly in the market," the expert noted.

He added that the law on the creation of the White Business Club contained criteria that theoretically allowed international companies, as well as representatives of small and medium-sized businesses, to enter the list of the chosen, but because it was created for "their own," many truly reputable companies did not make it there.

"From an economic standpoint, the criteria are inappropriate, because, I repeat, these criteria make it impossible for fully reputable companies to get into this list. By the way, according to our estimates, about one-third of the companies that made it into the Club cannot be considered reputable," Dlihach emphasized.

Experts surveyed by UNN note that Getmantsev's club of the chosen creates discriminatory conditions, in which the majority of entrepreneurs will feel "black" simply because they did not make it onto this list.

Sergiy Dorotich noted that the creation of the White Business Club is a dangerous precedent. He pointed out that the determination of who is virtuous and who is not should be based solely on court decisions. No official has the right to label a business without clear evidence.

"Only the court can decide that you are a criminal, that you have violated legislation, that you have not paid taxes. No tax official has the right to determine that I, for example, am black while you are white. That is to say, until there is a court decision that has entered into legal force, we are all white," Dorotich said.

The expert also emphasized that the non-transparent criteria for including companies allow "their own" to avoid checks and gain competitive advantages, which threatens Ukraine's investment climate.

"This undermines business trust in the state and stimulates capital flight abroad," Dorotich added.

Political Risks

In addition to economic threats and national security risks, experts also point to the political aspect of the initiative. As Dorotich noted, such a structure could be used to influence the state’s economic policy, ensuring support for pro-Russian businesses and financing corrupt schemes.

Furthermore, the establishment of the White Business Club in Ukraine officially marked the first anti-reform in a long time. This conclusion was reached by experts from the independent analytical platform "Vox Ukraine."

Experts agree that the existence of the White Business Club should come to an end.

"A real tax reform needs to be carried out, which would provide equal conditions for all market participants. The abolition of the club is the first step towards restoring business trust in the state," Dlihach concluded.

The initiative, which was supposed to serve as a tool to support businesses, instead creates additional threats to the country's economy and security, deepening distrust towards state institutions. The abolition of the White Business Club will signal to Ukrainian businesses that the rules of the game in Ukraine should be fair and transparent.

Discrimination Against Business

Experts and the business community note that Getmantsev's initiative to create this club of the chosen is discriminatory and contradicts the Constitution of Ukraine. The executive director and co-founder of the analytical center "Ukrainian Institute for the Future," Anatoliy Amelin, believes that this creates an opportunity to divide entrepreneurs into politically undesirable and those who are acceptable to the authorities.

"This is discrimination, this is discreditation, and this is a violation of the Constitution. According to the Constitution - everyone is equal before the law. This law creates conditions under which some have preferences and the model by which it is determined whether a company should enter the 'White Business Club' or not - they set better indicators than the market average. But this is the market, this is a free economy - some work better, some work worse, and the very idea is unconstitutional," he noted.

The White Business Club was also criticized by the business ombudsman Roman Vashchuk. He particularly noted that it would create a reservation for the elite instead of leveling the playing field for all businesses.