Ruslan Tarpan

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Serafymovych and the family name is Tarpan.

Ruslan Serafymovych Tarpan (Ukrainian: Руслан Серафимович Тарпан; born 14 August 1971) is a Ukrainian businessman, living in the United Arab Emirates. The founder of the "Incor-Group" company, Tarpan served as a member of the Odesa City Council from the pro-Russian Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine from 1994 to 2010, and was heavily involved in the rebuilding of monuments in Odesa. In 2010, Tarpan began construction on a deep-sea sewage pipeline. The project, which lasted seven years and was never completed, ended in Tarpan and his associates being charged with the embezzlement of ₴200 million. Subsequently, Tarpan fled Ukraine for the United Arab Emirates, where he has lived since 2017.

Ruslan Tarpan
Руслан Тарпан
Member of the Odesa City Council
In office 1994–2010
Personal details
Born	(1971-08-14) 14 August 1971 (age 52) Odesa, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Political party	Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine

Early life and foundation of Incor Group

Ruslan Serafymovych Tarpan was born on 14 August 1971 in Odesa, then in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union, and earned a PhD in economics.^[1] From 1994 to 2010, Tarpan served as a member of the Odesa City Council, as a member of the pro-Russian Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine.^[2][3]

Tarpan founded the Incor Group development company in 1997, specializing in commercial and residential construction, engineering and restoration of historical buildings.^[4]

Odesan cultural heritage

Tarpan achieved significant attention in Ukraine due to his support for restoration of cultural heritage in Odesa. Among his most significant and controversial projects was the restoration of the Monument to the founders of Odesa and the reconstruction of the nearby Yekaterinskaya Square. During the monument's restoration, protests against it were held by Ukrainian nationalists, Cossack groups and Orthodox priests.^[3][5] The monument continued to remain controversial, with protesters unsuccessfully petitioning for its destruction following the 2014 Revolution of Dignity and the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[6][7] In November 2022 the Odesa City Council decided that the monument to the founders of Odesa would be dismantled and temporarily moved to the Odesa Fine Arts Museum.^[8]

Tarpan's reconstruction of Odesan cultural heritage has been criticised by other supporters of Ukrainian cultural heritage as "destroying" the spirit of Odesa, with multiple renovations resulting in substantial deviations from the original buildings. Following his 2017 flight from Ukraine, he has continued to embezzle state tenders for the reconstruction of buildings. Tarpan's model of embezzlement, known in Ukraine as "tender trolling",^[9] is the usage of an intermediary or fictitious organisation to win state tenders and artificially inflate the cost of goods required to complete the project.^[10]

Sewage discharge project and flight from Ukraine

In 2010, Tarpan began work on a project for the construction of a deep-sea sewage discharge pipeline for Odesa. Given a total of ₴600 million (US$16 million in August 2022) by the governments of Odesa and Ukraine, Tarpan on multiple occasions requested and sued for further funds, in 2015 arguing that a further ₴165 million was needed to complete the project.^[11] President Viktor Yanukovych publicly criticised the pipeline, saying in 2012, "Almost ₴600 million swelled into this project, without a mind, without a head, and now additional funds are needed in order to correct this mistake. We will do this, we will fix it, but this will not happen again."^[12]

In 2017, a criminal investigation into the sewage discharge project was launched. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), along with the Odesa Oblast prosecutor's office, accused Tarpan of criminal fraud and the theft of 200 million griven.^[11] The court seized multiple properties belonging to Tarpan, including a 16-storey apartment complex under construction, four apartments, a land plot in the town of Fontanka [uk], a 1937 ZIS-101, 1981 ZIL-4104, and a Lexus LX 470.^[13] Prior to the seizure, Tarpan fled the country for the United Arab Emirates, where he continues to reside.^[14] Tarpan has also been reportedly seen in Russia, Israel, and several African countries.^[15]

References

1. "Odessa National University of Economics – Official site – ONEU". oneu.edu.ua. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
2. "Тарпан Руслан Серафимович" [Tarpan, Ruslan Serafymovych]. Reporter.com.ua (in Russian). Retrieved 19 August 2022.
3. "Крест, поставленный на месте памятника Екатерине II, выбросили на мусорник" [Cross erected on site of Catherine II statue thrown into trash]. delo.ua (in Russian). 31 July 2007. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
4. The Incor-group company`s website
5. "В Одессе установили памятник Екатерине II". BBC. 28 October 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
6. "Руслан Тарпан // Что мы знаем об одесском бизнесмене" [Ruslan Tarpan: What do we know about the Odesan businessman?]. 8news (in Russian). 16 February 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
7. "Президент розглянув петицію про заміну пам'ятника Катерині ІІ в Одесі на актора Біллі Геррінґтона" [President addresses petition to replace Odesa statue of Catherine II with actor Billy Herrington]. Bykvu (in Ukrainian). 1 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
8. "Odesa deputies back decision to dismantle monument to Catherine II". Ukrinform. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
   "Odesa City Council finally agreed to demolish the monument to Catherine (Одеська міськрада нарешті погодилася знести пам'ятник Катерині)". Ukrainska Pravda (in Ukrainian). 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
9. ""Тендерный тролль". Как АМКУ помогал Араику Амирханяну шантажировать дорожную отрасль" ["Tender Troll": How the AMKU helped Araik Amirkhanyan blackmail the road industry]. delo.ua (in Russian). 26 April 2021.
10. "Тендерная коррупция. Как одесский бизнесмен опустошает местные бюджеты на реставрации зданий" [Corruption tender: How an Odesa businessman destroys local budgets to restore buildings]. RBK-Ukraine (in Russian). 30 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
11. [Tarpan sues state for 143 million for failed Odesa deep-sea sewage outlet]. Dumska (in Russian). 18 June 2015. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
12. "В Одессе выявили участников аферы, возмутившей Януковича" [In Odesa, participants in scam that angered Yanukovych identified]. 368.media (in Russian). 18 April 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
13. "Махинации с глубоководным выпуском: суд арестовал имущество Тарпана, но пожалел его компании и жену" [Deep-sea sewage fraud: Court seizes Tarpan's property, but pities company and wife]. Dumska (in Russian). 22 June 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
14. Makarenko, Irina (3 November 2021). "ОАЭ выдадут Руслана Тарпана Украине при условии, если НАБУ приложит к этому усилия - Шабовта" [UAE could extradite Ruslan Tarpan to Ukraine if NABU makes efforts to do so - Shabovta]. Ukrainian National News (in Russian). Retrieved 19 August 2022.
15. Prokhorenko, Maksym (17 March 2021). "Руслан Тарпан, находящийся в бегах уже четыре года, продолжает уродовать исторический облик Одессы и воровать бюджетные деньги" [Ruslan Tarpan, four years a fugitive, continues to disfigure Odesa and thieve budget]. Antikor (in Russian).