MP's brother negotiated with NABU suspect on development of luxury hotel chain – Bihus.Info video

The brother of the MP from the Batkivshchyna Ivan Krulko negotiated the development of the Apartel luxury hotel chain in Ukraine and abroad with Denys Komarnitsky, a defendant in the case of anti-corruption agencies on land theft in Kyiv, who fled the country in early 2025, declares Bihus.Info media.

Vasyl Krulko is a member of the Transcarpathian Regional Council, brother of the current MP, and, according to journalists, appears on the recordings from Komarnytsky's office, which were published by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Prosecutor's Office as part of the operation "Clean City".

"From the content of the conversations, it becomes clear that Krulko and Komarnitsky are discussing partnerships in Ukraine and abroad. From other transcripts, journalists learned about the use of front men to conduct this business," the publication notes.

According to Bihus.Info, there are at least two projects in question-the first, Ukrainian, is located in the village of Polyana in Zakarpattia, and preparatory work is currently underway: "According to the plan, a 15-story hotel, cottages, a health center, a water park, swimming pools, and ski lifts are to appear on 11 hectares of land."

Four companies were set up for this project at once. In two of them (LLC "Partner "Solnechna Polyana" and LLC "Partner Polyana"), Vasyl Krulko's wife Yana, his business partner Yuriy Kalyniuk, and Serhiy Polykarpov are listed as co-owners in various combinations. The latter, according to media reports, is the driver of Komandnytskyi's manager and "obviously a straw man" whose role is discussed in the NABU and SAP wiretaps.

In the other two companies (Apartel Polyana Development LLC and Apartel Polyana Industrial LLC), the co-owners include the aforementioned Kalyniuk and the Minkar investment fund, which also belongs to Komarnitsky's orbit, journalists note.

The second project was to be implemented in the city of Rogaska in Slovenia.

"It is here that the existing Atlantis hotel is owned by the company of Denys Komarnytskyi's son, and, judging by the context of the conversation, it was supposed to become the basis for the international wing of the 'partner' network. In addition, the conversations mentioned that Rohashka should be only the first international project," Bihus.Info reported.

In a commentary to the media, Vasyl Krulko confirmed conversations with Komarnytskyi about the planned cooperation on the Polyana project, but said that neither people from the NABU suspect's orbit nor he himself is currently involved in this project. At the same time, the MP's brother could not explain the fact that the ownership system includes, for example, the driver of Komarnytskyi's trustee.

As for the project outside of Ukraine, Krulko noted that the Apartel group has not yet made a final decision to terminate cooperation, despite the high-profile corruption case.

"We had a conversation with Denys about a project in Slovenia, in Rogaska. We even signed a contract or a letter of intent, but we haven't made a final decision for ourselves yet, and we may return to this project," the man said.

The media first reported on the Apartel chain in 2023, becoming interested in the "sharp rise" of this hotel business, which coincided with Krulko's deputation: "At that time, journalists found the network's ties to the MP's family, but found no mention of this business in the declarations of the brothers, who, despite their obvious involvement in the Apartel, were not officially listed as owners."

After the story came out, Vasyl Krulko became part of the chain's ownership structure, which continues to scale up actively even despite the full-scale Russian invasion: the assets of this business have grown from 50 million to almost 1 billion UAH in two years, Bihus.Info noted.

The media also asked the MP himself for a comment: the politician once again said that he had "nothing to do" with the network and did not see any problems with his brother's partnership with Komarnitsky.

"Obviously, we all live in the public sphere, so we know that law enforcement agencies have questions to Denys Komarnytskyi, and it is obvious that he must resolve these issues for himself within the presumption of innocence. But I don't see anything wrong with entrepreneurs talking to each other about something and planning something together," the MP said.

The journalists point out that Krulko "demonstrated a deep awareness of certain processes in this business" in the conversation, although he denied any involvement in it.

At the same time, the media outlet added, the MP continues to "acquire ties" with this business in other ways: in early 2025, Krulko rented an apartment in Uzhhorod for 10 years from a company from the Apartel orbit.

"Interestingly, it was the only such property she owned," the journalists noted.

• In March, Ukrayinska Pravda reported that Komarnitsky had fled abroad with help of law enforcement officers.