The brothers Vladlen and Hennadiy Hirin from Kherson region carried out million-dollar schemes as “currency mules,” laundering money for drug cartels and criminal gangs in Europe.

The arrest of the elder brother, Vladlen, became one of Interpol’s most high-profile operations in 2024. The “dark horses” of Ukrainian emigration, the Hirin brothers, left quite a mark in Ukraine as well.

Vladlen is 58 years old, and his brother, Hennadiy, is 50. Here’s how their teacher from the 53rd Kherson school, Tetyana, remembers them (in the original language): “Vladyk has been enterprising since childhood, always wanting to do business, making extra money through dealing in high school. And Henka, he’s a bit weak-willed, always following his brother. Then Vlad went into politics and dragged Henka with him. They did business simultaneously, but they had a bad reputation in Kherson. It seemed like they posed as competitors to Saldo, but they actually conducted joint business, and then votes for the Hirin brothers were pulled under Saldo.”

Politically, the Hirin brothers didn’t fare well. They started in 2010, creating the “Union of Left Forces” in the Kherson region, which didn’t work out, so they switched to the “Our Land” party, persistently and unsuccessfully running for mayor and deputies from the “Servant of the People” party. The highest achievement was merely being deputies of the Kherson City Council. In politics, there were no loud scandals – everything was typical: vote buying and electoral fraud.

On the other hand, business was more promising – officially, the Hirin brothers chose a fairly profitable and respectable niche – selling doors of all types and shapes. They wouldn’t be accepted into oligarchic clans with such an endowment, but becoming middle-class entrepreneurs was quite realistic. However, the manic ambition to break into politics required large expenses, much more than door sales could provide. In Kherson, a common saying emerged – “to be a Hirin,” meaning to engage in wastefulness and not achieve the goal. To increase their capital, Vladlen and Hennadiy moved into real estate development – larger deals there. In 2018, they created the company “Bud City” and immediately hit a scandal with their first project, since they laid eyes on nothing less than the national archaeological landmark “Oleshkivska Sich” for luxury cottages and a spa resort. At that time, the construction by the Hirin brothers destroyed 3.5 hectares of cultural layer 

One of the co-owners of “Bud City” was former MP from the “Party of Regions,” Oleksiy Zhuravko. He warmly welcomed the occupation authorities in Kherson. Additionally, Zhuravko’s accounts processed the payments of the Hirin brothers’ “Bud City,” from which the funds were used to finance “DPR” and “LPR.” Oleksiy Zhuravko “bought a ticket to Kobzon” on September 25, 2022. By then, the Hirin brothers had already managed to flee abroad.

The brothers began eyeing a cozy place in Cyprus back in 2019, fully relocating in 2022. Their new ventures in Ukraine began to unfold from there.

Before fleeing, Vladlen Hirin became the owner of 100 apartments at once in a new residential complex in the village of Sofiivska Borshchahivka in Buchanskyi district, Kyiv region. In fact, he purchased an entire sector in the “Shchaslyvyi” residential complex, with an estimated value of one and a half million dollars.

Just a person who simply bought a high-rise, despite the Hirin brothers not being developers on this project. The “Shchaslyvyi” residential complex was built by the company “NovaBudova” owned by Lviv businessman Yevhen Savochka.

Seemingly a respectable person – for 10 years, he has led the youth wing of service in the “Voskresinnia” church. However, somehow the Word of God led him into a bad company – the next “Shchaslyvyi” residential complex already in Lviv began being constructed jointly with LLC “Autostar Development.” The beneficiaries of “Autostar Development” are Yuliya Ivanytska and Oleh Parakuda, a former first deputy minister of the Cabinet. This company is part of the group of the Ivanitsky family, where the key figures are the co-owner of the Royal Motors car dealership network Yuliya Ivanytska and Oleksandr Ivanytskyi, a deputy of the 7th convocation of the Odesa City Council.

And more. In March 2024, LLC “Histion” from Kherson purchases the largest warehouse complex Amtel in Kyiv region owned by Dragon Capital Tomash Fiala. Among other things, the Czech-Ukrainian businessman owns the site and Radio NV in Ukraine and the publication “Ukrainian Pravda,” with business interests in Ukraine, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Germany.

And here an unknown LLC “Histion,” created back in 2014, enters into a purchase-sale agreement for 40 million dollars and becomes the owner of a Class A logistics complex covering 100,208 sq. m. The founder and beneficiary of “Histion” is Hennadiy Hirin.

It’s impossible to accumulate such an amount just from door sales and the development of “Oleshkivska Sich.” So how did the Hirin brothers rise so quickly to make such significant deals?.. If there were courses for mastering the profession of “Money Mule for Dummies,” the first lesson would tell them: the main rule – don’t flaunt money made from laundering.

The Hirin brothers’ desire to show that they came not from a poor family but a wealthy one led to a logical conclusion. On October 28, 2024, Europol arrested participants of a money-laundering network. The special operation had been prepared for almost a year. During this time, the Hirin “mules” laundered over 75 million euros. The central figures in this case became the Hirin brothers and their family members. Vladlen himself, his wife, and son were arrested, but Hennadiy and his family managed to hide. According to preliminary data, they may be on Slovenian territory.

Apart from cryptocurrency worth almost 25 million euros, other valuable assets of the Hirin brothers were also seized. The editorial office of “ANTYKOR” obtained an exclusive document with the protocol of the arrested property. So you can lean back in your chair and enjoy the list of luxuries of the simple brothers from Kherson, who very much sought to become politicians, but, when they were not recognized in the adult world, took up money laundering. Thus they became secret millionaires.